Victim in sex trafficking case had 'childlike mind'

2-28-17 Ohio:

A developmentally disabled woman in her early 30s who has a “childlike mind” was forced to smoke crack and engage in prostitution at a Springdale motel, prosecutors said.

Ashely Embry, prosecutors said, took photos of the victim wearing provocative clothing and posted those photos on Backpage.com, so she could set up “dates” at an hourly rate.

Embry, 27, was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday and ordered to register as a sex offender when she is released.

“You were so selfish. You were so uncaring, and the actions you took are just reprehensible,” Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers said. “She may not look like a child, but she is a child, and you just took advantage of her.”

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Jocelyn Chess said Embry “admitted that she knew the victim was slow.”

Embry referred to her as “retard,” Chess said.

"She took advantage of a victim who had a childlike mind," she said, explaining that mentally the woman is like a 10- to 12-year-old.

Luebbers said Embry held the victim captive at the motel, the Super 8 on Glensprings Drive, and “took complete advantage of (her) for your own gain.”

The victim was at the motel for several days. In a presentence report, which Luebbers read from, Embry claimed she told the victim she had to leave.

“It just wasn’t working out,” Embry said in the report. “She had a different way of working, and got into drama with people at the hotel and it always messed with my work.”

When Luebbers asked Embry about that statement, she responded: “I was surviving.”

Luebbers interrupted: “And you brought her down. You’re traumatizing her. You’re tormenting her.”

Later during the hearing, Embry – who pleaded guilty last month to a human trafficking charge – said she wanted to go to trial and that she “wanted the truth to come out.”

“I never took anything from this woman. I never did,” Embry said. “I did for her what was done for me.”

Her attorney, Scott Rubenstein, had earlier explained that Embry had been a victim of human trafficking in the past.

He said Embry was struggling with drug addiction.

“Addiction does horrible things to people. It changes the way people think and operate,” he told Luebbers. “The way she chose to deal with this and get through life was no way to live.”

Embry has several drug-related charges and convictions in recent years, most involving heroin. ..Source.. by Kevin Grasha

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2 children saved, 22 people arrested for human trafficking during Detroit auto show

2-14-17 Michigan:

Undercover agents identify around 14-15 potential adult victims

DETROIT - Glitz and glamour stole the spotlight at the North American International Auto Show in downtown Detroit, but something sinister was going on under the hood.

A police investigation revealed a human trafficking operation during one of Detroit's most popular events.

Now that the auto show is over and the undercover operation is complete, the FBI is sharing exactly what happened in Detroit and its suburbs. In some cases, it even involved children.

The operation was kept quiet as 12-15 police agencies worked together during the auto show last month to catch human traffickers and save lives. During the auto show, agents said, there's typically a 150 percent jump in the number of people offering sex.

At the time of year when the world descends on Detroit, auto show insiders, reporters and prospective customers bring a huge mix of a crowd that can be tempting to some people.

"When you're drawing in a large number of people, and more specifically, male clientele, they're traveling away from their families," Michael Glennon, supervisory special agent for the FBI, said. "They tend to flock to situations such as that."

Glennon said those situations include hiring women for sex, but it isn't always prostitution. Many of the women trafficked during the auto show are young girls and minors.

"There's typically 200-250 advertisements per day," Glennon said.

Glennon is part of the Violent Crimes Against Children task force and coordinator of the human trafficking division.

"The network is becoming more and more complex," Glennon said.

He said the pimps and human traffickers work together, warning each other online and on social media when the FBI is getting close.

"The weather reports are police activity," Glennon said. "So if there are thunderstorms in Canton or it's cloudy with a chance of rain in Romulus, they are illustrating that there is police presence or anticipated police presence. (It's) a way of warning everybody."

Glennon said the offenders know the tags of police cars and have pictures of FBI vehicles. He said they'll often post that information online.

Undercover agents made arrests at cheap motels and fancy hotels during the auto show.

"Be it from Southfield to Warren to Sterling Heights or down to Romulus," Glennon said.

