A Pensacola man is being charged with human trafficking related to massage parlors. In a case unrelated to the Robert Kraft debacle, David A. Williams is being charged with money laundering, racketeering, and the harboring of illegal aliens for financial gain. A dozen or more search warrants were issued in conjunction with massage parlors in Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
In a case that apparently didn’t require the use of a sneak-and-peek warrant, police were able to recover enough evidence to begin prosecuting a man who they say saw Asian women shipped from overseas for use in the sex trade.
Analyzing the Charges
The allegation that Williams harbored illegal aliens for the purposes of commercial gain is enough to warrant an arrest. However, note that Koch Foods has suffered no similar criminal charges relating to the exploitation of illegal immigrants at the food processing plants in Mississippi.
In searching one of the facilities in Pensacola, the FBI did not provide details into the investigation and its relation to another raid conducted in Florida. The Asia Pro Walk-in Massage parlor told reporters that the investigation was in relation to one of their business partners and was not related to the conduct of the business itself.
Obviously, those who are in league with Williams are attempting to insulate themselves from his activities.
Harboring or smuggling illegal aliens for financial gain is a federal law. The law requires that the individual who smuggled or brought the aliens into the U.S. illegally, knew that they were illegal while committing the crime. In other words, a defense to these charges can be made that the alien lied about their green card status or some other claim that diminishes the defendant’s guilt.
The problem, of course, is proving what the defendant knew or did not know. In this case, David A. Williams may have been importing women on a grand scale while those who he worked with knew little or nothing about what he was doing.
In cases like these, it’s common to find women who are brought to the U.S. for short periods of time on travel visas, work in massage parlors, and then are shipped back to their home country once their visa runs out. Depending on how that was arranged, it can be very easy to prove that Williams knew what he was doing when he brought the women into the U.S. The presence of the women at the massage parlor during the raid would be enough to establish what Williams did or did not know.
But this case also goes to show that you can conduct successful investigations using traditional warrants and above-board methods for investigation.
Talk to a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Attorney Today
If you’re being accused of a crime in the West Palm Beach area, you need an attorney who understands how the criminal justice system works and can ensure that you’re charged fairly and in accord with established police practices. Talk to the West Palm Beach criminal attorneys at the Skier Law Firm today for more details.