Human trafficking booming in region

Human trafficking in the form of sex slaves and unpaid workers is now recognized as a booming crime element in the Washington area.

Just in the past few months:

» A D.C. pimp pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges after selling his 12-year-old foster daughter for sex.

» In Montgomery County, a half-dozen pimps were arrested under Maryland’s human trafficking statutes.

» Two men were arrested under the same law in Laurel after police determined they were prostituting a teenage girl and other women.

» A Maryland restaurant owner admitted to harboring and underpaying a dozen illegal immigrant workers.