Less than six months into state attorney Aramis Ayala鈥檚 term, the Legislature voted to cut $1.3 million from her budget and she says that decision is having an impact on her office's ability to fight human trafficking.
The move came after , and after Gov. Rick Scott subsequently reassigned two dozen ninth circuit murder cases to fifth circuit state attorney, Bradley King.
Republican Representative Scott Plakon of Longwood was behind the cut.
鈥淪he鈥檚 refusing to do a significant part of her job, so if she refuses to do that, someone else has to do it,鈥� he said.
The decision impacts groups like the . It was formed eight years ago with a goal to expose central Florida鈥檚 underbelly: parents selling children into slave labor. Foreign-born workers arriving stateside with visas only to be outsourced for scam jobs.
鈥淚t could be someone who thinks maybe they鈥檙e getting a job modeling, and it ends up being they鈥檙e forcing them to be an escort in porn,鈥� said Tomas Lares, executive director for Florida Abolitionist.
The direct number of people involved in human trafficking is hard to gage. In the first quarter of this year, Florida Abolitionist worked on nearly 50 sex trafficking cases with the state attorney鈥檚 office alone, according to the organization鈥檚 data. Lares said that is the tip of the iceberg. With more and more people coming to central Florida each month, he sees the need for investigators, victims鈥� advocates, translators, substance abuse services, and a dedicated shelter.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 not advocacy in this true, targeting funding to help these victims, then these traffickers and pimps are getting away, basically, in my opinion, with murder,鈥� said Lares.
The Florida Legislature saw a need the Orange and Osceola state attorney鈥檚 office $1.4 million to target human trafficking and domestic violence. It was the only office in the state to get the extra money. Jeff Ashton, then ninth circuit state attorney, hailed the funds as the largest amount the office had ever received directly from the Legislature.
鈥淲e were really excited that we were getting this extra money and we would be able to do this sort of extra, extra work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was basically to make the ninth circuit the example of how good it can be and how much additional funding can help those particular problems.鈥�
Under a provision Ayala could request to get the money back if there鈥檚 any left after the two dozen death penalty cases are prosecuted. Plakon, who has backed legislation in support of both causes added that the $1.3 million was not the special appropriations funding, per se, and that it was, rather an estimate made from staff analysis of how much it might cost for another prosecutor to take on ninth circuit death penalty cases. He argued Ayala鈥檚 office can shuffle funds to address human trafficking and domestic violence.
鈥淭hey have the positions open. They have the funding open. They don鈥檛 need the $1.3 million.鈥�
Democratic Senator Randolph Bracy was the staunchest advocate of a smaller cut in to the special appropriations fund, which House lawmakers did not approve. For him, the cut was a political statement.
鈥淭hat we are the Legislature and we make the laws and if you don鈥檛 follow the law, then we have other ways to punish you,鈥� he said.
Ayala has argued repeatedly that tough cuts to staff in her base budget are not a solid starting point to be able to deeply penetrate human trafficking or domestic violence.
鈥淲e see 60 million visitors come through Orlando, and because of that, it鈥檚 the primary spot for human trafficking, so when we aren鈥檛 properly equipped with it, the crime continues and continues. It devastates and basically paralyzes all of those efforts that we鈥檙e not able to expand it,鈥� she said.
Her predecessor, former boss, and political opponent former state attorney Jeff Ashton agreed.
鈥淢y first feeling is, that鈥檚 two years of hard work squandered because it was a very, very concerted, long term effort to get that money and so, now, presumably, that鈥檚 gone.鈥�
But he said it could have been prevented by approaching death penalty cases differently.
Victims鈥� advocate groups hope more money will come from the Legislature to support the work. But in the meantime, the in the death penalty standoff will be the biggest indicator of whether the $1.3 million will be restored.
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