'Phoenix Court' helps Ingham County's underage sex trafficking victims

LANSING – A 15-year-old girl, charged with truancy and assault, stepped to podium last week in front of Judge Laura Baird.  

Two court officials stood with her, their hands placed comfortingly on the backs of her shoulders. The girl, a victim of sexual exploitation, was there not to be punished, but supported. There were no scowls, only smiles, because the girl was making great strides. Over six months, she'd jumped two grades to catch up to her peers.  

It was one week before Thanksgiving, and it was the inaugural session of Ingham County's new Phoenix Court, a treatment program for underage victims of sex trafficking and other types of sexual exploitation that allows the youth and their families to receive treatment and avoid criminal charges. The court, among the first of its kind in Michigan, is part of a growing, nationwide recognition that many people who sell their bodies are forced or coerced into doing so. 

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The girl, a Lansing native whom the State Journal is not identifying because she is a victim of a sex crime, transferred into the program last week from a juvenile detention facility in another county. While her parents receive parenting classes and other treatment, the girl is staying at Footprints, a residential treatment facility, and attending the alternative high school Ingham Academy.  

Her short life had seen its share of troubles, and she'd been at Footprints already once before. That venture "didn't go so well," Baird prodded the girl from the bench.  

This time will go better, the girl said, for one simple reason: "I'm healthier." 

An evolving approach 

Greater Lansing has seen its share of high-profile sex trafficking cases involving underage girls. 

Most famously, a federal investigation into a sex trafficking ring ran by Lansing's Tyrone Smith — a sex ring that included a 17-year-old girl — helped federal, state and Ingham County authorities determine that Stuart Dunnings III, a longtime Ingham County prosecutor, had for years paid women for sex. Dunnings, who was not charged with having sex with a minor, was released from the Clinton County Jail in September after serving 10 months for felony misconduct in office and a misdemeanor charge of engaging in the services of a prostitute. He still has two years of probation to serve. 

The Smith investigation also recently helped investigators charge Jeffrey Jay Howenstine, a former Lansing school teacher, with multiple prostitution-related crimes, including soliciting a minor for prostitution. 

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Statewide, reports of forced sex labor are rising, partly because of better awareness and partly because of the ease the Internet affords to the crime. Last year, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center received tips on 249 human trafficking cases, up from 69 in 2012. This year is on pace to see another uptick.  

The long sentences for the pimps and jail time for the johns reflects law enforcement's changing approach to prostitution. Police now spend more time talking to the women, trying to understand what brought them to the street in the first place. 

Ingham County's Phoenix Court is a continuation of that changing approach. 

Planning began after Baird and others from Ingham County Circuit Court attended training sponsored by the state's Human Trafficking Commission a couple years ago. Baird realized there was a dearth of services in Ingham County for victims of sex trafficking, and she was inspired to change that.  

"We've had kids who have been trafficked in this system. I've been on the bench 17 years; I've had them all along," Baird said. "And it came to light, particularly, via truancy court. So, we know we have this population, and we didn't have a formal way of dealing with it." 

Baird said they were able to start Phoenix Court without any new spending, only redirected resources, but they are hunting for grants. Housing is particularly lacking for sex trafficking victims, she said. 

'A different avenue' 

A package of laws signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2014 allows judges such as Baird to take jurisdiction over a family without juvenile criminal charges against the children or state abuse-and-neglect petitions against the parents. Families can come into Phoenix Court through such traditional means, like its first participant last week, but could also come in through a referral by schools, parents or others.  

All kids at the Ingham County juvenile detention facility are also screened for signs they're at risk for being trafficked, such as a history of sexual abuse or if they're frequent runaways.  

Taking jurisdiction allows Baird to mandate services and to monitor participants' progress. Participants must appear in Baird's courtroom in downtown Lansing once a week.  

Phoenix Court participants — Deputy Court Administrator Scott LeRoy said they expect between 15 and 20 a year, though no one's really sure how many might end up there — receive treatment from the court's own social worker and from Peckham Inc., the Firecracker Foundation, and others. 

The court may help the victims reach out to police, if they want, but they're not pressured to do so, and area police have been trained to respect the victim's boundaries, LeRoy said. 

Unlike traditional court proceedings, in which the judge simply orders the defendant into programs, Baird said it's important in the Phoenix Court for families to have a say in their plan, a stake in their outcome. Like victims of domestic violence, those who've been trafficked may not even realize they need help, and it's incumbent upon Baird to build a relationship with kids so they trust she has their best interests at heart. 

"It's an issue of trying to present the girl with a different avenue she can take in life, without making a lot of judgements or criminalizing her," Baird said.  

'I'm proud of you' 

Baird worked last week to build that relationship with the court's first participant. The girl had at least another six months under Baird's jurisdiction, and the judge said she wanted to get to know her. 

Smiling from the bench at the young woman before her, Baird asked the girl about her likes, about her plans. The girl loved math, and reading and writing. She wanted to graduate on time — she would be the first in her family to graduate high school — and go to Michigan State University, maybe become a counselor. 

"I love to motivate people," the girl said. "That's just me." 

Baird asked about obstacles.  

The girl said she knew people at the alternative school, and they were already trying to tear her down. She was worried about "people finding out about my past and using it against me. Now that I'm back and I'm healthier, they wanna bring me back down." 

 The girl said she wouldn't let them. 

"If you have any problems, there are people you can talk to," Baird said. 

"I know," the girl said. 

Then the court officials presented the girl with a pair of "wings," like the phoenix rising — they were printed on a gift card — to celebrate her success thus far. 

"I'm proud of you," Baird told the girl. 

"I'm proud of you for making this program happen," the girl told the judge. 

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.