APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A more than year-long investigation in Appleton has resulted in the arrest of a Milwaukee man on two counts of human trafficking.
“For over a year now, our investigators have been working on a trafficking case involving the adult. And recently there was the potential of a child also being involved,” Appleton Police Officer Meghan Cash says, “It takes a lot of work to determine – where did this happen? How frequently has this happened? And oftentimes it happens among several different locations.”
35-year old Theodore Givings is in custody after the lengthy investigation into his trafficking of a woman and a reported juvenile runaway. Cases like this are often very detailed and could see more victims or suspects arise.
“It took a lot of teamwork from our patrol level identifying that this child was a runaway, the follow-through that went along with that – up to our investigators who were looking into the human trafficking with the adult,” says Cash, “These investigations take a lot of time and a lot of investigative work and followup that has to be done because this is typically something that isn’t always visible to the average person.”
No other victims have been identified in this case at this time. It’s also believed Givings attempted to lure the juvenile into the trafficking system, but had not exploited her. Investigators spend a lot of time looking into the details to ensure that it’s not part of a bigger scheme.
“They have to sift through the evidence as well to make sure they have everything that they need going forward because these cases tend to expand,” Cash points out.
She also says if you ever see something that seems off, it’s important to say something.
“If you believe something just doesn’t seem right about a relationship with somebody. Typically, if somebody is acting fearful or maybe there’s other abuse happening. Report that to local law enforcement and we can do our due diligence,” Cash tells WTAQ News, “Trafficking can affect a lot of different age groups and any gender. It doesn’t necessarily have to be like in this case – where it was a male trafficker and female victim. That isn’t always the case.”
The case is still under investigation and more information is still expected to be released.
