Laurie Cook Heffron
Doctoral student Laurie Cook Heffron was featured on a KXAN TV segment about child trafficking in Austin, and a FOX 7 segment on human smuggling.
Full KXAN TV story and video here. In an operation called Cross Country VIII, the FBI along with several local, state and federal law enforcement partners targeted child sex trafficking in 106 cities throughout the United States, including San Antonio and Austin. Cook Heffron explains the experiences of victims of human trafficking and the difficulties that law enforcement faces when investigating this crime.
Full FOX 7 story and video here. A traffic stop uncovers that several people are being smuggled through Travis County. Cook Heffron explains the difference between human smuggling and human trafficking.
Cook Heffron is in the doctoral program at the School of Social Work, and is the research program coordinator at the school’s Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA), where she has contributed to multiple research projects since 2001.
Updated June 26, 2014.