CA: 3 Indicted on Child Prostitution Charges

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- Three people are accused of taking two underage girls from Phoenix to San Diego for prostitution.

One of the accused men was in federal court Tuesday defendants in downtown San Diego.

Uawndre Larue Fields (at left), dressed in a white jumpsuit, went before a magistrate judge during the afternoon.

According to the federal indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, Fields is facing two counts of child sex trafficking and two counts of interstate transportation of a minor for prostitution.

The FBI said that agents, acting on a warrant, arrested Fields on Wednesday night.The indictment states that Fields and two other defendants, Depaul Brooks and Julia Margarite Fonteneaux, recruited a pair of underage girls and took them across state lines to engage in prostitution in April of 2006...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT NBCSanDiego.com

Special: Janice Raymond, Risking Her Life to Fight Sex Trafficking

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND -- Janice Raymond is about to receive a major award for her outstanding contribution to the war against people trafficking - but she is not a popular woman. Hate mail and death threats are part of her everyday life, and such is the uprising of sheer malevolence towards her from all parts of the world that she cannot give out her address or telephone number for fear it will appear on the internet. Even having her photograph taken is a risk.

Nevertheless, this extraordinary woman is a shining light and an outstanding inspiration to thousands. Fighting to protect women and children from sexual exploitation is her life's work, and she is not about to stop now. Dr Raymond is co-executive director of the Coalition Against the Trafficking of Women (CATW) and professor emeritus of Women's Studies and Medical Ethics at the University of Massachusetts, and she is in Glasgow for the first time to receive, at Glasgow City Chambers tomorrow evening, the Zero Tolerance International Woman Award, one of a series of awards launched last year by the Scottish charity to recognise those women working to prevent violence against women.

Raymond, who is half Irish, was pivotal in bringing about a new UN definition of trafficking that embraces the often ambiguous concept of consent in order to protect all victims of trafficking - including children, who are, she says, "becoming much more of a market"...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT TheHerald.co.uk

Las Vegas: Brothel Bust in Million $ Neighborhood

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Metro vice officers raid an alleged brothel in a million-dollar neighborhood overnight. And tonight, police are investigating whether the women inside may be victims of human trafficking.

On the heels of a lengthy prostitution investigation known as "Operation Doll House," Metro vice officers have raided 10 suspected brothels in the last few weeks. They tell the I-Team that the one last night in a half-million-dollar home appears to be the largest operation.

Metro investigators said that when they searched the house near Rainbow and Oakey, they found a suspected prostitute and "john" engaged. The home, they say, had all the hallmarks of a brothel -- a bed in every room, condoms, timers and lots of cash. Passports found inside indicate the men and women all came from Asia. Police arrested two people on prostitution charges..

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT LasVegasNow.com

US Gov: Trafficking + Int'l Military Organizations

Fact Sheet
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Washington, DC
February 22, 2007

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is modern-day slavery, a crime that is brutal, dehumanizing and a multi-dimensional threat to international security. Human trafficking is linked to organized crime, undermines peacekeeping efforts, and is incompatible with military core values. Any nation serious about ending human trafficking must begin by ensuring that its own uniformed employees lead by example by helping combat modern-day slavery at home and abroad.

Historically, profiteers of both labor and sex trafficking have targeted international military organizations. Labor traffickers sometimes try to exploit military contract opportunities. Sex traffickers often prey on individual peacekeepers and servicemen with solicitations of commercial sex. While the vast majority of military personnel conduct themselves honorably, a number of recent trafficking in persons cases have occurred in connection with international military organizations.

Typically, commercial sex sellers conduct activities, such as pimping or maintaining brothels, in districts frequented by service members. These activities also provide cover for sex trafficking - the recruitment or use of, especially women and girls, for commercial sexual exploitation.

Where prostitution is legal or tolerated, there is a greater demand for human trafficking victims and, typically, an increase in the number of women and children trafficked into commercial sex slavery. Of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked across international borders annually, 80 percent of victims are female, and up to 50 percent are minors. Hundreds of thousands of these women and children are abused in prostitution each year, including many who are used in prostitution near military bases.

