City Hall focuses on human trafficking crime in rural Lehigh Valley

Human trafficking knows no borders, a fact that has been confirmed in recent months in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley, with shocking cases.

Two men were arrested in June, accused of kidnapping three women and a girl, tying them up and taking them to a shipping container in Monroe County. One of the suspects was charged a week later with sexually assaulting a woman who applied for a job at Pen Argyl.

That arrest, and the concerns residents raised with city officials, showed “there is a link in a small community (to human trafficking),” said Carol Andersen, CEO of the nonprofit Bloom for Women, which focuses on helping female victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

She and Fire Chief Dean Parsons of Lookout Fire Company No. 1 said the incident in Pen Argyl also raised questions about how widespread the phenomenon is in the community.

“Human trafficking can sometimes hide in rural communities because of the peaceful life that is possible there,” she said.

Officials plan to hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lookout Fire Company No. 1 to discuss the dangers of human trafficking. The crime involves the use of force or coercion, usually for labor or commercial sex.

According to Bloom for Women, the meeting is being held to raise awareness and educate the community about human trafficking in the region.

Anderson said Parsons and his wife, Kim, have contacted the organization to set up a meeting. At the meeting, law enforcement officials and others will discuss what human trafficking is, how to recognize the signs of trafficking and what is being done to combat this criminal exploitation.

Davaun C. Jackson, 29, and Isaiah Rogers-Keeney, 19, were charged with kidnapping three women and a teenage girl in Monroe County. Authorities allege they also brutally assaulted the women.

In another case in Pen Argyl, Jackson was interviewing a woman for a possible job on May 15 when the woman was sexually assaulted, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said.

Jackson and Rogers-Keeney remain in the Monroe County Jail without bail. The prosecuting judge in Monroe County wrote in court documents that bail was denied because the alleged offenses were “extremely violent.”

Bloom for Women held a similar event at the Hotel Bethlehem in mid-March. Andersen said at the event that America is the world’s largest consumer of commercialized sex, and Pennsylvania ranks eighth in the nation for reported human trafficking cases.

According to Andersen, the Bethlehem-based organization has nearly 25 employees who operate five homes in the Lehigh Valley, which provide safety and shelter to people trying to escape human trafficking.

“The Slate Belt Regional Police Department, along with our local, state and federal partners, recognizes that human trafficking is an issue of great concern to communities across the state, as well as nationally,” said Police Chief Jonathan Hoadley in a press release.

Pen Argyl Mayor Stephen Male will lead the ceremony. Speakers will include Hoadley, Andersen and Patrick Jochum, a special agent with the federal law enforcement agency, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

City Hall is free to attend; the Fire Department is located at 123 S. Main St., Pen Argyl. For questions or more information, email [email protected] or call 610-866-5755.

You can contact Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone at [email protected].