Child Trafficking Cases: Can Courthouses be Secure and Sensitive?

As fans of the iconic Yellowstone television franchise can attest, the difficult topic of child trafficking was front and center in a recent two-part episode of the popular new network spin-off series Marshals. It’s unfortunately understandable why the show’s creators felt the topic was relevant:

• In 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 113,500 reports of possible child sex trafficking, a 323% increase from 2024.
• Of the more than 32,000 reports of missing children to NCMEC, 1 in 7 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.
• A total of 2,329 persons were referred to U.S. Attorneys for human trafficking offenses in fiscal year 2023, a 23% increase from 2013. The number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking in U.S. District Courts increased by 73% from 2013 to 2023.

As court planning consultants, caseload trends provide a critical foundation for determining the future needs for judgeships and court staff. In addition, the number and type of cases also directly affect the spaces needed within a courthouse in a variety of ways. Over the past several years, cases involving the trafficking and abuse of children have sadly been regularly referenced by stakeholders during our space planning discussions.

Here are a few observations on how these cases can affect plans for renovating or constructing new courthouse spaces:

Magnifying Existing Deficiencies

Cases involving child abuse and trafficking can push the limits of a court facility, making apparent those areas in which the courthouse falls short of modern standards for security and operations.

For example, courthouses that lack separate circulation zones for judges, prisoners, and the public can contribute to tense and dangerous confrontations in shared courthouse corridors and waiting areas

The judge in a child trafficking case might board an elevator only to find herself feet away from members of the cartel or gang associated with the accused defendant. Distraught family members of the affected child might similarly encounter the in-custody defendant being led to or from the courtroom in a narrow, shared hallway. Such encounters are always concerning, but in a high-stakes, emotional proceeding, they are even more problematic.

Requiring Adequate Holding Cell Space

Child trafficking and abuse cases tax the deputies responsible for managing pretrial detainees (and in-custody witnesses) and the spaces in which these detainees are temporarily housed during court proceedings.

• Many courthouses contain a few group holding cells in a shared central cellblock. However, given the nature of the alleged crimes, accused child traffickers or abusers may not be safe in a group holding cell.
• Detained witnesses against the defendant need to be held separate from the defendant (and perhaps from acquaintances of the defendant).
• There are separate but related space needs for children who are victims or witnesses in the case. Children in these circumstances require spaces that are sensitive to their situation, which may include separate, secure waiting areas that provide “sight and sound” separation from the defendant and adult detainees.

When the courthouse lacks sufficient holding cell capacity, deputies are often forced to improvise, shuffling detainees between the available cells and perhaps makeshift holding areas such as offices and conference rooms. This affects the safety of litigants and witnesses and the timeliness of court proceedings. Therefore, it is important to have an appropriate mix of group and individual holding cells between the main cellblock and the courtroom floors.

Accommodating Large Jury Pools

Cases involving crimes against children are often high-profile, emotional affairs that garner significant media attention. The potential sentence may be lengthy, so cases often go to trial, rather than settling with a plea deal. This combination creates difficulty empanelling a jury for several reasons:

• The nature of crimes against children makes such cases difficult for many citizens to approach objectively. The evidence and testimony can be graphic and disturbing. Many potential jurors are dismissed based on their admitted inability to render an impartial verdict under the circumstances.
• Given the media attention, many potential jurors may develop preconceived notions about the case, or they may realize they have connections to one of the parties in the case. Particularly in communities where families tend to stay rooted for multiple generations, the interconnectedness between parties to the case and members of the jury pool can result in substantial portions of the jury pool being excused.
• Finally, trials involving serious crimes against children can be lengthy, and so can the subsequent deliberations. Many potential jurors have work and family commitments that preclude them from serving on a jury in a case that might last multiple weeks.

With so many reasons potential jurors can be excused or dismissed, a large jury pool is needed to ensure a full jury (plus alternates) can be seated. This directly affects the necessary seating capacity of the courtroom gallery, as well as the size of the jury assembly area.

We recently worked with a large court that regularly manages high-profile, multi-party trials, often involving crimes against children. The judges and court leadership were unanimous in citing jury selection in these trials as their “high water mark” for courtroom gallery seating capacity, at over 100 persons.

While we could not recommend that all trial courtrooms include 100-person galleries, we did recommend this seating capacity for two “special proceedings” courtrooms. We also recommended sizing the jury assembly area to accommodate two concurrent high-profile jury trials.

While this creates a few admittedly large spaces in the new courthouse, these spaces can also be used to host civic and community events, investitures and other ceremonies, and large training events. Most importantly, they ensure the court can accommodate jury pools appropriately sized to support high-profile trials involving crimes against children.

Final Thoughts

Child trafficking and abuse cases force courts to confront some of the worst aspects of humanity. Although these topics are difficult to consider and discuss, they are unfortunately part of our current reality. If your court is considering a renovation or expansion, including an experienced court planning consultant on the design team can ensure that your future space includes provisions to handle your most challenging and resource-intensive cases.