Category: States
Human Trafficking is the Focus of New Place of Hope Initiative
The Place of Hope held an inaugural Human Trafficking Awareness Luncheon at St Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach. Place of Hope, Palm Beach County’s largest children’s organization; the Boca West Children’s Foundation; and other partners are fighting to interrupt the recruitment of more young people into the human trafficking system with another weapon – face-to-face education. Florida ranks 3rd in the nation for reported cases of human trafficking.
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Human trafficking survivor shares how she fell victim after Tinder date
When she was 19 she was planning to join the Air Force and moved to California, where she met someone on Tinder and eventually agreed to move in with him. Before she moved in he took her out to a nice dinner, placed her purse with her phone, keys and wallet on his chair and asked her how she was going to pay for what he was providing. “He said ‘OK now you’re going to be a stripper and an escort’ and the only thing I could say was ‘OK,’” Skirvin said. “One of the reasons human trafficking has escalated exponentially is that there is so much reward and there’s very little risk … there is very little chance they’ll get caught, and if they do a lot of times they’re not getting prosecuted,” Reyes said.
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District Attorney hails $3 million grant to schools to fight human trafficking
Public schools in San Diego County will soon be playing a much bigger role in keeping students safe. Their focus is on protecting children from human traffickers. UBS Optimus Foundation, associated with UBS, a global financial services company is providing a $3 million grant to a new group called the San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective. The goal of the Collective is to reach students through three programs that emphasize education, empowerment and intervention.
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Slavery in the shadows: Survivor tells her painful story for Human Trafficking Awareness Month
A modeling gig set up by her boyfriend was the first night Sara was sexually assaulted. What followed was about six months of drug-hazed sexual servitude. The man she thought was her boyfriend became her trafficker. Sara was trafficked for sex from the Naples area to Miami, Tampa and Orlando in 2012. She was 21 at the time. “You don’t have to be broken,” she said. “It’s not the same recovery road for everyone. Not everyone will feel how I feel. Not everyone will surpass trauma the same way. It’s about how bad you want out.”
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How to spot and stop a human trafficking event
Des Moines has been ranked in the top 100 cities as a human trafficking cite…Last year, the Altoona PD trained all their law enforcement and first responders on how to spot it. Detective Harmon says that parents should know what is on their child’s cell phone at all times. He explains that most kids, ages 14 to 16, get picked up after meeting someone on the internet and through apps.
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Understanding is key in human trafficking awareness
Locally, on January 25th, End Slavery Cincinnati and The Salvation Army of Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky will present the 2019 Anti-Human Trafficking Conference at the American Red Cross of Cincinnati. The conference will educate participants on improving the healthcare response to human trafficking, strategies to aid and provide legal services to survivors, and other topics within a selection of 12 workshops. There will also be a keynote address on advocacy delivered by a panel of human trafficking survivors.
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Mississippi bill aims to help minors who are sex trafficking victims
The Republican leader of the Mississippi House is pushing a bill that he says could protect children who are victims of sex trafficking. House Bill 571 would prevent charges from being filed against trafficking victims who are younger than 18. The minor would be taken into protective custody and counseling would be provided.
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Human trafficking investigators see results in 9 months with ‘dedicated resources’
The Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force has seen roughly as much activity in its first nine months of full-time work as it did in four years of part-time work, according to officials. From April 2018 to the end of December, 62 sex buyers and eight traffickers were charged in Stearns County, officials reported. “I don’t think there’s any case out there that’s more complicated or dynamic than these types of cases in sex trafficking,” said Jeff Oxton, St. Cloud assistant police chief. “And so that’s why we need the dedicated resources.”
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Kidnapper in Christopherson case pleads guilty to all charges
Maria Ann Counts, who was arrested for the kidnapping, rape, and sexual exploitation of a Bonney Lake teenager, has pled guilty to all charges last week. The dramatic saga began May 9, 2018, when Lily Christopherson disappeared from her home in the middle of the night.
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Human traffickers’ new tool to lure children: online video games
Last week’s arrest of seven adults on charges that they kept two boys prisoner in a St. Petersburg mobile home serves as a warning that predators are using popular gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Minecraft to lure in children. At least one of those boys was contacted through the online gaming app Discord.
