Human trafficking is the second largest form of organized crime in the world behind the illegal drug trade. The industry affects 12.3 million people each year, and generates more than $32 billion worldwide, yet many Americans don’t necessarily expect it to take place close to home. Yet the two most common forms of human trafficking, sex trafficking and labor trafficking, are on the rise in many states such as Pennsylvania. In a horrifying example of this phenomenon, a Pennsylvania man named Paul Sewell was just sentenced to 23 years in prison for prostituting young teenagers and producing child pornography, illustrating the prevalence of the crime.

According to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it has become a source, destination, and pass-through state for human trafficking. Sewell, 49, of Reading, PA, ran a prostitution ring from his home and used the building next door as a brothel. He once ran a car dealership, a bail bond business, and even held a job as a school counselor with the Reading School District. Sewell, who often referred to himself as “God,” would bring in the girls, many of whom were minors, and have sex with them to “test them out.” He would then brand a chosen girl with a tattoo on the back of her neck stating “God” as well as a nickname he gave her. Sewell also advertised the women on his website, and emailed explicit pictures of them to potential clients. The business serviced eight to nine clients a day and Sewell kept 40 percent of the profits that the girls made. When girls no longer wanted to work for Sewell he would sometimes subject them to physical violence to force them to continue working. One of the prostituted children spoke up and stated,

It’s like I had given my soul away in exchange for money… . If it wasn’t for me having a child, I would have killed myself by now. I’m so disgusted with myself.

Sewell has been previously convicted for impersonating a police officer, resisting arrest, and making terroristic threats. Sewell applied to become a police officer in the 1980s but was dismissed from the academy after an altercation at the school’s pistol range. Sewell pleaded guilty in September 2011 to four counts of sex trafficking and three counts of producing child pornography. In addition to the 23-year sentence that he was given yesterday, he will be required to serve five years of supervised release and pay $52,000 in restitution.

Many trafficking victims enter this industry between the ages of 12-15. Not only can trafficking create serious physical harm, it can damage victims mentally and emotionally as well. It is scary to think that someone who was once a school counselor could also run a sex ring. While operating this business, Sewell allegedly had sexual relations with his 13-year-old niece and has fathered fourteen children with ten different women. Even more disturbingly, most of his children lived with him along with many of the women who worked as prostitutes. To think of children living with a man of this sort and being around such a disgusting crime is saddening.

Human trafficking is ruining the lives of countless girls, and it routinely happens right here in the United States. As these businesses continue to grow, the police need to continue to be vigilant. Sewell’s crime should not have gone unnoticed for so long.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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