
Russell “Bruce” Moncrief was a bail bondsman with access to incarcerated Florida women at his fingertips. For at least a decade, he exploited them, bailing them out of jail in exchange for sex with either himself or other “buyers” or pimps. Those days might be over.
Moncrief’s arrest came after months of investigators reviewing hundreds of calls between him and incarcerated people. It isn’t just him, though. Other cops, like Moncrief, offer dropped arrests in exchange for sexual “favors.” Police routinely harass sex workers on the street. Medical professionals assault incarcerated patients. Prison guards assign trans women to incarcerated men so they can be raped.
This environment, combined with the fact that as many as 86% of women in jails are already survivors of sexual violence, isn’t safe — even though the criminal legal system claims a monopoly on “justice” and sexual violence response.
U.S. prisons and policing carry on the legacy of enslavement and colonization. What is slavery if not human trafficking? As it did with enslaved Black women centuries ago, the system identifies incarcerated Black women as deserving of dehumanization, sexualization, and exploitation.
Today, in a small twist of irony, Moncrief is the one behind bars without bail. Though his case ended in punishment, it’s critical to recognize that the Moncriefs of the world are moving pieces of a larger system enabling the horrors they commit.