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A Victim-Centered Approach to Sex Trafficking is Critical
Since January is Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Month, it is worth repeating for those unfamiliar with this modern-day slavery that human trafficking is the second-largest and the fastest-growing global crime, yielding an estimated $32 billion annually in profits. And the most profitable subcategory of human trafficking, with an estimated 21 million victims worldwide, is sex trafficking of women and children.
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In Bethseda, MD. Marriott International today announced that, as of this month, it has successfully trained 500,000 hotel workers to spot the signs of human trafficking in its hotels and how to respond if they do, marking a watershed moment in the global fight against this multinational crime. Sheraton Times Square hotel workers learn signs of human trafficking as part of Marriott International’s mandatory awareness training.
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21-year-old woman accused of running Norcross sex trafficking operation
Shaela Latrece Chatman of Riverdale, GA. is accused of taking two teenage girls to the Gwinnett Pointe apartment complex where she allegedly set up the meetings and prices online for the girls, ages 14 and 15, and then drove them “to dates located at hotels, apartments and houses,”
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FBI Minneapolis helps recover sex trafficking victims, makes arrest in nationwide sting
Tuesday, the FBI seized www.supermatchescort.com, the organization’s website, as well as 25 sub sites off that main page and about 500 other domains. A 46-year-old man named Zongtao Chen was the leader of the criminal enterprise. He is a Canadian national living in Toronto, Canada.
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‘All he sees her as is a dollar sign’ Akron court starts program for women trapped in human trafficking
“I think it was six years I’m in and out of cars right here on these streets of Akron, Ohio until one night I ended up on a street and I remember screaming out to God, kill me or save me but don’t let me live like this,” Angel said. God didn’t leave Angel in that world. She was found her when she was drug addicted and hopeless and sitting in prison. But she’s not in that place anymore.
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Port Huron man sentenced 1-15 years in sex trafficking case
24-year-old Robert Standfield of Port Huron. MI. was sentenced 1-15 years in prison for his involvement with Joseph McGough in the sex trafficking of a minor. The victim told investigators McGough took all earnings she made from performing commercial sex and she had to go on multiple “dates” a day.
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Child marriage is the enemy of the American Dream
One example was of Naila Amin, a Pakistani New Yorker who was betrothed at age 8 and married against her will at 13. After a lifestyle of sexual assault and beatings, she became a mere passport for her older husband after her family forced her to request his immigration approval.
Read More3 in Houston accused of sex trafficking of Fort Worth woman, reports say
Three Houston, TX. people were arrested in Houston on charges of sex trafficking after a woman from Fort Worth called her mother for help in December, saying she was being forced into prostitution, according to reports. When Kevin Winston asked her to become his prostitute, the woman resisted, but according to media reports Winston is accused of beating and forcing her into prostitution.
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Hotel employees across Minnesota now trained to spot signs of sex trafficking
Industry experts say the training is designed to create a level of awareness – especially in suspicious situations. “It’s those things that are out of the ordinary,” said Howard Anderson, a longtime member of the Minnesota Lodging Association. “People are asking for exit rooms, near exits, or they want to pay cash. They don’t want to give their license plates.”
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FBI: 30-40 children sex trafficked within metro Detroit during Detroit Auto Show
According to Michael Glennon with the Detroit, MI. FBI, there is a 280-300 percent increase in sex trafficking workers in the area. Ten percent of them are under the age of 18. “We urge members of the public to educate themselves on these heinous crimes so they recognize the indicators. An educated public can help law enforcement rescue individuals in these situations and ensure those committing these acts are punished.”
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Violent sex offender arrested again after woman accuses him of sex trafficking
Jamarius Strickland of Memphis, TN. was again taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with trafficking for commercial sex acts. According to the victim, Strickland and another woman recruited her. Court documents state he “promised to provide protection, food clothing and personal needs” to a woman “as long as she gave him the money received from going on sex dates with men.”
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Did You Know that January is Human Trafficking Awareness/Prevention Month? PT.1
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons (TIP) is a form of modern day slavery. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse or exploitation.
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Did You Know that January is Human Trafficking Awareness/Prevention Month? PT.2 Recognize the Signs!
