County News: Pimp with Violent History of Aggravated Human Trafficking Arrested

A Chicago man will appear in court today for forcing females to work as prostitutes. Dajuan Brown, 35, is facing charges that include 10 counts of involuntary sexual servitude and 1 count of aggravated human trafficking.

Cook County Sheriff's Police took Brown into custody Tuesday morning after learning that he was keeping females against their will, giving them heroine several times a day and forcing them to work as prostitutes, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Tuesday.

Police arrested Brown Tuesday morning at his apartment on the 1400 Block of North Laramie in Chicago. Sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant after they learned of drug activity within the apartment and collected statements from witnesses who claimed to have been forced into working for Brown in the past. A search warrant was then executed, and he was taken into custody without incident.

The 10 counts of involuntary sexual servitude and 1 count of aggravated human trafficking Brown faces are Class X felonies. Each count of involuntary sexual servitude and aggravated human trafficking is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Brown has been arrested approximately 20 times in the past on charges including weapons offenses, armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

There were two female victims that were removed from his apartment when Brown was taken into custody. They are being provided care by the Cook County Sheriff’s Department of Women’s Justice Services.

Brown will appear in bond court today at 26th and California.

Last July, a Chicago man who had been arrested by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police on human trafficking related charges was found guilty and he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. This was the first conviction of its kind in Cook County.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, an estimated minimum of 16,000 to 25,000 women and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Chicago every year.

In March of 2007, a Senate subcommittee met on legal options to stop human trafficking. According to testimony by Katherine Kaufka of the National Immigrant Justice Center before the committee, threats to victims that their immediate family will be harmed often keeps victims from reporting the trafficking crime to authorities. Kaufka said this was the case of a client of theirs named "Anuja," who was trafficked to when she was 11 years old.

"Anuja was promised an American education, but instead, was forced to cook, clean, and take care of two small boys for an Indian family," said Kaufka, who said a "Good Samaritan" helped Anuja escape four years later, but authorities said she appeared unwilling to provide information for them to corroborate her story.

"Finally, in tears, Anuja confessed that she did not want to tell law enforcement certain details because she was afraid her traffickers were going to hurt her little sisters in India," said Kaufka.

In a statement released to the media yesterday, the Sheriff's Office wanted to acknowledge the efforts of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to bring Dajuan Brown to justice. Dart called the human trafficking problem in Cook County "widespread" and "heinous."

"[I] hope that heavy sentences will continue for those who traffic women," said Dart in the statement.