VAN BUREN, Ind. — A Van Buren man was arrested Friday after an investigation into human sex trafficking.
Officers responded to a disturbance call in the 400 block of West Main Street around 3:40 a.m. Friday and discovered two women, a mother and her adult daughter, had barricaded themselves inside a room in the home.
The deputies with the Grant County Sheriff's Office rescued the women, who were reportedly shaking with fear. They told police they were afraid of being injured and deported as a control tactic, which had been going on for some time.
The victims said they lived in the home after coming to Indiana from Venezuela in April 2023 on a work visa sponsored by the 59-year-old man who was arrested. She told police she had met the man online.
(NOTE: 13News does not name suspects until charges have been filed by prosecutors.)
The sheriff's office said the deputies requested assistance from detectives after recognizing the signs of human trafficking. An arrest warrant was later issued for the man, who was taken into custody on preliminary charges of promotion of human sexual trafficking, domestic battery, criminal confinement and voyeurism.
