Victory! Jury Convicts Man of Human Trafficking in Cook County

Being a “pimp” isn’t cool anymore in Illinois. Instead, pimps are being recognized for what they really are—human traffickers.

This week a man was convicted by a jury in Cook County for human trafficking. This is the first time a jury has convicted a human trafficker in Cook County. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office:

Troy Bonaparte, 46, who went by the name, “Magnificent” targeted and recruited women to work as prostitutes for profit. Bonaparte would rent motel rooms at various locations in the city and surrounding suburbs, where women would service 5 to 25 customers per day. Bonaparte kept all of the money the women earned and threatened to beat or kill them if they didn’t comply with his demands to perform the sex acts.

He was caught in a hotel in Elk Grove Village (prostitution happens in the suburbs too!).

CAASE and our End Demand Illinois campaign send big congratulations to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Human Trafficking Initiative and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Vice officers, who helped bring the case against this trafficker.

Bonaparte’s case shows that our law enforcement is changing the way they approach bringing down prostitution rings—they are recognizing that in many cases, women are forced into the sex trade and are controlled by traffickers like Bonaparte. Instead of simply arresting the women whose bodies were being sold, law enforcement looked deeper and took the time to bring a case against the trafficker.

Our End Demand Illinois campaign is working to raise awareness about cases like this one—we partner with law enforcement and social service agencies to bring traffickers to justice and to improve services for survivors of prostitution. To learn more, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.