Trump promised a sex-trafficking crackdown, his Justice Department hasn’t delivered

"You can't say ​something is a priority and then not provide the resources to make that happen,” said Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor in New York who led the prosecution of rapper and actor Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was accused of sex trafficking and was convicted last year on two counts of transportation for prostitution.

But investigations have stalled and prosecutions declined in the past six months because of staffing shortages, funding cuts, immigration enforcement and growing distrust of the government among victims, according to Reuters interviews with 25 former prosecutors, current agents and victims’ advocates, and a review of federal court records.

One veteran federal agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, said sex-trafficking has not been a priority since Trump took office ‌and launched his mass-deportations ⁠campaign.