Peacekeepers and service members who engage in commercial sexual exploitation put themselves at risk of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, which jeopardizes the readiness of their unit.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL FACT SHEET AS A PDF HERE

Special: Should Prostitution be Legal? New Website Explores Pro's + Con's

USA -- Should Prostitution Be Legal? ProCon.org Investigates the Selling of Sex With New Website

The D.C. Madam, 5 murdered women in Ipswich, and Hawaii House Bill 982 have aroused interest in the question of whether prostitution should be legalized.

ProCon.org launched its 10th website today, Prostitution ProCon.org, to bring much-needed clarity and balance to the debate over prostitution.

The world's oldest profession is treated as just another job in countries like New Zealand, where it is legal. Other countries, such as Iran, consider it a crime punishable by death. Prostitution is illegal in the United States, except in one state, Nevada, which permits individual counties to decide for themselves whether to legalize prostitution. So far, 11 counties have opted for legalization.

To help unravel the pros and cons of legalizing prostitution, ProCon.org examines all the surrounding issues, including: human trafficking, AIDS, brothels, red light districts, rape, violence, slavery, economics, religion, morality, and more.

Prostitution ProCon.org features over 200 expert sources from Presidential hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton to Ann Landers, Heidi Fleiss, Susan B. Anthony, and the ACLU.

The Managing Editor, Kamy Akhavan, remarked on the project:

"The issue of legalizing prostitution comes up in debates year after year. When we tried to learn more about the issue, we found inaccurate data, biased presentations, hard-to-follow academic reports, and a general lack of reliable information on which to base an informed opinion. We were frustrated by the lack of info, and we thought that most people probably felt the same way. After 6 months of full-time research, we completed our Prostitution ProCon.org website. It is free, fair, and easy to use. Finally."

Some featured content areas include: -- Top 10 Pros and Cons on Prostitution -- Federal, State, and Nevada County Laws on Prostitution -- Comparison of Prostitution Laws in 26 Countries Strange but true facts that appear on our website include: -- In Japan, prostitution is illegal, but selling oral sex is legal. -- In Sweden, selling sex is legal, but paying for sex is illegal. -- Medieval lawyer Johannes Teutonicus defined a prostitute as a woman who has had sex with more than 23,000 men...

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AT Sys-Con.com

NY: Agreement Reached on Anti-Trafficking Law

NEW YORK -- Agreement Reached on Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation

Governor Eliot Spitzer, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson and legislative leaders today announced an agreement on legislation that will combat the trafficking of human beings. The legislation makes Sex Trafficking and Labor Trafficking felony-level crimes and provides access to state social services for trafficking victims.

The United States Department of State has estimated that between 18,000 and 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year for forcedlabor, involuntary domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation. New York is known to be a frequent port of entry for such activity. Trafficking also originates domestically, and both types of trafficking frequently involve children.

To fight these forms of modern-day slavery, New York now joins the federal government and 24 other states that have enacted anti-human trafficking legislation. Under the legislation, traffickers who advance or profit from prostitution activity by compelling, inducing, deceiving or forcing their victims into prostitution activity can be convicted of the class B felony of Sex Trafficking. Traffickers who exploit workers using similar types of coercive activity can be convicted of the class D felony of Labor Trafficking.

Under the new legislation, victims of trafficking who are not otherwise eligible for social services, either because they are not United States citizens or because they are foreign nationals who have not yet been certified as eligible for federal assistance programs, can now receive social service assistance from the state. These services include case management, emergency temporary housing, health and mental health care, drug addiction screening and treatment, language and translation services, and job training. They also include coordination with the federal government to obtain special visas that allow the victims in the United States to testify against the traffickers, eventually becoming eligible for refugee status.

The new legislation also provides for the following:

* Creation of an interagency task force to coordinate implementation of the new law, collect data on trafficking, and recommend best practices for training and community outreach to help law enforcement, social service providers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and the general public to recognize trafficking situations. The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) has already begun training for prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
* Clarifying in statute that knowingly selling travel-related services to facilitate prostitution - a business known as "prostitution tourism"- is the class D felony of Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree.
* Suppressing the demand for prostitution by elevating the lowest-level patronizing a prostitute crime from a B to an A misdemeanor.


"Updating and enhancing our human-trafficking laws to adequately punish the perpetrators of these unspeakable crimes and sufficiently support victims is critically important," said Governor Spitzer. "New York is finally joining the ranks of other states in ensuring that those who exploit
innocent people and children and cause extreme suffering are subject to strict punishment under state law."

Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson said: "This legislation does more than protect victims and punish perpetrators. This law sends a clear message to those who suffer this form of modern-day slavery: you are not at fault, you can start over, and you are not alone. Empowering victims by providing access to services for which they might otherwise be ineligible gives them a real chance to overcome their hardship."

Speaker Sheldon Silver said: "Human trafficking is an international scourge that defies human decency. As a society, we are all diminished when human suffering goes unchecked. This agreement sends a crystal, clear message to those who prey upon the innocent: this abhorrent, criminal behavior simply will not be tolerated in New York State. I commend the determined efforts of Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol, bill sponsor Jeffrey Dinowitz and Assembly member Amy Paulin in bringing this agreement to fruition. The Assembly expects to move swiftly to ensure this bill becomes law so that victims are protected and criminals receive harsh punishment."

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said: "Human trafficking is nothing more than modern-day slavery. The Senate has passed human trafficking legislation unanimously for three years in a row. This legislation will punish the despicable people who engage in human trafficking and provide assistance and support to the victims. I congratulate Senator Frank Padavan who has championed this issue for five years for his work in reaching this agreement."

Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm A. Smith said: "The agreement we've reached will not only increase penalties for those who commit the heinous crime of human trafficking, but will also help the victims, who often have no where to go and no one to turn to when they have been rescued. This measure will give them an opportunity to rebuild their lives and regain their dignity."

Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco said: "This is a good law. Unfortunately this sick practice does exist in the shadows and dark corners of some places in New York. It needs to be exposed. Those responsible need to be severely punished and victims need to be protected and rehabilitated."

Michael E. Bongiorno, Rockland County District Attorney said: "I am glad that the New York State District Attorneys Association was able to work with Governor Spitzer, the state legislature and victim advocate organizations to draft human trafficking legislation. It may be difficult for the average citizen to comprehend, but even in this day and age there are people who are forced into prostitution or labor servitude. This law will provide law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to successfully investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases."

Executive Director of Equality Now Taina Bien-Aimé said: "Equality Now and the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition are delighted to learn that New York State is soon to adopt a strong anti-trafficking law. This bill would not have been possible without the extraordinary leadership of Governor Eliot Spitzer and his deeply dedicated staff, as well as the vision and commitment of Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Among other provisions, the New York State bill comprehensively addresses the prosecution of traffickers and the protection of its victims, elements that will make it a model law and the strongest state anti-trafficking legislation in the Nation."

Chairperson of the Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims Susan Xenarios said: "The Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims supports comprehensive NYS human anti-trafficking legislation which not only criminalizes this heinous act but also addresses the services needed for victims and the training needed for law enforcement and service providers. This bill is the culmination of the collaborative efforts of criminal justice, law enforcement and victim rights organizations in NYS. We applaud the Governor and the state legislature for respecting the urgency and moving quickly on this bill."

Tenn: Human Trafficking Cases Tied to Nashville

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE -- At least three separate houses of prostitution that Metro Police have shut down this year were located in the same apartment complexes that were targeted in a Memphis FBI investigation that last year led to indictment of 12 individuals on federal human and sex trafficking charges.

The alleged leader of what the federal government maintains was a multi-state human trafficking and prostitution ring was also based in Nashville, according to court records.

Federal officials — including Nashville FBI officials — continued Tuesday to refuse to comment on what they described as an ongoing investigation into possible human trafficking in Nashville...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT NashvilleCityPaper.com

Las Vegas: Where's the Promised Help for Prostitutes?

Trafficking lawyer and law professor, David Thronson, is concerned about the deportation status of the prostituted women rounded up during Operation Dollhouse last month.
He says: "We don't know where they are."

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - On Sunday, April 22, Metro Police held a news conference at 3 a.m. to reveal the results of a two-year-old federal and local investigation into a prostitution ring.

Apart from the odd hour, the case was noteworthy because it would be the first major test of the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery (ATLAS), a federally funded group formed this year to protect women brought to the United States against their will or through deception.

More than two weeks later it remains unclear where the 25 women swept up in the case are - physically or legally.

But at least one partner in the newly formed league said the women were not given the help they needed, pointing to a failure in its freshman effort.

The women captured in the sting allegedly were working as prostitutes, while seven people, mostly men, ran the business, according to authorities. Most of the men and women came from Asia.

