New GBI Task Force Cracks Down On Human Trafficking

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday announced state authorities including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have begun cracking down on human trafficking with new task force dedicated to putting an end to modern slavery.

In a news release, Kemp said the new Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit is working with Attorney General Chris Carr, the GRACE Commission — founded by First Lady Marty Kemp — and federal, state and local law enforcement organizations.

The task force was founded on July 1 and is staffed by four special agents and led by a special agent in charge and an assistant special agent in charge.

"I am proud of the work that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has done in the fight against human trafficking," said Governor Kemp. "With this new HEAT Unit, [GBI Director Vic] Reynolds will have the resources he needs to crack down on this criminal enterprise and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable."

In the news conference, Reynolds said the GBI currently works with the attorney general's trafficking prosecution unit and is in the process of joining forces with the state's financial investigative unit and other enforcement units on a state and federal level.

Reynolds said he and the GBI are committed to putting an immediate stop to sex and labor trafficking.

“This governor and the first lady have made it abundantly clear that we will not tolerate this behavior in the state of Georgia," Reynolds said, addressing anyone involved in human trafficking. "I want you to know without any equivocation that the GBI is coming after you. We intend on pursuing these cases in every corner of the state of Georgia. We intend on investigating you. We intend on arresting you if appropriate, and we intend on insisting that you be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The problem of child sex trafficking gaining more attention in the state two years ago as Atlanta prepared to host Super Bowl LIII. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is "modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border.

The different kinds of human trafficking include sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking victims may be forced, threatened, or manipulated by promises of love or affection to engage in sex acts for money. Any person under the age of 18 involved in a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking.