Minnesota ranks 3rd in nation for human trafficking convictions in 2019

(FOX 9) - Minnesota ranks 31st in the United States for the number of human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts and 3rd in the nation for court convictions, according to the Human Trafficking Institute.

The state summary study from 2019 showed Minnesota had six active criminal cases and one new case throughout the year, putting it at 31 out of the 52 states and territories studied. 

Neighboring Wisconsin ranked 10th in the nation with 17 active cases. 

In 2019, 26 defendants were convicted in criminal human trafficking cases, putting Minnesota 3rd in the country in that statistical category.  

Those courts ordered 18 out of the 26 convicted defendants to pay restitution to their victims, which ranks 8th in the nation.

The 2019 Federal Human Trafficking Report, which compiled the data, looks through every federal criminal and civil human trafficking case that the U.S. courts handle each year.

In 2019, federal courts in 52 states and U.S. territories handled 785 total criminal and civil human trafficking cases. Only four states and territories did not have a single federal human trafficking case last year.