Montana DOT Motor Carrier Services Enforcement Officers Provide Life-Saving Help to Human Trafficking Victim

By Col. Russ Christoferson, Bureau Chief, Montana Department of Transportation; CVSA Past President

Trigger Warning: Sexual Harassment, References to Kidnapping and Rape

On July 11, Capt. Kevin Adkins, Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) Motor Carrier Services (MCS) District 5 supervisor, received a series of strange emails from an unfamiliar source. In the first set of emails, there was an attachment for an overweight/oversize superload permit. While inspecting the contents of the email, it was determined that the sender may be in a human trafficking or labor trafficking situation. The attachments that accompanied the emails were screenshots of a mobile device that had sexually explicit photos and sexual innuendos, along with a message insinuating the victim was being trafficked. Capt. Adkins was able to identify the vehicle from the superload permit and sent an email to his district officers asking them to look for the truck.

MCS Cpl. Justin Moran was patrolling the area west of Billings, Montana, and spotted the suspect vehicle at a truck stop in Columbus, Montana. He initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle after it entered the highway. Then, two vehicles appearing to be pilot vehicles pulled up behind the patrol vehicle. After speaking with the male driver of the truck-tractor, Cpl. Moran went back to speak with the pilot vehicle drivers. The first pilot vehicle was driven by a woman who appeared to be under duress and was identified through questioning that she was the one who had sent the emails. The victim was afraid to keep talking and didn’t want to get in trouble, but Cpl. Moran assured her that he was there to help. The woman broke down crying, thanking him. Cpl. Moran told her that he had to speak with the driver of the truck-tractor and perform an inspection because additional help was on the way, and he wanted to buy some time.

Capt. Adkins arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, along with two Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agents. The DCI agents interviewed the male driver and the female victim separately and pieced together what had transpired. The driver of the truck-tractor was an owner-operator who leased his trucktractor, along with the pickup truck (the pilot vehicle), to the carrier. The driver offered the victim a job to drive the pilot vehicle from Iowa to Montana and promised a certain amount of money. During the trip, the amount to be paid was reduced from what was initially promised. Whenever the victim asked about money, the man would only give her a small amount, keeping the remaining balance to help control the victim. The man would not provide any money for lodging and would tell the victim that she could sleep with him in his truck.

The night before the stop was fairly cold, and the man refused to let the victim sleep in the pilot vehicle. He told her that she had the option of sleeping outside or in his truck. He then began to send multiple sexually explicit text messages to the victim, asking her to come into the sleeper berth of his trucktractor. When the victim told the male that she was going to leave, he stated that she could leave, but he would report the pilot vehicle as stolen. He threatened her by saying she would be arrested and no one would believe her. The man drove the victim to a nearby truck stop, would not give her any money and told her to find her own place to sleep for the night. At some point during the night, the victim began sending out emails, one of which was to Capt. Adkins.

During the interviews, the victim stated that she was in recovery from addiction and had very little trust in law enforcement. She was still worried she was in trouble because she didn’t think they believed her. The DCI agents reassured her that they did believe her and would help get her away from the situation. The DCI agents let the victim know that resources were available; they could arrange for her to stay in a motel for the night and purchase a plane ticket home for her. The victim agreed, grabbed her belongings and went with the agents to Billings, where she was given a safe location to spend the night. The following day, she was given an airline ticket to her parents’ home in Kentucky.

The human trafficking training that Cpl. Moran and Capt. Adkins received from TAT (formerly Truckers Against Trafficking) at the MCS annual in-service training in 2019 gave them the tools and knowledge to identify the trafficking situation and utilize the proper resources. Their professional and empathetic demeanor during the traffic stop and their cooperation with other agencies removed the victim from a dangerous situation.

Since the victim has returned home, she has emailed Cpt. Adkins on two separate occasions. The emails (shown below) have been edited to remove identifying details of the victim and details of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape.