Inside the fight against human trafficking in Bucks County

Bucks County nonprofit, government, and law enforcement officials continue to combat human trafficking.

The annual update on human trafficking in the county was presented during the Bucks County Commissioners meeting earlier this months. The commissioners proclaimed January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. 

The report was presented through the work by the Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking (BCAT) and the nonprofit victim assistance organization NOVA, which detailed a year of increased investigations, a compensation program, and education efforts in the community. 

NOVA assisted and provided services to more than 75 survivors of human trafficking, officials said. 

Danielle DiUlio, NOVA’s human trafficking victim advocate, said the organization conducted 27 assessments of commercially sexually exploited children under age 21 last year. 

The assessments led to 15 law enforcement investigations, resulting in two pending prosecutions and one conviction, DiUlio said. 

The strategy focuses on: accountability, trauma-informed recovery, and education and outreach.

A development in 2025 involved a U.S. Department of Justice compensation program for victims trafficked via websites Backpage.com and CityGuideX.com.

Backpage.com was seized by federal authorities in 2018 for facilitating sex trafficking.

“Through ongoing collaboration with the FBI, NOVA has been able to begin assisting survivors with their applications to this program,” DiUlio said. “NOVA is hopeful to continue assisting survivors in applying for this program up until the March deadline of 2026.”

The program covers trafficking facilitated through Backpage advertisements between 2004 and 2018, and CityGuideX advertisements between 2018 and 2020.

Recovery efforts also include specialized housing and recovery. 

Officials said the Haven House (YWCA) served 20 individuals, including children through transitional and rapid rehousing, while The Well and Melanie’s House provided housing for 13 women. The Worth It Program helped 252 participants, including youth and men. 

BCAT engaged nearly 650 community members through 21 events in 2025, including special training for medical professionals.

“We’ve also trained nurses and medical professionals because we know that about 85 percent of survivors of human trafficking have some sort of connection or interaction with the health care field while they’re trafficked,” said Jamie Pfister, NOVA’s training coordinator.

Over the past year, NOVA partnered with local businesses, including the Black Cat Collective in Perkasie, to provide free tattoo removal or cover-ups for survivors branded by their traffickers, DiUlio said. 

DiUlio recognized Bucks County Detectives Dante Montella, Eric Landamia, and Kelcy Pitts, along with First Assistant Bucks County District Attorney Kristen McElroy, for their work on human trafficking cases.

“I have worked alongside these individuals extremely closely on trafficking case. Without them, many of these traffickers would still be exploiting others in our community,” DiUlio said.

Commissioner Bob Harvie read a proclamation and noted human trafficking is a public health crisis. 

The proclamation stated an estimated that 27 million people are subjected to trafficking globally, noting that while it can happen to anyone, those facing poverty, abuse, or social disconnection are at highest risk.

Commissioner Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia said the push for awareness is yielding results. 

“This is the first year that I have gotten several emails and calls about people who believe they may have seen something,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “I think that’s really important.”

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo commended the work of local groups and law enforcement to fight human trafficking. 

BCAT, which was founded in 2013, is working to point out the humanity of the survivors of human trafficking. 

Pfister recalled a recent local panel where a survivor who had endured five years of exploitation was asked what she wanted the public to know.

“The survivor simply stated, ‘I’m a human,’” Pfister said. “That is a huge reminder to all of us… that survivors need to be treated with dignity and respect and they need to be believed.”

NOVA’s free and confidential phone line to support victims of crime is available around the clock at 1-800-675-6900.  

The Pennsylvania Office of Victims’ Services offers the below information on how to spot signs of potential human trafficking:

How to Recognize Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking occurs when individuals are made to perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Any child under 18 who is involved in commercial sex is legally a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether there is a third party involved.

Someone may be experiencing sex trafficking if they:

• Want to stop participating in commercial sex but feel scared or unable to leave the situation.
• Disclose that they were reluctant to engage in commercial sex but that someone pressured them into it.
• Live where they work or are transported by guards between home and workplace.
• Are children who live with or are dependent on a family member with a substance use problem or who is abusive.
• Have a “pimp” or “manager” in the commercial sex industry.
• Work in an industry where it may be common to be pressured into performing sex acts for money, such as a strip club, illicit cantina, go-go bar, or illicit massage business.
• Have a controlling parent, guardian, romantic partner, or “sponsor” who will not allow them to meet or speak with anyone alone or who monitors their movements, spending, or communications.

How to Recognize Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking includes situations where men, women, and children are forced to work because of debt, immigration status, threats and violence. Keeping victims isolated — physically or emotionally — is a key method of control in most labor trafficking situations. But that does not mean you never cross paths with someone who is experiencing trafficking. 

Someone may be experiencing labor trafficking or exploitation if they:

• Feel pressured by their employer to stay in a job or situation they want to leave
• Owe money to an employer or recruiter or are not being paid what they were promised or are owed
• Do not have control of their passport or other identity documents
• Are living and working in isolated conditions, largely cut off from interaction with others or support systems
• Appear to be monitored by another person when talking or interacting with others
• Are being threatened by their boss with deportation or other harm
• Are working in dangerous conditions without proper safety gear, training, adequate breaks, or other protections
• Are living in dangerous, overcrowded, or inhumane conditions provided by an employer