Are you or someone you know being trafficked? Is human trafficking happening in your community? Recognizing potential red flags and knowing the indicators of human trafficking is a key step in identifying more victims and helping them find the assistance they need.
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Netflix’s ‘Baby’ Glamorizes Sexual Exploitation of Minors
We have seen countless women bravely come forward with their stories of sexual assault against powerful men who have used their status to take advantage of vulnerable or young women. One of the most depressing but important things to come out of this movement is that it has changed how we talk about the sexual exploitation of minors,
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Accused sex trafficker: ‘Should probably shoot me’
The last person is now in custody after a human trafficking ring was busted in St. Petersburg, FL. As Gruwell was transferred to the Pinellas County Jail, FOX 13 asked him if he had anything to say about his actions and he answered…
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Prison time for Sparta man on child porn, other charges
A Sparta, WI. man gets 20 years in prison for several counts including Possession of Child Pornography, Trafficking a Child, Child Sexual Exploitation, and Soliciting a Child for Prostitution.
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Local group fighting to stop human trafficking near BCS
January is human trafficking awareness month. In Bryan, TX. a local group is looking to educate others about the growing trend. “The fact that some of the clients that I work with and some of the kiddos that I love are susceptible to this injustice makes me extremely passionate about it. It feels really close to home.”
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St. Petersburg Police arrest 7 people accused of sexually exploiting teen boys
Seven people in St. Petersburg, FL. have been arrested for human trafficking involving two teenage victims. Investigators believe one victim was lured through Discord, an online gaming app that allows direct communication and the other victim was lured from his family with promises of a better life, instead he was moved into a filthy trailer and used as a sex slave for nearly a year.
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CT law brings more arrests, awareness of human trafficking
A state law passed in 2016 to combat human trafficking has resulted in more arrests while raising local awareness of the often-invisible crime, which has been called modern-day slavery, experts say. Trafficking is one of the biggest challenges faced by law enforcement, and one that especially benefits from public awareness, said Krishna Patel, who worked with the U.S. attorney’s office for Connecticut on trafficking cases.
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Atlanta superintendent: Super Bowl to ‘super-size’ risk of child sex trafficking
As Atlanta readies for the Super Bowl, the school system is amping up efforts to train teachers and inform students about the risk of human trafficking. Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said students are in danger of being sexually exploited every day, and the Super Bowl is one more event that increases that risk.
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Trafficking risk surprising in rural Kansas
January is a month devoted to raising awareness of human trafficking, and Marissa Woodmansee, director of Juvenile Services for Barton County, did her part Saturday afternoon at a public informational event at the Great Bend Public Library. She shared some background on the evolution of her own human trafficking awareness, and recent developments of importance to the community, especially parents of pre-teens and teens. “It’s important to understand what human trafficking is and what it looks like,” she said. According to the website for the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
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Tattoo Removal For Sex Trafficking Victims Offered Free
“No one should have to live with a permanent mark on their body that reminds them of a violent and abusive time,” Suffolk County, N.Y. Executive Steve Bellone said. “This new partnership brings us one step closer to helping victims of these heinous crimes recover and live a life with dignity.”
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Jobs must be part of the solution to human trafficking
Human trafficking doesn’t just happen in faraway places like India’s brick kilns or Cambodia’s brothels. Over 8,500 victims of human trafficking cases were reported in the United States last year, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. There is no greater blow to human dignity than a person being forced to perform work or sex acts against their will.
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Twiss: Human trafficking exists locally
Capt. Carol Twiss was featured speaker at a recent meeting of the Hill Country Republican Club in Kerr County, TX. informing attendees on “Human Trafficking,” its definition and what everyday citizens can look for in their neighborhoods and hometowns.
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Grand jury indicts New Boston man for human trafficking, child sex abuse, possession of child pornography
A Bowie County grand jury Thursday indicted a New Boston, Texas, man. Robert Allen Smith, 34, was indicted for two counts of sexual assault of a child and single counts of continuous trafficking of persons and possession of child pornography. The abuse allegedly occurred while the girl was 15 to 17 years old.
