The Lake County Human Trafficking Task Force recently received an additional $700,000 grant to aid in its work of prosecuting traffickers and providing aid to victims. The grant money will be allocated over the next three years to support the task force’s ongoing mission to fight labor and sex trafficking. The money is a renewal of a prior grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The task force is co-led by the State’s Attorney’s Office and A Safe Place, which provides services for domestic abuse victims. Police and social service agencies also collaborate on the task force, which was formed in 2022. Before the task force existed, A Safe Place identified many survivors of trafficking, but there were no active prosecutions. Less than 50 trafficking cases were reported in Illinois between 2021-23, according to local prosecutors. Now there are 20 investigations in Lake County, and five cases have been charged. “The data shows that trafficking is a vastly under-reported crime, and that it is one of the reasons why it is so dangerous,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. “Such exploitation of the individual is one of the most damaging and calculated crimes in our system. “These renewed grant funds give us the resources we need to conduct these intensive investigations and to build prosecutions in complex cases,” he said. “Make no mistake, traffickers in Lake County will be investigated and incarcerated for these crimes that exploit others.” Aggravated battery A suspect is facing burglary and other charges after he smashed a glass door to enter a gaming café and scuffled with Lake County sheriff’s deputies, authorities said. Gilberto Mojarro-Garcia, 36, who has no permanent address, was charged with criminal damage to property and government property, and aggravated battery to a peace officer. The sheriff’s office said officers responded to an alarm at around 1:15 a.m. Sunday at the café in the 34500 block of U.S. Route 45 in Third Lake. After discovering the smashed door, officers found blood inside that likely came from cuts sustained by the intruder. During a search of the area, police encountered Mojarro-Garcia, who police said had fresh cuts and blood on his clothing. Officers also found a damaged cash register nearby. After reviewing security footage that police said showed him breaking into the café, police arrested Mojarro-Garcia. While in a squad car, he became combative and began kicking the door, and then the officer who tried to restrain him. The officer was not hurt. At the jail, personnel had to pepper-spray Mojarro-Garcia after he again became combative, police said. Porn charges A North Chicago man has been charged with uploading child pornography, Lake County authorities said. Angel Oseguera Lopez, 24, of the 1000 block of McAlister Avenue, was charged after police recently conducted a search warrant at his home. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped local authorities that someone was uploading illicit images using a mobile app from the McAlister address. Police obtained a warrant, conducted a search and found an electronic device with hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Lopez was charged with two counts of distribution of child pornography.