The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for a child sex trafficking suspect from Milwaukee. | Unsplash.com
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for a child sex trafficking suspect from Milwaukee. | Unsplash.com
The FBI has offered a $5,000 reward for a child sex trafficking suspect from Wisconsin.
On Dec. 23, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Milwaukee office James Hurley announced the reward for assistance in arresting Milwaukee resident Adrian Cortez Edwards. Edwards, 38, is 6 feet tall, weighs 185 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair. He also has a distinctive large Wisconsin “W” tattoo on his neck. Fox 6 Milwaukee reported that he is wanted because of his involvement in the child sex trafficking industry. He is considered armed and dangerous.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there have been 701 cases of human trafficking in Wisconsin since 2007. In these cases, 762 individuals who had a high likelihood of being human trafficking victims were identified and 708 individuals who had a moderate likelihood of being human trafficking victims were identified. In 2019, 94 cases of trafficking were reported.
According to the Justice Department website, the U.S. federal government awarded $101 million last year to combat human trafficking.
"The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth," then-Attorney General William Barr said in a September 2020 press release. "The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors.”
The FBI advises not to approach Edwards and instead call 911 or the FBI at 414-276-4684. Information can also be submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
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