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HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARNESS DAY: Crime a growing concern in TN Valley
According to a press release from the Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, the purpose of the day is to educate citizens about human trafficking, raise awareness, outline victim identifiers and explain how to report potential human trafficking situations.
Read More15 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking
Anyone can join in the fight against human trafficking. Here are just a few ideas to consider.
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2nd Raleigh man charged after police say 14-year-old held in ‘sexual servitude’
Rudolph and Gambrell are both facing the same charges and are both being held in the Wake County Detention Center — A second man in Raleigh, N.C. is facing child prostitution and trafficking charges after police say a 14-year-old was held in “sexual servitude.”Gambrell is being held under a $500,000 secured bond and Rudolph is being held without bond.
Read MorePresident Donald J. Trump Is Fighting to Eradicate Human Trafficking
COMMITTED TO ERADICATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: President Trump has signed four bills in recent weeks that demonstrate the bipartisan commitment to end human trafficking. oday, the President is signing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (S. 1862) which tightens criteria for whether countries are meeting standards for eliminating trafficking.
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St. Pete to become ‘trafficking free zone’
The trafficking free zone is USIAHT’s flagship demand reduction program with a modular approach based upon proven practices from around the United States. St. Pete is the latest city to implement this program declaring themselves a ‘trafficking free zone’. A police task force was designed to focus on arresting and prosecuting sex buyers instead of those who are being sold.
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Cyntoia Brown’s clemency must begin a #MeToo movement for unacknowledged sex trafficking survivors
Monday was a monumental day for survivors of sex trafficking. Tennessee resident Cyntoia Brown, a child sex trafficking survivor convicted of killing the man who bought her when she was 16 from her trafficker with the intent of raping her, has been granted clemency.
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Online Predator Sting Expands to Prostitution
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) in Fordyce, Ark. has made 40 arrests for Internet Stalking of a Child. “Every night when we get home to log off, there’s be another one. How do we slow down, how do we stop, when there’s multiple guys out there that are wanting to meet?”
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Human trafficking crackdown continues in PA
To mark January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, officials from Pennsylvania DOT, the Department of Human Services, Pennsylvania State Police, and Governor Tom Wolf’s administration held a press conference to highlight PennDOT’s work. With the start of the new year, the commonwealth is working to roll out a law aimed at protecting sexually exploited children.
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Sex trafficking victim who murdered man granted clemency
After 15 years in prison, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has granted full clemency to Cyntoia Brown.
Brown, a sex trafficking victim serving a life sentence for the 2004 murder of a man who payed her to have sex as a child. Cyntoia was 16 years old when she shot and killed the 43 year old man.
Resources for combating human trafficking
Human Trafficking is prevalent, unfortunately, even in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, PA – Executives from the Pennsylvania departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Human Services (DHS), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) joined by advocates and a human trafficking survivor today to discuss efforts to combat human trafficking and educate the public on the issue.
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Man sentenced to 15 years for sex trafficking minors
A Hartford.CT. man convicted of trafficking minors for sex has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison. Plus, as many as 50 people worked as prostitutes for him.
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Our View: Learn to spot sex trafficking
Sexual exploitation and the buying and selling of our children and vulnerable others “happens here in Duluth every day,” Shunu Shrestha of the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault, or PAVSA, said in an interview a year ago with the News Tribune Editorial Board.
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Advocates say the fight against human trafficking is progressing, but more work is ahead
“We need to address the issues of childhood sexual abuse that causes a victim to become vulnerable to trafficking, and we need to address the issue of demand,” Carolyn Potter said. “Make it really hard on the people who think it is OK to buy another human being, and that needs to be taken care of in our state.”
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Sentencing hearing begins for human trafficking ring that ran like ‘family business’ in Queens
The Rendon-Reyes family will learn their fate this week after they plead guilty to human trafficking and money laundering. “Some of these women were required to perform sexual acts 45 times a night,” said Angel Melendez, Special Agent In Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York City, N.Y.
Read MoreGreensburg woman sent to prison for sex trafficking young girl
In Greensburg, PA. a woman will serve up to 20 years in prison for selling sexual encounters with a 3-year-old girl. Rebecca Shadle was sentenced Thursday after she pleaded guilty in September to trafficking of a minor for sexual purposes, child endangerment, aggravated indecent assault and conspiracy.
