Bismarck Man Charged with Human Trafficking | Video

NBC North Dakota News | 3/7/2013

A Bismarck man has been charged with human trafficking. The Ward County Sheriff`s Department says Thomas Dietz, 34, made arrangements to have sex with a 14-year-old girl in Minot. Those arrangements were made online with an undercover deputy posing as an adult willing to arrange the encounter. Authorities arrested Dietz once when he arrived in Minot.

"When you hear about stuff like this, everybody`s concerned, "Oh my gosh, I can`t believe this is happening here." Well, this type of thing isn`t new, it`s just now being uncovered because we starting to get in law enforcement the technology and the resources to do these types of investigations," said Sgt. Mark Holter.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 21.

We spoke with Patrick Atkinson, founder of the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons, otherwise known as ITEMP. Click on the video link to watch the interview.

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