Blue Campaign by ICE (Immigrations and Custom Enforcement)

Dear Friends,

It has been some time since I have updated this blog and I apologize for my absence. With that being said, I wanted to make everyone aware of a new campaign called the Blue Campaign that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put in place. This is a widespread effort to continue informing the public about trafficking and create a united front of law enforcement to fight this horrendous crime. Please go to the link below to read more about this effort.


Never take your freedom for granted and always fight for those that do not have it!

http://media-newswire.com/release_1122956.html

Haiti and Human Trafficking

For those of you that are not aware of the situation of child trafficking in Haiti, I wanted to include an important news update below. The situation was critical before, but is now even worse. Please take the time to click on the link below and take action to get involved. Thank you for your attention to this crucial matter.

http://www.sflcn.com/story.php?id=7928

DC Stop Child Trafficking Walk this Saturday

Hi Friends,

I am making a bit of a personal pitch on child trafficking to try and raise money, but I also wanted to inform individuals on the gravity of the situation. Please read the stats below and donate what you are able. I will also include a website where you can go to find out information about walks going on in your neck of the woods.

Child Trafficking/Donation Information:

Please take a look at my donation page below and consider making a small contribution. This is a huge issue in both this country and abroad. Please take a look at some of that stats below to get an idea of just HOW bad and widespread the problem has become.

300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. -U.S. Department of Justice

600,000 – 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50% are children, most are female. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. – U.S. Department of State, 2004, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, D.C.

An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. – U.S Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons

An estimated 2.5 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion dollar commercial sex industry – UNICEF

Investigators and researchers estimate the average predator in the U.S. can make more than $200,000 a year off one young girl. – NBC Report by Teri Williams

I greatly appreciate your support and please spread the word and let me know if you would like to walk!

You can donate at: http://sctnow.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=556&participantID=1197

Thanks,
Shelley

Information on walks nationwide:

http://sctnow.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.eventList

Conviction of child traffickers in Maryland

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to make you aware of a critical conviction of child traffickers in Maryland. I am including the press release below. This conviction shows a huge step forward in law enforcement taking serious action to uphold trafficking laws and reinforce to criminals that their behavior will not be tolerated!

July 28, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md MARCIA MURPHY at (410) 209-4885

SECOND DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY IN SEX TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY INVOLVING THREE MINOR GIRLS

Maryland Task Force to Show ?Zero Tolerance for Child Prostitution?

Baltimore, Maryland - Lea Bell, a/k/a ?Eboni,? a/k/a ?Ebony,? age 29, of Reisterstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and three counts of sex trafficking of a minor, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

?Maryland?s human trafficking task force is committed to a policy of zero tolerance for child prostitution,? said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. ?Anyone who pays for or profits from sex with children should be on notice that law enforcement agents and prosecutors are standing by to send them to federal prison.?

?Traffickers who prey on the emotional and physical vulnerability of young girls will be held accountable for their actions,? said Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Baltimore. ?As a member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, ICE will continue to aggressively investigate human trafficking and protect our communities from the threats and vulnerabilities posed by these criminal organizations.?

According to her guilty plea and court documents, from January through April, 2009, Bell and Byron Thompson, a ?pimp,? jointly ran a prostitution business, recruiting minors to engage in commercial sex acts. Thompson controlled the business and Bell, a ?bottom,? assisted by collecting proceeds directly from sex customers, training the sex workers that Thompson recruited and exerting control over the sex workers in Thompson?s absence. Bell and Thompson rented over 100 combined hotel rooms in Maryland, New York and Washington, D.C. and recruited sex workers through friends, clubs, bars and the internet. They posted more than 100 erotic and personal ads on the internet in order to draw sex customers.