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Bond raised for accused sex traffickers after public outcry
Responding to community outrage in New Orleans, LA. over what critics slammed as low bail amounts set for two sex-trafficking suspects, a judge Thursday dramatically increased the bail amounts after hearing graphic testimony from a State Police investigator. Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell raised the bail for Jovan Martin from $20,000 to $350,000, and for Elbert Riascos from $90,000 to $900,000, declaring the suspects a “danger to the community.”
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Department of Health in Collier County spreading awareness on human trafficking
Dept. of Health in Collier County, FL. spreading awareness on human trafficking … Florida ranks third in the nation as a human trafficking destination. … traffickers can travel from Miami through Naples and Collier County through Tampa
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Campaign aims to raise awareness of child sex trafficking
A line of school buses with new decals to draw attention to human trafficking make their way on a road in Atlanta, GA. Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. The Georgia attorney general used the new decals on dozens of school buses.
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Caesars Entertainment Announces New Global Commitments to Eradicate Exploitation of Vulnerable Individuals
Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas, NV. the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment provider, is strengthening its commitment to end human trafficking in partnership with two global organizations that lead the fight to prevent and eradicate the issue. In observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Caesars announced it has committed to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children by signing ECPAT’s Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct which provides a platform for companies to share best practices to end human trafficking.
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When a sex-trafficking victim was forced into a jail cell near her pimps, we learned something about modern slavery
An inexcusable screw-up by U.S. marshals in federal court in Fort Worth could have tanked a case against three pimps who — let’s call it what it is — enslaved an underage girl through threats and manipulation. In a circumstance that seems all but unthinkable, the victim, under arrest for her own alleged crimes, was placed in a holding cell adjacent to the very men she was supposed to take the stand against.
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Record Low Crime Rate in Long Island After Crackdown on MS-13
In 2017, police reported that 14 killings were connected to MS-13 in Long Island, according to Newsday. The gang is infamous for its brutal crimes including executions, machete attacks, hacking victims to death, and human trafficking.
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Feds put pimps next to their underage victim in courthouse, but she’s not intimidated
In Dallas/ Fort Worth, TX. an underage sex trafficking victim who was scheduled to testify against her abusive pimps. The threats and intimidation began almost immediately at the Fort Worth federal courthouse holding area, court records show.
Read MoreWhen a sex-trafficking victim was forced into a jail cell near her pimps, we learned something about modern slavery
An inexcusable screw-up by U.S. marshals in federal court in Fort Worth could have tanked a case against three pimps who — let’s call it what it is — enslaved an underage girl through threats and manipulation.
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City Attorney Mara W. Elliott highlights services for human trafficking victims Read more: San Diego Community News Group – Column City Attorney Mara W Elliott highlights services for human trafficking victims
At $800 million annually, sex trafficking is second only to drug trafficking among underground economies in San Diego County, CA. They didn’t enter this nightmare with open eyes. More likely, they were lured into the life with promises of love, protection, adventure, or opportunity.
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New laws ramp up protection for human trafficking victims
Victims of human trafficking – including involuntary servitude and labor trafficking – will be allowed to sue their captors for damages, will have a longer window of time to do so and will be paid for turning them in to police.
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‘Smallville’ star Allison Mack cites Scientology as defense in sex trafficking case
In Brooklyn, N.Y. Federal court lawyers for accused Nxivm sex-slave cult leader and former “Smallville” star Allison Mack are arguing that she isn’t guilty of inducing forced labor if the Church of Scientology isn’t guilty of the same charge. She could face life in prison if convicted.
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Mountain View siblings arrested, suspected of human trafficking
Police in Mountain View, CA. have arrested a brother and sister suspected of bringing Guatemalan families and minors to the United States and subjecting them to forced labor and sexual slavery. Carlos Garza, 33, and Evelia De Maria Galvez, 41, were arrested on Dec. 20 without incident. Garza is suspected of multiple counts of human trafficking and Galvez is suspected of being an accessory to a crime and intimidating a victim.