The anti-trafficking league's work rests on coordinating law enforcement agencies, often the first to come across foreign women forced into prostitution, with different social services and immigration law agencies.

The idea is to gain the women's trust, offer them food and shelter and interview them about how they came to the U.S. If it is determined that they might be victims of human trafficking, they are led through the process of applying for a special visa that allows them to stay in the U.S. and build new lives.

But the one member of the league with expertise in the issue of immigration law - David Thronson, one of the founders of the UNLV immigration law clinic - was never contacted to help determine the status of the women in the recent bust or to advise them of their rights.

Additionally, Metro officials stated in newspaper accounts and interviews that the women would be deported, only to be contradicted later by other members of the league quoted in the press as saying the women would not be deported.

Other contradictions and unanswered questions make this initial attempt at springing the group into action less than a success...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT LasVegasSun.com

N. Carolina: Legistlation Targets Human Trafficking

North Carolina State Representative Ellie Kinnaird
is sponsoring bills to defeat sex trafficking in her state

NORTH CAROLINA - A woman was locked in a house for two years as a servant. Another woman was held in a hotel and made to prostitute herself.

Both cases unfolded in North Carolina, say legal-aid lawyers and advocates for the poor.

Human trafficking, a practice that some call modern slavery, is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world. The State Department estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people a year are trafficked over international borders.

North Carolina is home to some of the victims, as well as the perpetrators.

For years, the crime has been unknown and rarely prosecuted. Victims, most of whom are foreign, are often deported when they are found, and their traffickers are never investigated, according to advocates for the workers. Many in North Carolina, including state Rep. Ellie Kinnaird, are working to bring human trafficking into the spotlight.

"These are not illegal immigrants," said Kinnaird, an Orange County Democrat. "These are kidnap victims. They are refugees. We've got to train police to probe, to investigate further."

Last year, Kinnaird sponsored legislation that made human trafficking a crime for the first time in North Carolina. Until then, it could only be prosecuted by federal officials. Now, she is sponsoring a bill that would pay for training for law enforcement and services for victims, such as shelter and legal representation...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT MyrtleBeachOnline.com

US: Brothel Bust Uncovers Huge Sex Slavery Ring

Sun Im An arrived in the United States in the mid-1980s from her native South Korea, uneducated, alone, with only a light grasp of English.

Several years later, she turned to prostitution to support herself and her young son, said her lawyer, Francisco Celedonio of New York City.

But it was her foray into the sex trade that eventually led to her arrest, Celedonio said.

In August 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they uncovered a network of brothels, masquerading as massage businesses, that stretched from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C., and included York County (PA), where women were kept as sex slaves.

ICE agents arrested nearly 40 brothel owners, operators, transporters and money handlers during the sweep.

An was among those arrested - criminal complaints filed by two U.S. Attorneys' offices in New York stated she was the owner and operator of Good Natural Spa, which was in the 4700 block of West Market Street in West Manchester Township.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT The York Daily Record

NY NOW: Campaign to End Human Trafficking

NY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION of WOMEN - NOW New York State's Campaign, Ending the Business of Human Trafficking, is an initiative dedicated to raising awareness of the pervasiveness of human trafficking throughout New York State, advocating for exploited victims by addressing the need for comprehensive and effective legislation, and working in collaboration with city, state, and federal officials, and non-governmental organizations in a coordinated effort to combat trafficking in all cities in New York State.

READ ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN AT NOWNYS.org

California: Man Pleads Guilty to Forcing Teens Into Prostitution

OCEANSIDE, CA - An Oceanside man pleaded guilty to two federal charges of sex trafficking children by force, admitting that he forced two teen-age girls to work as prostitutes.

Luther Gene Ray Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to the two felony counts [in late March] before United States District Judge Edward Rafeedie in Los Angeles. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Ray is expected to receive a sentence of 100 months in federal prison.

In a plea agreement and in court today, Ray admitted that he was a pimp to two minor girls in May 2004, and that he had them work for him as prostitutes in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ray required the girls to engage in commercial sex acts and to give him all of the money they earned. Ray used coercive methods to ensure that the girls would perform sex acts in exchange for money. Ray kept a close watch over the girls while they worked as prostitutes and made them believe that if they disobeyed him or broke one of his rules, he would physically harm them.

