It is time to drastically raise the penalties for anyone involved in human trafficking.
Currently, for procurers and mules the rewards simply outweigh the risks in what is estimated to be a $32 billion illicit trade. Is capital punishment unreasonable for those who lure innocent women into depraved enslavement and most likely death? It is time to have that debate, prompted by Megan Griffiths’s fact-based “Eden.”
“Eden” is largely based on the experiences of Chong Kim, a naturalized American citizen who spent years as a captive of a trafficking ring. Hyun Jae is the name of her cinematic analog, but her kidnappers dub her Eden for their clientele.
She has a dangerous secret—she looks younger than she is. Most of the gang’s sex-slaves are disposed of once they reach her age. Partly that is due to their customers’ tastes and partly a function of the extreme abuse they endure.
Determined to survive, Hyun Jae makes herself useful to Vaughan, the erratic deputy of the operation’s local supervisor, Federal Marshal Bob Gault. Vaughan is ruthless and tenacious, but his IQ probably does not break 100.