The three-day undercover operation was a success.

"(We) identified four to five pimps or exploiters and made 22 arrests during the period," Glennon said. "We identified approximately 14-15 potential adult victims of human trafficking. We were able to recover two children involved in sex trafficking." ..Continued.. by Karen Drew

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522 ‘johns’, 30 pimps arrested in Super Bowl sex trafficking sting

2-10-17:

23 law enforcement agencies in 14 states took part in the crackdown

COOK COUNTY, IL (WCMH) — A national sex trafficking sting ended in the arrests of 552 would-be sex buyers or sex traffickers.

The National Johns Suppression Initiative began three weeks ago, ending on Super Bowl Sunday. 23 law enforcement agencies in 14 states took part in the crackdown.

“Sex trafficking continues to destroy countless lives, and this broad national movement should send a strong message to prospective johns that their ‘hobby’ is much more than a ‘victimless’ crime,” said Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Thomas J. Dart in a news release. “It’s particularly meaningful that this sting culminated on the day of the Super Bowl, which unfortunately has emerged as a prominent haven for sex trafficking.”

In addition to the arrests, police rescued 73 adult victims from human trafficking and 3 juvenile victims.

In the Houston area alone, where this year’s Super Bowl took place, law enforcement arrested 183 “johns” and 9 sex traffickers. Among those arrested was a Houston city employee who pulled up in a city vehicle, two firefighters, a retired police officer and a man who had his 4-year-old child in the car when he tried to buy sex.

“I’m exceedingly proud to lead the nation in targeting sex buyers and traffickers during this annual initiative,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during a news conference. “Houston was home to Super Bowl LI. As we welcomed the world to our city, we made it clear that there is no place for victimization and sexual exploitation.”

In Seattle, police arrested a john who recently escaped from jail. They also arrested a registered sex offender who tried to convince the undercover detective into working as a prostitute for him.

The participating agencies across the nation have arrested more than 6,500 sex buyers and traffickers since the operations began back in 2011. ..Source.. by NBC4 Staff

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The false claim that human trafficking is a ‘$9.5 billion business’ in the United States

6-12-2015 Washington DC:

“It’s estimated that child sex trafficking in the United States alone is a $9.8 billion industry.” –Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), statement, May 19, 2015

“This [human trafficking] is domestically a $9.5 billion business.” –Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), remarks at a congressional hearing, May 14

Readers should always be wary of false precision. The sex trade is an underground industry, so on what basis would the revenues from the trafficking of children–or children and adults–in the United States be calculated so precisely, either as $9.8 billion or $9.5 billion?

That’s what jumped out at The Fact Checker when we first spotted these figures, uttered by lawmakers as the House of Representatives considered the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. The figures came from two different sources, but it turns out both were practically invented out of whole cloth. Let’s explore.

The Facts

For the $9.8 billion number, Goodlatte’s office originally directed The Fact Checker to an informational graphic posted on the Internet by Shared Hope International, which says it aims to eradicate sex trafficking. The graphic indicated that the statistic concerned all human trafficking in the United States— not just “child sex trafficking” as Goodlatte’s statement said.

“His statement should have said human trafficking, not child sex trafficking,” said Goodlatte spokeswoman Jessica Collins. “That was a staff error.”

But there’s a bigger problem. Shared Hope’s graphic gave as its source a 2005 International Labour Organization report on human trafficking. But that report contains no mention of a $9.8 billion figure for human trafficking in the United States.

Instead, there is only a broad estimate of about $13 billion in profits for “forced commercial sexual exploitation” for 36 industrialized countries (of which the U.S. represents about 30 percent of the population). ILO officials say they have never given a breakdown by country, only for broad groups of different types of economies.

The full methodology for the numbers in the report suggests the actual revenue for sex trafficking in this group would be close to $20 billion. It assumed turnover of $100,000 per prostitute, and then assumed profits of nearly 70 percent, or $67,000 per person. The report also estimated there were 200,000 people forced into prostitution in these 36 countries.

