A Memphis man, who police say forced his girlfriend into a life of prostitution, is in jail.

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(Memphis) Tonight a Memphis man, who police say forced his girlfriend into a life of prostitution, is in jail.

If convicted, 39-year-old Anthony Lewis could spend a lot of time in prison.

He’s charged under a human trafficking law.

When some people think of human trafficking they think of this sort of thing being a big problem in countries like China or Thailand, but one Memphis man discovered it’s a problem that affects many people right here in the MidSouth.

He’s made it his cause to make sure the people who are doing this pay dearly.

Grimes Street is off the beaten path.

It’s quiet in the daytime but at night things sometimes change.

John Wryce told us, “As far as down on this end, we kind of mind our business. I do see the police frequently, but I’m trying to make sure I don’t be involved.”

What happened in the 1600 block of Grimes lead to a sex crimes investigation and aggravated rape and human trafficking charges.

Police say 39-year-old Anthony Lewis forced a 23-year-old woman into a life of prostitution.

When she wouldn’t agree, he beat her severely with a 2×4.

“A lot of people will look at a woman like the one in the case this morning and say oh that’s just a prostitute and she’s going out and she’s a criminal. Whereas, in reality we saw she was coerced into it,” said Ryan Dalton, Operation Broken Silence.

Dalton is founder of Operation Broken Silence.

His group works to fight human sex trafficking.

“There’s a few different ways that a person could find themselves in that position. It could start and they go out and do prostitution willingly or it could be from the very beginning that they’re tricked or coerced,” said Dalton.

Operation Broken Silence is the major support behind several new laws awaiting Governor Haslam’s signature.

They target stiffer penalties for those who force children into prostitution and target Internet classifieds like ones that have been featured on the website, Backpage.

“We can go after the people that are facilitating these ads on-line, so if a trafficker post a picture of a minor it’s a Class C felony,” said Dalton.

Dalton blames the anonymity of the internet, ”There are many classified ads on the internet that allow traffickers to post what look like massage ads, prostitution ads but often time there are children being sold on-line.”.

Governor Haslam is scheduled to sign the new human trafficking bills into law May 29th.