Read MoreAnonymous $1M donation helps foster mom open shelter to house human trafficking victims
TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. (KABC) — An anonymous $1 million donation allowed an Orange County woman to make the winning bid for five newly renovated homes that will house survivors of human trafficking.
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Linda Reich partners with local organization Ascent 121 as an advocate for young victims of sex trafficking
Linda hopes her partnership with Ascent 121 will spark others to be voices for those young victims.
“First and foremost just creating awareness that Ascent 121 is doing an amazing job, and i just want to help them and be part of helping children who are highly at-risk and traumatized.”
Hearings delayed for pair accused of sex trafficking
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Detention hearings have been delayed again for a married couple accused of using Chinese nationals in a sex-trafficking operation in northern New England.
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Texas Matters: A Grim Look At Sex Trafficking
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There are more than 300-thousand victims of human trafficking in Texas including almost 80 thousand minors and youth victims. That’s according to a study by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault at the University of Texas. Human sex trafficking is a multibillion dollar business that has made use of the open internet for marketing and recruiting of victims. This is a look at how sex is sold online – how there are efforts to shut down those online sites – and how the traffickers adapt.
Sen. Bob Corker: Rob Portman will take over lead in human-trafficking battle
NASHVILLE — U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Friday that a colleague, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, will now lead congressional efforts to end modern slavery across the globe after the Chattanoogan leaves office next week.
“For years, Senator Portman has been a champion in Congress in the fight against human trafficking here at home, and I can think of no one better to take up the mantle in the global fight against this scourge on humanity as I depart the Senate,” Corker stated Friday in a news release.
Read MoreOur holiday wish for victims of sex-trafficking: a pardon for crimes they were forced to commit
Victims of sex trafficking — a $99 million criminal enterprise in Dallas, TX. each year alone — are penalized by our criminal justice system and our society for sexual acts they are forced into by traffickers who are essentially modern-day slave owners.
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Local circuit judge participates in sessions on bail reform, human trafficking and more at judicial college Oct. 22-24 in Lexington
The human trafficking session was designed to give judges insight into how traffickers work and how the internet is being used to sell victims and find perpetrators. The session also covered the complexities of the state’s human trafficking laws.
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Mother of alleged sex trafficking victim hopeful daughter is still alive
The mother of a missing Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania college student, who is an alleged victim of sex trafficking, said she’s holding out hope her daughter is still alive and being held against her will, adding that the 20-year-old “doesn’t have the street knowledge to survive out there.” “Woney engaged in a vile form of exploitation, using force and other coercion to compel young women to engage in paid sex for his enrichment,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said.
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Local authorities continue human trafficking battle
McLennan County law enforcement and local activists in Waco, Texas continued to bring the issue of human trafficking to light early this year with the arrest of dozens of men suspected of paying for sex, including a police officer, well-known restaurateurs, a pastor and a teacher.
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3 Louisiana men arrested for sex crimes with teenagers, children
In Baton Rouge, La. three Louisiana men have been arrested. Brian E. Thomas, 34, of Lake Arthur, and Quentin D. Coley, 57, of Greensburg, separately traveled to a hotel after they agreed to pay money to facilitate sex acts with an adult woman and a 13-year-old. While James Hankins, 55, of Sulphur also traveled to a hotel after he agreed to pay to have sex with an adult woman, a 13-year-old, and two 7-year-old children.
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Outrage over low bonds set in New Orleans child sex trafficking case
New Orleans City, LA. Council members and human trafficking victim advocates are expressing outrage over what they consider low bonds set for two men accused of holding a 16-year-old girl against her will, beating, drugging and raping her. “Trafficking of minors? You just don’t see that sort of bond that low,” Williams said.
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Federal judge expected to announce verdict in Dojo Pizza child pornography case
A verdict will be announced Wednesday (Dec. 26) for St. Louis, Mo. man Loren Copp who faces nine felony counts for alleged sex crimes against girls. According to investigators, Copp groomed two girls at his business and then sexually abused them, and accused of taking pictures of his victims while he raped them.
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Wichita Children’s Home Opens New Facility To Aid Victims of Human Trafficking
The Wichita Children’s Home has opened a residence to help young victims of human trafficking. The Garver House can shelter up to 10 children who have been released from the Children’s Home Staff Secure Unit.