Ray is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2007.

This is the second prosecution of child sex trafficking brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the past 6 months.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE AT LosAngeles.FBI.gov

San Francisco: Sex Slave Figure Sentenced

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - A San Bruno man who admitted to hiring undocumented immigrant women to work as prostitutes in his South of Market massage parlor was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to a year in prison for money laundering.

Anthony Gar Lau, 46, operated Golden Flower Steam and Sauna Spa, one of 11 Asian massage parlors raided in July 2005 by federal agents who were investigating a Korean sex-trafficking ring.

Lau is among 29 people indicted by a federal grand jury in 2005 in connection with the raid. Investigators said the sex-trafficking ring allegedly brought young women from Korea and forced them to work as sex slaves in Asian massage parlors and unmarked apartments in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

During the "Operation Gilded Cage" raid, 104 Korean women were removed from 11 San Francisco massage parlors.

None of the 29 has gone to trial. Lau is the first among them to receive prison time.

Lau was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer to forfeit $1 million in income from Golden Flower Steam and Sauna Spa and to spend two years on supervised release after his prison term...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT SFGate.com

US: Trafficking Victim Set to be Deported

The Africans in America group has helped about 25 victims
of trafficking from Nigeria in the US since 2001.

WASHINGTON, DC - Celestina Ifeacho Joseph was trafficked to the United States from Nigeria in 1984, at the age of 10. She was then forced to work for a wealthy Nigerian couple in Houston for 15 years without pay, and sexually abused. Today she awaits deportation in a US government detention center.

On March 25, Ms. Joseph was interviewed from jail by a local Houston radio station. Clearly distraught, Ms. Joseph said that she has been visited by associates of her traffickers in jail and that her parents and sister in Nigeria are in hiding. "They are threatening my life," she said. "Please - I just need help. I'm helpless here."

Ms. Joseph's case is being publicized by Africans in America (AIA), an advocacy organization in New York that seeks to educate the Nigerian diaspora in the US about trafficking. AIA has appealed for a lawyer to assist Ms. Joseph and is asking the US immigration service to reconsider the deportation order.

At first sight, Ms. Joseph would seem a logical candidate for protection under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which seeks to protect, rather than punish, victims of trafficking and offers them special permission ("T" visa) to stay in the US if they denounce their traffickers. The TVPA is considered one of the main human rights success stories of the current Bush administration. Each June the US issues a report that grades all countries except the US for their efforts to stop trafficking.

At the same time, the TVPA runs up against the need to control illegal immigration. Most trafficking victims enter the US illegally because they are brought in by their traffickers on forged documents.

Ms. Joseph managed to escape from her traffickers in 1999 - a year before the TVPA was enacted - and missed the 2002 deadline for applying for a T visa. But AIA says that after missing the deadline, she was too intimidated to approach the authorities.

Ms. Joseph told the radio station that she was brought to the US on a promise of being put through school. She was delivered to the home of Mrs. Beatrice Ikeakor, a wealthy Houston-based Nigerian businesswoman, where she looked after the children before being put to work in a restaurant owned by Mrs. Ikeakor and her husband, Ms. Joseph said. Ms. Joseph was then sent to work in an old people's home owned by the couple. According to AIA, Ms. Joseph was recruited in Nigeria by Mrs. Ikeakor's sister.

Ms. Joseph claims that she was sexually abused during her enslavement. In 1997 she was forced to marry a man. After escaping in 1999, she started to rebuild her life and entered a community college where she was studying to be a nurse when she was arrested.

The case has been complicated by the fact that Ms. Joseph's lawyer appears to have been close to the traffickers, and consistently misrepresented her case. She asked him to withdraw and hand over the files, which he has yet to do. In an added twist, Mrs. Ikeakor herself contacted AIA and complained that she did not know the meaning of trafficking.

The case illustrates the central involvement of diaspora communities in trafficking, both as a source of traffickers but also as an ally in preventing and exposing the crime. Mr. Ezekwenna from AIA told The Advocacy Project that his group, which was founded in 2001, has helped about 25 victims of trafficking from Nigeria in the US.

AIA recently secured a T visa for Stella Okereke, a 68-year-old Nigerian who was forced to work in a New York basement for 12 years. Mrs. Okereke escaped from her traffickers in 2000, but AIA managed to secure a T visa for her after finding pro bono legal aid. AIA introduced Mrs. Okereke to the Nigerian Minister of Women's Affairs at a recent event in New York, to publicize the role of the diaspora in trafficking.

