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Alert neighbor’s quick thinking leads to human trafficking arrest, Arizona cops say

An “astute” neighbor who overheard two people fighting notified police, leading to a human trafficking arrest, Arizona cops say.
An “astute” neighbor who overheard two people fighting notified police, leading to a human trafficking arrest, Arizona cops say. Getty images/iStock photo

A neighbor noticed something seemed “off” in a fight between two neighbors and called Scottsdale police, leading to the rescue of a human trafficking victim, Arizona cops say.

The neighbor overhead a man threatening to punch a woman, KNXV reported. Court documents obtained by the station say he had hired her as a housekeeper but then forced her to work as a prostitute, keeping her money and legal documents locked in his car.

The two fought when she began refusing to have sex with customers, KNXV reported.

When the neighbor reported the incident to police, the woman told officers she was being trafficked by the man, a Jan. 10 Scottsdale Police Department news release said.

Stephen Hurry was arrested on charges including sex trafficking, pandering, sexual abuse, aggravated assault, assault, criminal damage and disorderly conduct, the release said.

Police did not say when the initial incident took place.

Scottsdale is a city of 242,000 people about 10 miles northeast of Phoenix.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.

To report potential trafficking situations, you can contact the national hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or chat with the online hotline.

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This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Alert neighbor’s quick thinking leads to human trafficking arrest, Arizona cops say."

DS
Don Sweeney
The Sacramento Bee
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
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