Reports of online predators are skyrocketing: Why sextortion is the ‘fastest growing crime that no one knows about’

Parents should be aware, the experts said, that just because their child knows how to use a phone and knows not to talk to a stranger that approaches them outdoors, doesn’t mean they know how to avoid 'stranger danger' online. — Image by DCStudio on Freepik

The Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team, a pilot task force launched this summer in Hartford, is designed to directly help those who have been victims of sex trafficking in Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford, Bloomfield, Glastonbury, Windsor, South Windsor and Manchester, with a goal of creating a statewide model.

As the task force develops its plan of best practices to help victims recover from their trafficking experiences and help prevent more people from being trafficked, HART Coordinator Jennifer Suroviak said that more and more sex trafficking is starting online. Sextortion, said Suroviak, can be “a gateway to sex trafficking” that opens up in the palm of the victim’s hand.