Pittsburgh and Sex Trafficking

The terrible crime of human trafficking can be seen here in Pittsburgh

By: Jennifer Snow
Rasul Abernathy a former resident of North Versailles and his girlfriend Poshauntamarin Walker
a former state prison guard pleaded guilty to prostituting, sexually assaulting and beating a
teenage girl.
During the Summer of 2014, nine women were arrested at the Sheraton Hotel in Station Square
and eight were charged with prostitution and the other with conspiracy.
William Miller of the Hill District plead guilty in federal court in 2013, admitting he had sex and
shared in profits of prostitution that he made from a 15 year old girl.
There are examples of the epidemic of human trafficking here in Western Pennsylvania, which
has sparked the drive for awareness to prevent the spread of the atrocity by a handful of groups
and individuals hoping to end it.

Matthew Burnett a Pittsburgh County Jail correctional officer who works with works with
Truckers Against Trafficking and says human trafficking "is a growing problem in the area. They
are finding more and more people being exploited in the area. Since Pennsylvania is considered a
through state among truckers, it is becoming a problem at local truck stops. Where girls are being
prostituted to work out at the truck stop."
Many believe that slavery is a thing of the past, especially here in the United States where most
are under the impression that it ended in 1865. The International Labor Organization estimates
that there are upwards of 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally, the most ever. This
statistic includes about 5.5 million children and about 55% of the victims are female. This
includes over 1.5 million victims trafficked each year in the United States. Human trafficking
according to The Polaris Project is when traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control other
people for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex of forcing them to provide labor services
against their will. Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other
manipulative tactics to trap their victims.

"The William Miller case has started to expose the issue of trafficking here in Pittsburgh, it has
given organizations around town something tangible to show people" says Burnett
The cases against Abernathy and Walker involves the trafficking of a 16 year old girl and 17
year old boy in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Abernathy admitted to finding the girl on the internet and
persuading her to become a prostitute. The juvenile was also reported to be forced to give oral
sex to Abernathy and a man later identified as Solomon Owens, according to police records.
On June 22, 2014 nine women -- ranging in age from 23 to 32 -- were arrested in Station Square
as part of an FBI nation-wide crack down on sex trafficking. Police received tips from a known
trafficking site pittsburgh.backpage.com that private escorts using names like Natalia would be
offering services to clients. They set up a sting with undercover officers who acted like clients to
catch the women accepting money for sex. Once the women agreed and took the money, the
undercover officers signaled to detectives outside the room. The detectives swarmed into the
hotel rooms and arrested the women without incident. Heather West one of the nine arrested
admitted to only being the driver and is only facing charges for promoting prostitution and
misdemeanor conspiracy charges. West was transported to the Alleghany County Jail because
she failed to prove her identity and Heather McGure was released from the scene with a
summons for her arrest.
Miller of the Hill District is the first to be convicted of child sex trafficking in the Pittsburgh area
when he admitted to recruiting a 15-year old girl into prostitution, Miller confessed that he was
in a sexual relationship with the youth for a couple of weeks. Miller had the 15 year old girl on
pittsburgh.backpage.com to solicit clients which ultimately was how police managed to find the
girl. Detectives were informed of an advertisement for a 23 year old striper and called to set up
an appointment with the girl. The juvenile agreed to meet the undercover detective at the Quality
Inn in Oakland and once she took money and agreed to perform oral sex, the undercover officer
signaled detectives outside the room and Miller, the juvenile and Danielle Gianoni were arrested
without incident. Miller acknowledged that he received sexual perks from the minor and shared
in some of the profit for transporting her to different hotels. He pled guilty because child sex
trafficking carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Miller will
get 12 years in prison and 5 years of probation for trafficking the teen.
There are organizations in and around Pittsburgh that have been around for awhile that are
raising awareness and helping victims. These include The Project to End Human Trafficking.
The main office is here in Pittsburgh and they provide services to survivors. They also provide
educational outreach to the community. Rahab's Hideaway provides services to women and
children who have fallen victim to human trafficking as well. Rahab's Hideaway is based out of
Columbus Ohio. Candace Desmett-Coonfield a recent graduate of Robert Morris University
worked on the Freedom Writes Benefit Concert which was held in Ambridge, PA. It was held
here because of the trafficking issue in Ambridge and all of the proceeds went to Rahab's
Hideaway. Coonfield said that "During my last year in college, a small group and I planned a
benefit concert for Rahabs hideaway. We were able to raise over $1,000 for the safe house. I did

find it rewarding because I was able to meet the women who worked so hard to give the victims
of human trafficking a safe place to live where they can thrive. Marlene Carson who founded the
organization was so touched by the work we had done for her and her cause."
David Delio works with The Project to End Human Trafficking (PEHT) and believes that human
trafficking has grown into such a large issue because of the "abundance of 'dirty money' to be
made in sex trade as well as low cost labor. In fact, Im sure human trafficking has, likely, been
as prevalent an issue for far longer than we tend to observe; our nation, in fact, was built on
human trafficking, essentially. This is not in any way a justification or validation, but, simply, a
fact. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery only it is bigger and we are selling our children
into it."
Aimee Mendez works with the Western Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Coalition and she is
very aware of the issue and notes that it is not just in these big cities like Miami, Los Angeles
and New York, human trafficking is everywhere. "Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and
it can happen to anyone at any time. It goes beyond those who are put into the sex trade. Human
trafficking includes those taken to work in sweat shops, factories, fields, etc. These are human
beings being exploited and do not know how to escape. It is up to those who do have the
resources to be voices for those people forgotten by the system. It is also important to realize that
anyone can be a human trafficker, even the nicest person can be forcing someone into this
modern-day slavery."

Human trafficking is like any other business, it is based on supply and demand. Human
trafficking is high profit and low risk. It is a $32 billion dollar annual business; it is noted as the
second largest criminal enterprise in the world, it is second only to arms dealing. Profits are
known to fund other illegal criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking. The only way to stop it
is through awareness, it is important to be able to recognize the signs. The Polaris Project
provides a detailed of these on their website as well as a hotline that you can call if you suspect a
victim is near you. Don't be fooled, human trafficking is reported in every country in the world
and is in Pittsburgh right now and has been for awhile. The best way to prepare yourself is
through awareness. Not everyone has a dad like Liam Neeson who will be able to save you if
you're taken.