San Francisco public defender calls for no drug charges against human trafficking victims

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco public defender Mano Raju stood on the front steps of the San Francisco Hall of Justice on Tuesday and said a man acquitted of drug charges was a victim of human trafficking.

At the press conference, the San Francisco Public Defender's Office called on District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to stop bringing charges against immigrants who are forced to sell drugs.

“There are many other cases like this one in the pipeline and we have, through diligent work with our clients, encouraged them to actually tell their stories,” Raju said. “There are many people in the state and across the country who have not done that, but it's really important that the truth comes out in the courtrooms and that juries have the opportunity to really listen and decide if someone is a victim of human trafficking.”

Assistant Public Defender Kathleen Natividad played a recorded statement in Spanish from a man who said he was 17 years old when he was trying to escape poverty in Honduras and a human trafficker brought him to the United States with the promise of work.

“He came to the United States. He was forced to sell drugs. He was arrested several times,” Natividad said.

Defense attorneys said the man was afraid of police and feared for his life, but agreed to testify in court because he was facing three charges of possession of drugs for sale, including meth, fentanyl and cocaine base.

Under a 2022 amendment to California Penal Code 236.23, victims of human trafficking can be acquitted of crimes if they were coerced by threat of harm.

At the rally, defense attorneys said prosecutors should help their clients instead of accusing them.

“A jury of 12 San Francisco residents have testified under oath before a judge that they believe he is a victim of human trafficking. To date, they have not contacted victim services,” said Elizabeth Camacho, an assistant public defender who handles capital crimes.

Jenkins responded that there was no truth to the signs at the press conference claiming that her office was cooperating with federal immigration authorities on deportations or that it was ignoring victims of human trafficking.

“We have no evidence that he was actually a victim of human trafficking. If he wants to cooperate with law enforcement and disclose what happened and provide more information, law enforcement will of course look into that,” Jenkins said.

She added: “My office has never worked with ICE or other immigration authorities. We follow sanctuary city rules and policies in place in San Francisco.”

She pointed out that a lawyer had been temporarily assigned to work with federal prosecutors, but added that security measures had been taken.

“We have worked very hard to create guardrails to ensure that he continues to comply with the City and County of San Francisco's sanctuary policies. He has no contact with ICE or immigration officials,” Jenkins said.

At the rally, the public defender's office urged the district attorney to help his client obtain what is known as a “T visa” or “U visa,” which allows victims of human trafficking or crime to stay in the United States.

The district attorney said she remains skeptical that her client is a victim.

Jana Katsuyama is a reporter at KTVU. You can reach Jana by email at [email protected]. You can also call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU and Read her other reports on her bio page.