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Update on 2025 Iowa Human Trafficking Legislation

There are many human trafficking related bills that are still being considered by various subcommittees and committees within the Iowa legislature. February 28 marked the end of the seventh week of the Iowa legislature. Tap here for a list of the 36 human trafficking related legislative bills that have been introduced to the 2025 legislature. The first funnel will take place on Friday, March 7, and the number of bills to get through the first funnel will dramatically drop.

Appropriation bills will not be considered until the end of the legislative session. As you may be aware, the NAHT’s top priority for the 2025 legislature is to establish a human trafficking survivor services allocation of $1 million. Currently, eight provider non-profit organizations provide residential programs that are solely or primarily dedicated to the unique needs of survivors of human trafficking. Currently, zero state government financial support is designated for these eight providers. The Network has been working for the past three years to secure state funding. This year for the first time both Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Attorney General have listed in their proposed budgets $1 million for the creation of the Human Trafficking Survivors Fund.

Iowa Trafficker Faces Life in Prison Without Parole

Courtesy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette

A Hiawatha man, who sexually abused and forced a Dubuque teen to have sex with other men in exchange for money, was convicted February 6, following about six days of testimony during his trial in Linn County District Court.

A jury deliberated about 90 minutes before finding Jarod Earl Anderson, 35, guilty on four charges, including human trafficking of a minor, a 2023 law that increased the penalty upon conviction to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The jury also found Anderson guilty of third-degree sexual abuse, pimping, and two charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. The trial started February 4 in Linn County District Court.

Anderson showed no emotion when the verdict was read by 6th Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill. The jurors were individually polled on each charge and confirmed their unanimous verdicts. Anderson will remain in jail pending sentencing April 1.

This was the first case charged in Linn County and the first to go to trial in Iowa under the new human trafficking of a minor law.

In a statement, the Linn County Attorney’s Office thanked the jurors “for their time, attention, and service. Their guilty verdict reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed and ensures that justice has been served for the victim in this case.”

The office also thanked the sex abuse survivor “who showed incredible strength in coming forward, as well as the law enforcement officers, victim advocates, and the Attorney General’s Office who worked diligently to bring this case to trial.”

To read the full article, including the teen’s testimony, as well as others, tap here.

Iowa-based Organization Aims to Empower Human Trafficking Survivors

A new organization based out of Pella, The Lighthouse Foundation, will guide survivors through their trauma and teach them to be on their own eventually. The organization is looking to raise funding to cover expenses associated with achieving nonprofit status and building a website. The goal is to be up and running by the end of 2025.

Founder Brittany Sowder is hoping that her story will help others heal. At 14 years old she was asked by a man at a grocery store if she wanted to be a model. “The first time that I did the so-called modeling job, it wasn’t a modeling job,” Sowder said. “I was in a room in an apartment with another guy that had come, and he forced me to wear clothes that I didn’t want to wear, and then raped me.”

She was sex trafficked all across Iowa and Illinois. At one hotel in Chicago, an undercover police officer busted the sex trafficking ring she was at, freeing Sowder at 15.

When she got out, Sowder ended up in the foster care system and was eventually adopted by Ruth Eley, a licensed therapist at YSS in Iowa. “When I found out trafficking was happening in Iowa to our Iowa youth, that was a very strong wake-up call,” Eley said.

Now 32, Sowder wants to empower other human trafficking survivors through The Lighthouse Foundation. The organization will provide counseling, job and housing resources to survivors and educational presentations about trafficking to schools. “Coming out of it, there’s just a lot of sadness and a lot of not understanding where you fit in the world,” Sowder said.

It’s a proud moment for Eley, who acted as a beacon of hope for her daughter during her darkness. “It brings happy tears to my eyes,” Eley said. “I’m choked up because she’s come so far.”

Sowder was recently voted to serve on the board of directors of the Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery. Her first meeting took place on January 13, 2025.

Diddy Charges Show Dire Need for Change

Courtesy of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation

Groped. Forced to perform oral sex. Drugged and raped. Recordings of rapes used to silence survivors. According to allegations, all of this occurred behind the shield of wealth and power.

