By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that a youth pastor and foster parent were both recently arrested for human trafficking?
Hillsborough County deputies first arrested 36-year-old Moises Escoto of Temple Terrace. Escoto, is a youth pastor at Iglesia de Cristo Misonera Mahanaim Church. After deputies conducted further investigation into Escoto’s sexual victimization of a child through an app called Sniffes, they also discovered that another man living in Florida, was also using the same app to solicit sex from a child in exchange for money. Hillsborough County deputies identified that man as Joel Lutz, 38, who resides in Pasco County, and as a registered foster parent.
Both Escoto and Lutz are facing charges of use of a computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts, human trafficking for commercial sexual activity, travelling to meet a minor after using computer services or devices for lewd or lascivious exhibition defendant over 18, lewd or lascivious batter, and other criminal charges.
This journalist has written articles recently, as well in the past identifying the State of Florida ranked as third-worst in the United States in terms of human and sex trafficking according to Human Trafficking Institute, and other organizations.