On Monday, AIA sent Ms. Joseph's case to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which coordinates a network of support groups for victims of trafficking in the US. A lawyer met with Ms. Joseph on Tuesday.
To hear the interview by Ms. Joseph, log into KPFT radio Houston, register, and play the March 25 edition of the Haiti show (7.30 pm). Ms. Joseph's interview comes on after several minutes.

To read the press release by Africans in America, or to contact AIA, visit AIAinc.org

DC: US Gov't Takes Global Approach to Combatting Sex Trafficking

WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognizes that trafficking victims have rights and require services and temporary immigration relief, Gabriel Garcia, chief of ICE’s human smuggling and trafficking unit, said March 20.

ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, “has the unique organizational ability to investigate trafficking in persons with a global reach and provide short-term immigration relief to trafficking victims,” Garcia said in testimony before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism.

Of the approximately 600,000 to 800,000 people coerced or forced into crossing international borders each year, about 14,500 to 17,500 end up in the United States, according to U.S. government estimates.

ICE is one of several U.S. agencies working to stop trafficking through training to help better identify victims, improving services provided to victims and by public awareness campaigns.

Trafficking victims rescued in the United States are granted “continued presence,” which is a short-term immigration protection that allows certified victims of trafficking to remain in the United States for up to one year to enable them to apply for a “T visa.” Those who receive T visas are able to stay in the United States and bring their families over as well. They have access to federal benefits and services and can accept employment in the United States for up to three years and then apply for lawful permanent residence, Garcia said.

ICE officials conduct their work worldwide. Fifty-six ICE attaché offices help foster strong international relationships, Garcia said. The attaches work with local law enforcement for better coordination of investigations. ICE officials target recruiters, brokers, document providers, travel agencies, corrupt officials, smugglers and businesses engaged in criminal activities at both source and transit countries. ICE also cooperates with foreign law enforcement authorities to target bank accounts, wire transfers and other funding mechanisms that fuel trafficking enterprises, Garcia said...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT USInfo.state.gov

US: Queens Man Forced Girl Into Sex Slavery

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT -- Federal authorities said a man arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation forced a 12-year-old girl to be a sex slave, confining her to a house in Queens and transporting her to Connecticut to work up to 12 hours a day as a prostitute.

The case shows that domestic trafficking of U.S. citizens is a concern along with international human trafficking, U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.

``We are not going to tolerate any type of trafficking here in Connecticut, particularly when children are being exploited in such an egregious manner as we allege here,'' O'Connor said.

More arrests are expected and authorities said they suspect there are more victims.

Corey "Magnificent'' Davis, 35, face charges of sex trafficking, forced labor, document servitude, kidnapping and conspiracy to transport minors for immoral purposes and transportation of a minor for immoral purposes. Shamere ``Barbie'' McKenzie, 23, of New York, was charged with conspiracy to transport minors for immoral purposes...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT 1010Wins.com

Editorial: Child Prostitution: Stolen Youth, Stolen Dreams

SEATTLE TIMES EDITORIAL -- It's time to stop blaming the victim.

Currently, children younger than 18 are guilty of solicitation if successfully prosecuted for engaging in prostitution.

But let's call it what it really is — commercial sexual abuse of a minor — to put the onus on the perpetrator instead of the victim.

By conservative estimates, between 200,000 and 300,000 children are exploited through prostitution each year in this country. And the industry is exploding: An estimated 10 million children around the globe are involved in prostitution, with 1 million more each year joining the ranks of trafficking victims.

The health implications are staggering for minors engaging in prostitution: increased risks of physical and sexual assault; sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS; pregnancy; cervical cancer; abortion; suicide; and death.

Childhood prostitution takes other tolls, too, including homelessness and dropping out of school. A sobering 75 percent or more of the girls ages 13 to 18 in our criminal-justice system have been physically abused. Many have been prostituted, used to produce pornography, or suffered or witnessed physical and sexual violence. These children pay steep prices for being paid to engage in sex.

