Or maybe you’re just a pervert—a child molester, a “chicken hawk”—who gets their kicks out of having sex with underage kids?
Or perhaps you’re computer savvy, your girlfriend dumped you and you think it would be a good idea to put her face on pornographic pictures and post them online? Fun, huh? THAT’ll teach her.
Well, here’s a piece of very good advice: If you want to stay out of prison, then stay out of Florida.
The report, the first of its kind in history, showed that three out of every 100 Floridians are trafficked, either for sex or labor.
The Sunshine State just got its act together. It’s become very serious in its battle against sex trafficking—with police launching massive raids; a recent shocking university study exposing the overwhelming numbers of victims; activist groups taking strong stands; and legislators passing laws that will strike terror into the twisted, decayed hearts of traffickers and criminals.
Florida, powerfully and for real, is saying “Enough!”
Three new laws, with real teeth in them, went into effect on October 1. Now, for example, any adult caught organizing the sexual exploitation of children under 12 can face the death penalty or life without parole.
Florida’s not playing around here anymore, people. Do that, and get ready to be executed or live in prison for a long, long time.
You can’t claim anymore that you weren’t aware that the 11-year-old child you were trying to have sex with was underage. Lack of knowledge, real or fake, is no excuse. If you’re caught luring or enticing children under 14, you’re in serious trouble.
Start spreading “deepfake” pornography of an individual without their consent, or possessing and sharing “lewd or lascivious” photos, and you’re likely to be headed for prison.
The impetus for reform has been intensified by a 2025 report from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USF), which found that 200,000 Floridians are living as sex slaves.
Think American slavery died out with the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth and, finally, the passing of the 13th Amendment? Think again.
The report, the first of its kind in history, showed that three out of every 100 Floridians are trafficked, either for sex or labor.
Minors make up an estimated half of the population being trafficked for sex and one quarter of those being trafficked for labor.
The USF’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Lab plans to release a similar report every year.
“Human trafficking is considered a hidden crime and its victims are often invisible,” said Joan Reid, TIP Lab’s director. “Given these circumstances, the key objective of this report is to make the hidden and invisible visible to those who have the responsibility to act toward disrupting human trafficking in our communities, counties and state.”
Florida State Senator Darryl Rouson agreed, saying: “We believe this annual report will make a substantial impact on anti-trafficking efforts, resulting in many adults and children being spared from the devastating consequences of human trafficking and many survivors receiving safe and effective assistance.”
“We’re going to go after every child predator we can find.”
Results are already being seen around the state. In a massive bust entitled “Operation Fool Around and Find Out Again,” multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies arrested 246 people on trafficking-related charges.
It was quite an impressive roundup. Some 99 suspects were charged with soliciting prostitution, 111 suspects were charged with offering to commit prostitution, 20 suspects were charged with prostitution-related offenses, including aiding and abetting prostitution, and 15 were charged with travelling to meet a minor for sex or other child sex abuse counts.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd promised: “We’re going to look out for victims of human traffickers.…We’re going to look out for the children.”
You can hear the jail cell doors slamming from miles away, since the suspects are facing a total of 371 charges, including 89 felonies.
“This is the highest number of suspects we’ve ever arrested during a single undercover operation. In addition to these 244 arrests, we also arrested 11 child predators who solicited who they thought were children online in order to sexually batter them,” Judd said. “Prostitution is not a victimless crime—it results in exploitation, disease, drug and alcohol addiction, violence and broken families.”
“Parents at home need to wake up,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said. “In today’s world with the technology, evil people are finding new ways to get to your kids.”
In another huge sting operation, Florida police ran “Operation DRAGON EYE,” rescuing scores of kids, many of whom were victims of trafficking or listed as missing. Twenty police and community activist groups joined together to pull the operation off, calling it the “largest child rescue operation in United States history.”
“In a two-week period, this team, a collective work of many agencies and law enforcement personnel, rescued 60 kids, kids that were in critical danger, many the victims of trafficking, many missing kids,” Uthmeier said.
Natasha Nascimento, founder and director of Redefining Refuge, a nonprofit that combats child sex trafficking, presented a heartbreakingly human face of what’s at stake.
“One such child, a girl, you know, barely beginning her own life, and yet she was carrying a life inside of her. The baby, actually, of her trafficker,” she said. “This child was forced to use substances by her trafficker throughout her pregnancy, and so [thanks to the sting operation] a baby gets to be born addiction free, a baby gets to be born to a mom who’s not being sold every day and a baby gets to have a story that doesn’t start with trauma.”
“I promised several months ago, we’re going to go after every child predator we can find,” said Uthmeier. “In this state, there’s no tolerance for human trafficking.… If you want to prey on our kids, we will hunt you down.
“We will get you.”