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Medford woman gets 5-year sentence for running a human trafficking ring
A Medford, Mass. woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for running a human trafficking and money laundering ring out of massage parlors that were used as fronts, the state’s attorney general’s office announced Thursday.
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Two men arrested for sex-trafficking 12-year-old girl, teen
Two Long Island, N.Y. men, including a “self-described Crips gang member,” were busted for the kidnapping and sex trafficking of two girls — one of whom was only 12 years old, police said Thursday. “I know she’s young,” Exavier told police “She looked like 15 or 16, but not 12 years old. ”Exavier also told cops “I was bringing her to the motel, if I don’t do it someone else will.”
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Missing teen rescued, 2 New Orleans men arrested in sex trafficking case: State Police
Louisiana State Police arrested Elbert Riascos, left, and Jovan Martin both faces charges of trafficking of a child for sex purposes. The investigation started with a tip from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. A press release from the agency states the hotline caller said the teen “was being held against her will, repeatedly raped, drugged and beaten.”
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2 men arrested, missing teen rescued in sex trafficking raid at Canal St. hotel
Louisiana State Troopers rescued a 16-year-old girl who was the victim of sex trafficking and was being beaten, drugged, and repeatedly raped in a Canal Street hotel room.
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Reported US Trafficking Cases on the Rise as Victims Seek Help by Texting
Cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline are expected to hit more than 11,000 by year’s end, the most in its 11-year history, its director, Caroline Diemar, said. The projected jump in reported cases illustrates that survivors are finding it easier to seek help, not that the rate of the crime is necessarily on the rise, Diemar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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COMMENTARY: Time to attack the Las Vegas sex trade
What happens in Vegas shouldn’t always stay in Vegas — especially when children are likely being sold for sex every day in this city. This is an atrocity that needs to be stopped and Kevin Malone says,
”I’ve moved to Las Vegas to do it”.
Houston man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking children for commercial sex
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, TX. and the United Kingdom Border Force.
Jason Daniel Gandy, 41, received the 30-year sentence following his July 23 conviction on four counts of sex trafficking minors, one count of transporting minors, one count of sexually exploiting a child, and one count of transporting child pornography.
Metro Detroit experts weigh in on how to protect children from human trafficking
Children in Detroit MI. are more at risk of becoming human trafficking targets while on their tablets than at any shopping center or public place, according to experts.
“These guys are out there and they’re hunting young girls just like you,” said Michael Glennon, a supervisory special agent with FBI Detroit, to a group of girls from several different high schools in the metro Detroit area.
Repeat child porn offender sentenced to 10 years in prison
Lawrence Fascia, of Manchester, N.J. will have to serve at least five years before his is eligible for parole, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. He will on parole and be subject to Megan’s Law supervision for the rest of his life.
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19 Accused Of Sex Trafficking At Westchester Residential Treatment Center
New York City, N.Y. FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. added, “Sex traffickers routinely prey on young people and those in our communities who are the most defenseless. As alleged, the defendants targeted vulnerable women and girls, including residents of a facility for at-risk children and adolescents, knowing that the victims would be more susceptible to their claims.
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Oak Park Man Sex Trafficked ‘Several Children’: Authorities
Young of Oak Park, IL. reportedly posted online ads of the children “offering commercial sex” and “required” some of the minors to have sex with him, according to a news release.
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2 Henderson men held on human trafficking charges; officials expect more arrests
Two Henderson men are being held in the County Jail of Rusk County, Texas on human trafficking charges, and officials say they expect more arrests in the case. Davis, 28, arrested at the scene is being held on three counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of human trafficking along with forcing a 26 year old women to have sex with a 12-year-old boy.
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Awareness for Human Trafficking
In Union, New Jersey Keyla M. Munoz, a victim specialist for the FBI Newark Division provided a presentation to Kean University students that explored the complexity of human trafficking. An example she used was how pimps would manipulate women into believing they would be models and stars in movies, getting them to unknowingly sign up for a system that aims to exploit them and their values.