But these profit and revenue figures were based only a handful of examples and then applied across the board, making it a fuzzy number. The estimate of the number of people forced into prostitution is also a broad estimate that could be off by as much as 25 percent, ILO documents say.

So the number is a result of multiplying two guesstimates, both with large sampling errors. Trying to figure out the U.S. share of that total would introduce even more fuzziness.

Taryn Offenbacher, a spokeswoman for Shared Hope, acknowledged the $9.8 billion number was a mistake. “It was released as a misreading of the ILO report and has been fairly widely circulating,” she said. After being contacted by The Fact Checker, the group immediately withdrew the graphic from its Web site—a proactive step that we applaud.

“We pulled our fact sheet with that stat until we are able to update it,” she said. “We are careful to conduct our own primary research or only cite stats that can be supported by credible sources. I’ve read numerous articles questioning the accuracy of human trafficking statistics and want to ensure our office isn’t spreading inaccurate or unsupported information about the seriousness of this crime.”

So what about Wagner’s claim of $9.5 billion? Her office’s Web site cites the same 2005 ILO report, but after we pointed out that the ILO did not give an estimate for the United States, spokeswoman Moira Bagley Smith cited another source: the 2006 State Department Trafficking in Persons report. In the report, there is this statement:

This Washington Post article is amazing -and long- pointing out many errors in Congress. If you want to read the full article CLICK HERE.

The Pinocchio Test

In the end, we find that there is no reliable estimate for the business of human trafficking in the United States, let alone child trafficking. (As we have noted previously, estimates for both child victims of trafficking and victims of trafficking are highly suspect.)

One could certainly say that the underground sex trade in the United States likely is worth more than a billion dollars, but it would be a serious mistake to conflate that with human trafficking. Until more reliable and careful research is done, that figure is simply unknown.

In any case, claiming that child sex trafficking, or even simply human trafficking, is a $9.5 billion or $9.8 billion business in the United States is worthy of Four Pinocchios.

Four Pinocchios

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Sex Trafficking: Should All Perpetrators Be Sentenced As Sex Offenders?

4-19-15 National:

Recently I was contacted by an organization seeking feedback from survivors regarding a sex trafficking bill. I often advocate that any anti-trafficking efforts should include feedback from survivors, and I'm grateful they reached out to me as well as other survivors. One of the main points of this particular bill was that it would require any person convicted of sex trafficking youth to register as a sex offender. This sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Well...maybe not. When I first began anti-trafficking advocacy in 2009, I believed any person convicted of human trafficking should face mandatory sentences, including registration as a sex offender if the offense involved sex trafficking minors. However, after reading multiple cases, I've since changed my mind. I now believe that each case should be judged on an individual basis. And, if you read Wendy Barnes' recently released memoir, And Life Continues: Sex Trafficking and My Journey to Freedom, I think you might agree or at least be open to the debate.

Wendy Barnes was 15 years old the first time she met Greg, a sixteen-year-old high school junior who would ultimately become the father of her three children and force her to accept a life in prostitution for 12 years. "All I wanted was to be loved," writes Wendy in a personal email. "I wanted to be special to someone."

Wendy grew up in what she calls a "pretty average" home life. She writes: "Considering that 'average' is the biggest bulk between horrible and great. We were poor, the 'working poor.'" Wendy says she was "picked on" by peers and her older brother while in grade school. "I had red hair and freckles and the neighborhood kids were [bullies]...I was quiet and mostly a loner." ..Continued.. by Holly Austin Smith

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Most Doctors Couldn't Spot A Human-Trafficking Victim If They Saw One. Could You?

-Notice the discussion of "Sex trafficking" and "Human trafficking" in the same article; almost synonymous

3-18-15 National:

Less than 10 percent of doctors recognize trafficking victims, and less than 3 percent of ER doctors have received training in recognition and action. Here’s what we can do about it.

When his church embarked on a small project to help prevent human trafficking, Douglas Chin, MD, a surgeon in Oakland, Calif., joined the group.