Physical health detriments aside, these youths suffer significant mental-health issues. The majority have been sexually abused — some as young as toddlers, and from multiple adults — and can't form trusting relationships. This devastation becomes more apparent when many teens, offered counseling and social services to leave behind life on the streets, cannot grasp the concepts of choice and independence...

READ THE FULL EDITORIAL AT SeattleTimes.com

US: Prostitution Debate Rages On--Add Your Comments

Dr. Melissa Ditmore (left) and Dr. Janice Raymond (right)
debate legalizing prostitution

Two scholars debate whether or not to legalize prostitution at The Washington Post's forum forum for online debate: PostGlobal. You can participate in the debate by adding your comment on the issue at PostGlobal.

Professor Janice Raymond is the co-executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, the author of 5 books, and Professor Emerita at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Dr. Melissa Ditmore was the principal investigator for Revolving Door, the first report released by the Sex Workers Project, and is currently a research consultant for the organization.

Against Legalization

Professor Janice Raymond - When the question of legalization of prostitution is discussed, many commentators start with the unproven assumption that legalization protects women. Who said so? Let’s look at the evidence in countries that have legalized or decriminalized prostitution.

In the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia, legalization has failed to protect the women in prostitution, control the enormous expansion of the sex industry, decrease child prostitution and trafficking from other countries, and prevent HIV/AIDS -- all arguments used for legalization. And it has transformed these countries into brothels.... (MORE AT PostGlobal)

For Decriminalization

Dr. Melissa Ditmore - Prostitution should be decriminalized. This would remove prostitution from the criminal code and thereby render prostitution akin to other businesses. It’d be taxed and subject ot business requirements. Decriminalization of prostitution has been a success in New Zealand and parts of Australia. They cite decriminalization as an advantage over legalization because removing prostitution from the criminal code avoids both the problems of graft and abuse associated with police jurisdiction over prostitution and the sometimes overbearing regulations that accompany legalization. (For example, in Nevada’s brothels, brothel-owners decide whether licensed prostitutes are allowed to leave the brothel during their off hours. Prostitutes can be required to stay on the premises for weeks at a time, no matter their working hours.) Decriminalization would better protect people in the sex industry from violence and abuse... (MORE AT PostGlobal)

READ THE FULL DEBATE AND ADD YOUR COMMENTS AT The Washington Post's "PostGlobal"

US: Trafficking Victims in Plain Sight

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND -- They are kidnapped, branded and forced into prostitution. Or they are lured from their home countries to the U.S. with the promise of jobs as nannies and housekeepers and then, "once they get to the United States, it turns into quite a nightmare."

That's how Detective Sgt. Paul Liquorie of the Montgomery County Police Department's Vice and Intelligence section describes the typical path into human trafficking.

Liquorie says the victims come from all over the world, but are for the most part, women and children.

"We've seen young children. We have an active case now involving a 13-year-old."

In the case of domestics, they are often forced to work from dawn well into the evening, seven days a week. They are paid meager wages or nothing at all. Their documents are taken from them and they are virtually held captive, threatened with jail or deportation if they complain.

Those forced into prostitution often are brutalized before they get to the U.S. and are cowed into cooperating.

And they could be hidden in plain sight in your neighborhood.

"Makeshift brothels are often in the basements of houses or we find them in apartments. They're very transient, so they'll be set up for one week or one month in one apartment and then move to another apartment so as not to draw the attention of police or neighbors."

Liquorie says tips from neighbors who note lots of foot traffic at all hours of the day and night are often the triggers that lead to discovery and arrests.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT WTOPNews.com

California: Stockton Man Gets 40 Years for Child Prostitution

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA -- A Stockton man convicted of trafficking children for sex was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison.

Will Moss Jr., 31, will have to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, will spend 10 years on supervised release after his prison term and must register for life as a sex offender, according to the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento.

During trial, witnesses testified that up to seven women, two of them under the age of 18, worked for Moss as prostitutes. They testified that they traveled between Stockton and Las Vegas and that Moss beat them and brandished firearms to keep them quiet, according to a press release isued by U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott's office.

A jury convicted Moss on June 21 of 12 criminal counts including sex trafficking of children and firearms violations. District Judge Edward J. Garcia said he handed down the stiff sentence because of Moss' brutality, according to prosecutors Carolyn Delaney, Michael Beckwith and Laura Ferris.

The case was initially investigated by the Stockton Police Department and also involved the FBI.

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