Over 100 people allege that time and time again, Sean “Diddy” Combs leveraged his influence to gain sexual access to people, intimidate them into silence, and sometimes profit from their abuse. This is sex trafficking.

Contrary to popular belief, sex trafficking usually doesn’t look like it does in the movies. It’s typically not a kidnapper locking someone up in a dark basement. In fact, a study by the Human Trafficking Hotline found that only nine percent of sex trafficking victims identified their trafficker as a stranger.

More often, it’s someone they know—a boyfriend, a family member, a parent…

What’s more: sex trafficking often overlaps with other forms of sexual exploitation, like sextortion, pornography, and image-based sexual abuse.

Combs allegedly recorded the rape of his victims—a form of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). He then threatened to distribute the recordings as a way of controlling the women—this is sextortion. One survivor alleges that Combs published the recordings and sold them as pornography.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is working to expose the links between all forms of sexual exploitation and dismantle the systems that make sex trafficking possible.

“Pig Butchering” Exploitation Analytics – Key Human Trafficking Judgements

Key Judgements are high-level strategic assessments produced by STOP THE TRAFFIK Group Intelligence for policymakers. In their context, intelligence is the combination of information from sources that offer an analysis sufficient to guide activity or inspire action, either by STOP THE TRAFFIK Group or an appropriate party to reduce vulnerability or deliver safeguarding opportunities.

Key Judgement Report looks at Pig Butchering in Southeast Asia.

The specific strategic assessment outlines key indicators of trafficking and exploitation concerning the above location(s) and exploitation type. This Key Judgement is segmented based on the three pillars traffickers depend on to sustain their business model: recruitment, money, and demand. To learn more about the STOP THE TRAFFIK Group go to stopthetraffik.org.

Tap here to access the STOP THE TRAFFIK’s latest Key Judgement Report.

Free H.T. Prevention/Education Resources from A21

Knowledge is more than power. It’s prevention and protection. Imagine having the tools to protect yourself and those you love from one of the world’s most heinous crimes. What if a simple conversation, a piece of information, could prevent someone from becoming a trafficking victim?

One of the most simple and effective ways to fight human trafficking is through education. Without the tools to identify trafficking schemes, vulnerable people may miss the red flags of recruitment and fall victim to exploitation—especially in today’s world where grooming and recruitment are happening on digital platforms.

Access A21’s free resources here.

200 attend ISU forum “Sex Trafficking Crisis in Iowa”

Almost 200 people attended the panel “Sex Trafficking Crisis in Iowa” at the ISU Memorial Union on January 27. The NAHT co-sponsored the educational event with the Rotaract ISU student club. Two NAHT board members (Heather and Britany) spoke as survivors and Ruth Eley and Melody Stone spoke as trauma-informed therapists. All four panelists have previously received Anti-Trafficking Service Awards.

New Reports assess methods of estimating prevalence of human trafficking in the U.S.

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics has released Human Trafficking Prevalence Estimation Feasibility Study. This third-party report presents findings from an environmental scan of international and domestic studies that estimate the size of the human trafficking victim population in the United States. It also summarizes panel discussions by subject matter experts, BJS and National Institute of Justice representatives, and Abt Global team members on trafficking type, geography, methodology, and data access and quality. Based on findings from the environmental scan and panel discussions, the team recommends a pilot study to test the feasibility of estimating the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States. To read the 66-page report, tap here. Read the third-party report.

Anti-Trafficking Proclamation

Index Photo by Andrea Grubaugh: Mayor Mark Smith signs a proclamation for Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention. This proclamation, signed every January, is part of a continuous effort to encourage citizens to work toward ending human trafficking in all its forms:

“Every business, community organization, faith community, family and individual can make a difference by choosing products that are not made by forced labor; by working to protect our young people from sexual exploitation; by addressing the problem of internet sex trafficking and pornography; and by becoming more aware of the problem and possible solutions.”

 

TV News Clips & Articles

By on March 3, 2025   /   News