In their minds human trafficking was an overseas problem. Church members began looking into ways to address gender inequity outside the country by empowering women, which experts agreed would help reduce the sex trade, strengthen global health, and lead to better economic opportunities. “We were really thinking, ‘What can we do in the United States to help international women — in Thailand, in India?” Chin tells Yahoo Health.

But then a young woman went to Chin’s office in California for a routine orthopedic problem, and he noticed something very unusual. She came with an older male figure, who spent the appointment hovering close by. She was reticent. She had tattoos on her body, and gray marks on her skin.

He later found out that the young woman was a victim of human trafficking.

“The gray marks were something called postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, which is the result of repeated trauma. The tattoos were probably indicating she was property,” Chin says. “It just hit me. At church, we were looking at this as an international problem, yet it was right here under our noses.

“A lot of these victims were likely seeking medical help. Were we just missing them?”

Trafficking in the United States

Human trafficking, for both sex and labor, is not just an international problem; it is a U.S. problem. According to estimates, roughly 1 million adults and 400,000 children are presumed to be at risk for sex trafficking annually on American soil.

It’s big business, with relatively low risk and high reward, says Holly Atkinson, MD, director of the Human Rights Program at Mount Sinai in New York City and co-chair of the American Medical Women’s Association’s, Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH) initiative. Global revenues for human trafficking likely exceed $31 billion, according to estimates.

"You can sell a human 10, 20 even 30 times a day. You can't sell drugs or a firearm that many times."
“It is so lucrative, probably only second to drug trafficking in revenue,” Atkinson tells Yahoo Health. “This is because you can sell a human 10, 20, even 30 times a day. You can’t sell drugs or a firearm that many times.”

And there is no specific profile for victims of trafficking. It can affect people of any gender, age, race or social class. Chin says that while more than 80 percent of labor-trafficking victims in the United States are brought in from foreign countries, that stat is flipped for sex-trafficking victims. “Roughly 80 percent of those victims are American-born, U.S. citizens,” says Chin. “It affects all demographics, from the affluent to the underprivileged.”

"If you really loved me you'd have sex with my friend."
And traffickers seek victims everywhere. “One of the biggest myths is that it doesn’t happen here or that most victims are foreign-born — with sex trafficking, it’s not true,” says Atkinson. “They’re recruiting at schools, in shopping malls. They are using psychological techniques, acting as boyfriends to young girls, buying them things — and then they start to ask for things. ‘If you really loved me, you’d have sex with my friend.’”

Certain risk factors do make a person more vulnerable to that slippery slope into trafficking, though, including being from a broken home. “It is higher in specific demographics,” Atkinson says. “Among runaways, [and among] LGBT, sexually-abused and foster children.”

What’s difficult about trafficking is that it’s a hidden problem. You can pass victims everyday on the street and not really realize it — especially because many of the young women and men who are initially victimized and pushed into this life of captivity become attached to their captors and can’t find a way out, according to Elaine Richardson, Ph.D, a professor at the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University and a former victim of sex trafficking.

"Many victims have become entrapped in a way of life."
“Young victims are in middle schools, in your neighborhood, or even in your family,” she tells Yahoo Health. “Some of them are grown women, and many are not doing it just because they enjoy sex and want to get paid for it. Many victims have become entrapped into a way of life, even if they now seem to be doing it for themselves without pimps.”

Once you’re in the middle of this life, it’s hard to climb out, says Richardson. “They are still human beings who deserve to be valued as humans, who need help, support, and love,” she says.

"87% of trafficking victims have had contact with a healthcare provider while being trafficked."
..Continued.. by Jenna Birch

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Researcher shows no direct link between Super Bowl and sex traficking, sex slavery still a problem

Now lets see, if someone wants a prostitute they check the local want ads, right? Its naive to think this type of research is logical to find criminal enterprises such as prostitution. I'd bet if one spoke to the local police during these events they could tell you how many folks were arrested during these events in the local areas where they occur.. Simply said, the local classified is not where you find criminals advertising their criminal acts.! see HERE, now what do you think?