Bell and Thompson obtained ?Jane Doe 1? and ?Jane Doe 2,? each 15 years old, and ?Jane Doe 3,? 17 years old (?the minors?) for commercial sex acts, knowing that they were not 18 years old. From January to February 2009, Bell and Thompson prostituted Jane Doe 3, providing and advertising Jane Doe 3 dozens of times for sexual services in Maryland. Bell and Thompson transported Jane Doe 3 to hotels, private residences, and required Jane Doe 3 to ?walk? truck stops and Baltimore City streets known for prostitution. In that time, Bell and Thompson directed dozens of customers to Jane Doe 3.

Bell and Thompson kept all of the money paid by the sex customers.

In the early morning hours of March 6, 2009, Bell and Thompson drove the minors to a Maryland truck stop and directed them to walk the area for additional sex customers. The minors were almost immediately retrieved by law enforcement, but Bell and Thompson continued to attempt to contact Jane Doe 3 through April 2009.

On April 20, 2009, Bell and Thompson created a Craigslist posting advertising sexual services and containing a photograph of Jane Doe 3. On May 17, 2009, Bell and Thompson created a Backpage posting advertising a ?2-girl special? and containing photographs of Jane Doe 3 and a photograph of Jane Doe 1. Bell and Thompson were subsequently located and arrested.

Bell faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, although the parties have agreed that 10 years in prison is the appropriate disposition of this case. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

Byron Thompson, a/k/a ?B,? age 25, of Reisterstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty on July 16, 2009 to the conspiracy and three counts of sex trafficking of a minor. Judge Bennett has scheduled Thompson?s sentencing for October 1, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

The case was investigated by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Human-Trafficking/index.html

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Baltimore County Police Department for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Solette A. Magnelli and Judson T. Mihok, who are prosecuting the case.

Bringing hope to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation

I wanted to spotlight an organization here in Washington DC that is doing amazing, groundbreaking work to help survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. Through her work, Tina Frundt, the Executive Director of Cortney's House, has exposed the brutal reality of commercial sexual exploitation. As Tina states,

"When most of us Americans hear the words "human trafficking", we invariably think of women and children overseas who are being forced into the sex trade overseas, or who are brought to the United States for the purpose of sex. We, consequently, don't think closer to home. I want you to think about women that you have seen late at night on your way home from work or at social events. Maybe you have seen women in the streets in short dresses. You turn your head to look away. We do not look at the faces of these young women and girls who are forced to be out in the street. Maybe we think this is what they want to do, or they wouldn't be out there. Maybe it is easier to believe that it is empowering rather than facing the harsh reality of child sexual abuse, which is perpetrated against them both physically and mentally by the pimps who prey on these women and children." (http://www.courtneyshouse.org/AbouttheFounder.html)

When I heard Tina speak about a month ago, I was absolutely in horror about both the physical and mental torture these children go through on a daily basis. I further realized that as an adult living in this city and in this country, I needed to raise my voice once more.

I have a lot more to say about what I heard Tina speak about, but I did not want to delay in posting this blog. Please take some time and visit www.courtneyshouse.org to learn more about her work and how you can take action in your city.

Duke University Official Accused of Trying to Sell 5 Year Old Adopted son into child sex trafficking

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280165/posts

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you all know about the recent arrest of a Duke University official accused of trying to sell his 5 year old adopted son. Obviously, it is appalling on many levels and goes to show that human trafficking occurs at all levels and does not discriminate between race, class, gender etc. I hope that after you read this article, you become just as enraged as me and decide you want to do something in your local community to take action in some way to STOP child sex trafficking. Please visit http://www.stopchildtrafficking.org/flash/frameset.html for more information.

-Shelley

Forced Labor Operation Busted in VA

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/112408_Forced_labor_operation_busted.html

I am hoping that justice will be served and set a precedence for other trafficking cases to be prosecuted in both VA and around the nation. This case reminds us all that trafficking is not far from our homes and we all need to be vigilant.

If you suspect something in your neighborhood or community, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888 . It only takes one call and may change the course of someone's life. To find out ways to recognize victims, please visit
http://actioncenter.polarisproject.org/learn/recognizing-trafficking.