Anti-Predator Project logo

Featured Partner · Anti-Trafficking

Anti-Predator Project, Inc.

Incorporated in Florida on January 12, 2012, Anti-Predator Project is the first and only fully licensed, IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) private investigative agency in the world specializing in human trafficking — the criminal investigation of traffickers, the recovery of American children sold on the black market, missing children, cyber-predators, and witness and victim protection for survivors and their families.

Founded
2012
Status
501(c)(3)
Offices
FL · TX · AZ
Model
100% Volunteer

Documented Impact

The work, in numbers.

4,000+

Pages of prosecutable evidence delivered to U.S. Attorney, Florida Statewide Prosecutor, and 30+ agencies

13,000+

Volunteer hours donated to victims, families, and law enforcement

$3M+

In time and resources contributed to law enforcement nationwide

3,000+

Officers trained across the United States and Mexico

Case Outcomes

Real people. Real outcomes.

  • Returned a fugitive to Texas wanted on 9 counts of trafficking a minor — recovering another survivor in the process.
  • Brought home a 17-year-old girl murdered by the cartel in Mexico, paid for her funeral, and relocated her family to safety.
  • Recovered a 26-year-old woman missing for over a decade in Mexico, along with the two children she had while held captive.
  • Investigations responsible for at least two life sentences and over 100 years of combined prison time.

How They Operate

Pioneers in private-sector trafficking investigations.

Anti-Predator Project's team is composed of former law enforcement, military special operations, intelligence officers, and subject matter experts — field investigators, intelligence analysts, and computer forensics specialists. Every member volunteers; no one takes a salary. Clients are never charged.

Their Human Trafficking Technology and Intelligence Centers — operated with the International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators — give under-resourced law enforcement access to the technology and expertise needed to keep pace with traffickers. Three centers are active today (Gwinnett County GA, Knoxville TN, Miami FL), with a West Coast location planned.

Leadership

Meet the President.

Trent Steele, President and National Director of Investigative Operations

Trent Steele

President & National Director of Investigative Operations, Anti-Predator Project

A licensed private investigator in Florida since 2011, Mr. Steele co-founded Anti-Predator Project alongside his wife in 2012. Over the past 14 years he has become a recognized authority on human trafficking, missing persons, and organized crime, consulting with nonprofits and law enforcement agencies both domestically and internationally. He has personally worked more than 200 human trafficking cases.

In 2016 he joined American Special Investigative Group as a partner, leading the firm's Private Intelligence and Sensitive Activities Division. In 2019 he became a credentialed federal investigator with defense contractor Peraton, specializing in HUMINT and counterintelligence on assignment to the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of State — conducting more than 100 investigations to safeguard national security.

In 2020 he founded Steele International Consulting, LLC, advising government agencies on intelligence, counterintelligence, counterinsurgency, HUMINT, clandestine operations, and logistics. He continues to contract with DoD and the Department of State.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Steele held management positions with G4S — supporting DOT and DHS contracts focused on preventing mass casualty events and protecting critical infrastructure — and served nearly a decade with the Children's Home Society of Florida, helping more than 300 foster youth transition into independent adulthood as a Certified Child Welfare Case Manager and Independent Living Coordinator.

Education

  • B.S. Criminal Justice, Forensic Psychology — Kaplan University (Summa Cum Laude)
  • A.A. Criminal Justice — Northeast Iowa Community College

Academic Honors

  • Golden Key International Honour Society
  • Alpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society
  • Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society

Select Licenses

  • FL Private Investigator & Agency
  • TX Private Investigator & Agency
  • AZ Private Investigator & Agency
  • Certified CVSA Examiner

Affiliations

  • Association of Former Intelligence Officers
  • Int'l Assoc. of Human Trafficking Investigators
  • Int'l Assoc. of Forensic Criminologists
  • South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force

As Featured In

  • Nancy Grace
  • News Nation
  • Good Morning America
  • ABC 15 Arizona
  • Crime Junkie Podcast
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Kendall Rae
  • Crime Door TV
  • Rise TV
  • Epidemic (Book)

Agency Licenses

  • FloridaA1300219
  • TexasA105434401
  • Arizona1753162

Fully licensed · IRS-recognized 501(c)(3)