Rocklin Community Forum looks at human trafficking

This month's Rocklin Community Forum on Thursday will look at the difficult subject of human trafficking. As a part of the ongoing forum series started last year, Srgt. Darren Kato of the Roseville Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit will present information from a local perspective. Bringing in Kato to speak at the forum is aimed at educating the community, according to Michele Vass, the Friends of the Rocklin Library president. "There is a lot of misinformation out there," Vass said, adding she hopes that many community members will take advantage of learning through the forum. Wendy Smith, Rocklin Police Department's volunteer coordinator, scheduled Kato, a local expert in this type of crime and prevention. "Our main concern is awareness," Smith said. "We have never had a kidnapping or 'taken' scenario happen in Rocklin." The forum's purpose is education, according to Smith, because so many residents do not understand all of the ins and outs of human trafficking. "Not all human trafficking is kidnapping and sales of children or young girls," Smith said. "Human trafficking is a very broad term, which includes foreigners duped into working in massage parlors to work off their fees to come to America, teens that were convinced that they are in a dating relationship only to be 'turned out' by their boyfriends, etc.," Smith said. "Some human trafficking seems like prostitution except that the victims did not intend to be sex workers and do not get the money earned," she responded, when asked for a comparison between the two. "They are drugged, beaten, have threats made on their life or the life of their family, or are deprived of 'love' from their 'boyfriend' or what we call a Romeo, if they don't go out and have sex for money. Smith said that females and males are at risk, but the majority at risk in Placer County are young females, ages 12 to early 20s. The Human Trafficking Forum is part of an ongoing effort by the Friends of the Library to have the library serve as a meeting place for everyone, according to Vass. To learn more about the types of human trafficking risks in Placer County and the surrounding communities, attend the Rocklin Community Forum from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Rocklin Branch Library, 4890 Granite Drive. Thursday's forum is limited to those 18 years of age and older. Kato will address community questions following his presentation. For more information, contact the Rocklin Branch Library, at 916-624-3133.