Conn. hotel arrest highlights trafficking concerns

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A Rhode Island woman arrested last month at a hotel at the Foxwoods casino is accused of delivering a 16-year-old girl for prostitution.

It’s the kind of case Connecticut officials want to highlight with a forum on child sex trafficking Wednesday in Hartford, where officials including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy are expected to discuss the scope of the problem and what’s being done to fight it.

A spokesman for the FBI, which was involved in the trafficking investigation at Foxwoods, said the casino atmosphere may attract prostitution more than some other places, but such cases appear to be growing everywhere.

“There are a lot of vulnerable kids that fall prey to these people,” Connecticut FBI spokesman Dan Curtin said. “It exists everywhere.”

Kaieema Gadson, 24, of Providence, is accused of bringing the girl to a pre-arranged location for paid sex with a customer. She was arrested Dec. 19 at the Two Trees Inn, which is owned by the tribe that owns the casino, and charged with trafficking in persons and promoting prostitution.

The 16-year-old girl was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.

No phone number was listed at the home address for Gadson, who posted bond and is due back in court on Feb. 4.

A task force made up of state police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Mashantucket Pequot tribal police department began the investigation at the hotel and at Foxwoods after learning of “pervasive use” of websites to solicit prostitution, according to a preliminary state police report. Agents identified several people engaging in prostitution, according to the report.

The chief of Mashantucket police, William Dittman, said the tribe is dedicated to ensuring all laws are followed and he did not know of any other similar cases at Foxwoods or other tribal-owned properties.

“I’m sure it didn’t develop here but it led here,” Dittman said of the trafficking investigation.

The state Department of Children and Families is hosting Wednesday’s day-long forum at the Connecticut Convention Center, and people including state and national law enforcement authorities, judges, medical providers and school officials are expected to attend. It coincides with National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

The FBI has declared child prostitution a “persistent threat” and says a joint effort by federal, state and local authorities has resulted in more than 2,700 children being rescued and more than 1,350 people being convicted since 2003.

Earlier this month, a 16-year-old girl at a Windsor Locks motel was rescued from what authorities called a multistate child prostitution ring.