A.G. committed to trafficking fight

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI/AP) - Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is calling human trafficking a priority, but says his office is not charged with convening a task force mandated to address the crime.

Kilmartin said Monday his office will aggressively prosecute human trafficking cases -- but the 2009 law is in its infancy in being enforced: "We just prosecuted the first cases under it," he said. Back in April, Andy Fakhoury pleaded no contest to charges of enslaving teenage girls into prostitution. Another man, Brandon Frails, was charged in October with acting as a pimp.

Over the weekend, the Associated Press reported a task force created by law two years ago to combat human trafficking has never met. "That's an issue," said Kilmartin.

The task force has 16 slots, including one set aside for the AG's office. The law says the task force is supposed to choose its chairperson. It does not designate who is responsible for calling the first meeting.

Kilmartin says the AG is not responsible for launching the task force, but will provide any resources the group needs. He says he recently returned from a human trafficking conference.