Editorial: Helping the victims

Thursday, May 10, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

Given that federal and local law enforcement officials have acknowledged that Las Vegas is an enviable destination for human traffickers, it is inconceivable that authorities apparently cannot account for 25 foreign women caught last month in a prostitution ring with ties to Asia.

Metro Police and federal investigators spent two years on the case before arresting seven men and women, alleged leaders of the ring, and 25 women allegedly forced into prostitution - victims of human trafficking.

As reported by Timothy Pratt in Tuesday's Las Vegas Sun, no one is quite sure where the women are or what their legal situation is. David Thronson, a UNLV law professor who has worked on human trafficking cases for years, is part of the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery, a federally funded task force set up this year to help protect trafficking victims.

As part of the group, Thronson is supposed to provide legal assistance to victims of human trafficking, yet he was initially told there was no one to interview. He eventually met with one woman.

The others?

"We don't know where they are," Thronson said.

Local and federal law enforcement officers offered conflicting accounts about whether the women would be deported and how immigration officials were - or weren't - involved. It seems as if no one really knows what, if anything, they are doing to help the victims.

Slavery is a horrific crime and Las Vegas is a destination of the modern-day slave traders because there is a demand for illegal prostitution. The victims, separated by language and culture, have nowhere to turn for help.

That is where police and the anti-slavery task force are supposed to come in and aid victims in the worst of situations. The victims deserve Las Vegas' best effort.