New Human Trafficking Law Means Harsher Punishments For Pimps

Tulsa police arrested two people for human trafficking, and they say we can expect to see a lot more of these types of arrests, thanks to Oklahoma's new human trafficking law.

The vice squad made the arrest Tuesday at a Tulsa McDonald's, when an Oklahoma City couple drove there to pick up a person they believed was a 17-year-old girl, who they were going to have work for them as a prostitute.

Officers placed an ad at one of many sites where people offer sexual services in exchange for money. It didn't take long for a man to respond and over the next several days, many text messages were exchanged between the man and the undercover officer.

The officer made it clear she was under 18, but police say the man didn't care and offered to put her to work for him in Dallas and Vegas as a stripper and Internet escort.

7/31/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Police Arrest OKC Couple On Human Trafficking Complaints

In the old days, he might've been arrested for pandering or promoting prostitution, which was a felony, but most likely would've resulted in a slap on the wrist. But now it's considered human trafficking.

That's also a felony, but it comes with a lot tougher penalties. The law has a special focus on protecting minors.

"Regardless of whether a girl is willing to be a prostitute, if she's under 18, it doesn't matter if she's willing. We punish people who helped them get into that lifestyle," said Sgt. Todd Evans.

Police say Ronald Spivey, Jr. and Kim Haven came to Tulsa to pick up the girl, but were arrested instead. Records show Spivey has a long history of identity theft, fraud and drug convictions. Police say he's also no stranger to getting young girls to turn tricks.

"This is something this guy is doing with a lot of different girls over a period of time. The guy we arrested has cases in Oklahoma City for the very same thing," Evans said.

Police say sometimes men use threats and violence to keep the girls working and turning over their money, but other times, it's a more insidious approach: they claim to love the girls in order to get them to work the streets.

"These girls think they're in love, but these guys are just using them as a meal ticket for money," Evans said.

Oklahoma's human trafficking law has some teeth to it. It says you can get five years in prison to life, if convicted, and if the child is a minor, it's 10 years to life.

7/29/2013 Related Story: Nationwide Human Trafficking Sweep Nets 60 Arrests In OKC