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Not For Sale: Fighting Sex Trafficking As Super Bowl Nears
An Atlanta, Georgia-based faith organization dedicated to eradicating child sex trafficking is using technology to help victims of the crime receive help and even prevent them from entering what could be a lifetime of degradation and tragedy. The Super Bowl brings millions of people into the city and sex trafficking will ebb and flow with the event, just like business at restaurants, bars and adult establishments.”
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Police: Man charged in Raleigh kidnapping, statutory rape spurs human trafficking investigation
Olabi, 22, of Raleigh, N.C. caused parents to be concerned over a year ago when he was recruiting teens to work part time with the Carolina Youth Club. He’s now arrested after a routine traffic stop outside of Wellford, South Carolina that led to the discovery of a kidnapped 13-year-old girl. “Certainly her age was cause for concern and the girl’s attire was also a red flag. “She was not dressed appropriately for the weather, Officer R.A. Smith said.
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Boston man who forced Maine women to work as prostitutes gets 17 years
Rashad Sabree, 37, of Boston pleaded guilty in July to two counts of sex trafficking. When Sabree discovered text messages for help, he began assaulting one of the victims. A passing motorist, who witnessed the assault while driving on Interstate 95, called 911. Maine State Police responded and the defendant was arrested. “This case demonstrates the important role that the public can play in helping to protect those who are vulnerable,”
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Federal jury convicts 5 on charges they operated huge sex trafficking ring
The five defendants, from California, Texas and Illinois, were convicted in St. Paul, Minnesota on a range of counts including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, money laundering and sex trafficking by use of force, fraud and coercion. Traffickers used phony bank accounts, created fictitious biographies and set up fraudulent marriages to assist the victims in getting visas. The women were forced to have sex with as many as 10 men a day, then told to pay back debts of $40,000 to 60,000, prosecutors said.
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Police: Des Moines man threatened to kill witness in human trafficking case
The accused took the victim to a truck stop in Altoona, Iowa with the intention of soliciting her for prostitution, police said. The victim told Nelson she did not want to prostitute; Nelson then fired gunshots into the air, according to a criminal complaint. The accused and the victim approached a person at the gas station to solicit sex; that person later called the police.
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‘Modern Hawaii was built on human trafficking’
“When I first decided that I wanted my platform to be on sex trafficking, my pageant director told me that I shouldn’t do it because it’s too dark. “The reality is we think of trafficking as an ‘over there’ issue. It’s something that could never happen here in the state of Hawaii … but it does.”
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COMMENTARY: Time to attack the Las Vegas sex trade
What happens in Vegas shouldn’t always stay in Vegas — especially when children are likely being sold for sex every day in this city. This is an atrocity that needs to be stopped and Kevin Malone says, ” I’ve moved to Las Vegas to do it.
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Tennessee Governor Considering Clemency for Cyntoia Brown
Tennessee Governor Haslam was speaking at an event when Justin Lang, a higher-education professional stepped up to the mic during the audience question portion. “As a victim of sex trafficking and assault, this is an unjust sentence in the first place,” Lang said. Under Tennessee law, all minors engaged in sex work are legally considered victims of sex trafficking. “She has not been treated as a victim of trafficking and not given the justice she deserves.”
Read MoreSelf-professed ‘slave trainer’ accused of child prostitution and trafficking appears in court, wife files for divorce
Simon Hessler appeared Wednesday in Manchester Superior Court, where his case was transferred to Hartford Superior Court, which handles more serious matters. Charged last month with attempting to set up two days of “limitless sex” with a person he thought was a 10- to 12-year-old girl, Hessler was held on bail of $1 million for a court appearance set for Dec, 27.
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Revenge porn, human trafficking bill filed in state legislature
A bill that would seek to amend state law involving obscenity, dealing with issues like revenge pornography and human trafficking, was the only bill filed Wednesday at the state capitol in Little Rock. A person found guilty could face up to a year in jail or a $500 fine, or both “for each prohibited image, video or audio depiction, or website found to be accessible at the time of the offense.”
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Modern day slavery: Breaking free from human trafficking
Researchers said Kentucky’s youngest victim of human trafficking is just 2 months old.
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Using technology in the fight against human trafficking
DeliverFund is a nonprofit started by veterans to assist law enforcement agencies in their fight to eliminate human trafficking.
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