Top police officials in Fairfax, VA “secured sexual services from trafficked women” in an apparent collusion with criminals, according to a lawsuit. A lawsuit alleges that an investigation detective was made to keep quiet.
According to the federal lawsuit filed recently by one of the victims, at least 13 Fairfax County Police Department officers, including those in high positions, have over the years stopped an investigation into a Northern Virginia trafficking ring.
The officers, some now retired, allegedly “secured sexual services from trafficked women, and may also have extorted money from the ring’s leadership,” the complaint seen by US journalists claims. Victimized women were forced to provide free sexual services to some of the cops, who were apparently aware the women had been “Forced to use fraud, coercion or force in order to obtain commercial sex services.”
According to the suit, in exchange for performing sex acts police officers including the captain and former chief, hampered an investigation by giving information to the sextrafficking ring leaders that could protect them from law enforcement.
“Regularly, police officers slammed the idea that trafficked females were victims. Instead they insist that they were just prostitutes who were willing to engage in illegal commercial activity.,” the document says.
Jane Doe was one of the victims. Jane Doe arrived from Costa Rica in 2010 and is now living in the US. A single mother claimed she was forced into prostitution and had her passport removed. Her family threatened her with harm if she attempted to flee, and she worked five years for the sex-trafficking ring. Thanks to her later tip, in 2019 the FBI arrested the ring’s female boss, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking-related charges and was put behind bars. The FBI discovered that at least two officers from the county were part of the ring.
According to the lawsuit, police also threatened family members with harm by making threats to one detective trying to investigate the sex-trafficking case. William Woolf, who worked as the sole member of the department’s federally funded human trafficking taskforce, was told to “Keep [his]Close your mouth.” In an apparent threat, a lieutenant in the department allegedly told Woolf, “Six children are your responsibility..” The detective eventually dropped the investigation.
In October, the original lawsuit was filed by the attorney. He has since amended the suit with additional information that includes the names of the police officers accused of misconduct. He stated that he had sought to settle the case for a financial settlement as well as some accountability. The county was not aware of his request. He said he didn’t want a further emotional burden for his client but, he shared with AP, he was told “To go pound the sand.”
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