1-29-2015 National:

With Super Bowl XLIX coming up this Sunday, students, residents and faculty in Bowling Green and across the U.S are gearing up by placing bets on teams, throwing parties and making Super Bowl foods. The game will be hosted in Arizona this year, and with millions of people floating around, something dangerous is occurring in hidden sight: sex trafficking.

The Women’s Center held its weekly discussion series Wednesday in Hanna Hall. The discussion featured Jesse Bach, founder and executive director of the Imagine Center, a non-profit in Cleveland dedicated to spreading awareness and solutions to end child sex slavery worldwide.

The discussion was focused on a claim that in 2011 the Super Bowl was the single largest human trafficking incident and that 100,000 children may be trafficked into or around the host area. Using qualitative and investigative data, Bach and his group of researchers set out to investigate the claim.

“The crux of the presentation is to not link sex trafficking to events but realize that it goes on everywhere, 24/7,” Bach said.

In the presentation, Bach explained that he and his group of researchers didn’t find a direct linkage between sex trafficking and the Super Bowl, and 100,000 children were not trafficked into the city during the 2011 Super Bowl.

“We did discover through qualitative data that there was an increase in commercials that featured sexual oppression to sell Super Bowl products and beer, but the most important was that 16 juveniles were recovered in a Super Bowl prostitution bust with 45 arrested last year in the SB host city of New Jersey,” said Bach.

Using qualitative data, Bach broke down the numbers of commercial sex workers in cities across the U.S, with a particular focus on Manhattan and New Jersey. Attendees viewed the increase of the price of commercial sex to reflect the rise of costs in the city. Bach also discussed the number of advertisements during the Super Bowl being 35,199, which dispels the myth of 100,000 children being enslaved.

“If 100,000 children were enslaved, there would be 100,000 ads,” Bach said.

Other numerical breakdowns included the price of sex being determined by race, types of ads ran, area code breakdowns and the dark internet.

“The commercial sex industry is all about supply and demand,” said Bach. “It’s basic economics. The Pacific Islander women and White women are in high demand so they cost more. It all depends on the city’s demographic. People like to think that sex trafficking occurs during a specific event or in certain places but in reality it occurs everywhere, 24/7.”

The Imagine Foundation looked at Super Bowl stats, sex trafficking sites and ads to complete this study in 48 hours. Funding is almost non-existent and there are limitations when writing proposals to research sex trafficking and children.

“The DOJ is authorized to view child pornography for governmental and criminal reasons, but for researchers to write proposals to research child pornography and sexual victimization in depth, the IRB [institutional review board] shuts it down every time,” said Bach. “We have bake sales and complete grassroots funding to get us up and running.”

Junior Ashley Hillis attended the discussion and said ads played during the Super Bowl featuring women sexualizing everyday products is harmful.

“I look at Super Bowl ads in a completely different way now, as far as sex trafficking, sports and women being sexy to sell products,” Hillis said.

Bach said while there’s no direct link between the Super Bowl and sex trafficking, patterns are good to watch for and that college students, especially males, should think a little more carefully about sex slavery and what they view on TV.

“This year’s sex trafficking prediction for the Super Bowl might be different because Arizona is a different place,” said Bach. “There is serious controversy between the NFL Super Bowl and sex trafficking; do your research. As college students, you have a responsibility to be more vigilant and critically think about what you view and say not only in regards to the Super Bowl, but about strippers and rape and everything else. Educate each other.” ..Source.. by Natasha Ivery

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Action Alert: Congress is back in session and targeting sex offenses and offenders

5-19-2014 Washington DC:

Congress is back in session and up to their old tricks, sex offenders and sex offenses are being focused on. Here are all the bills that Congress will be hearing this week, affecting sex offender issues:

Rep Smith has changed the title of his International Megan's law bill to "International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking" likely because his fellow Republicans are trying to pass legislation on Sex Trafficking; pretty sneaky. But it is the same bill I earlier reported HERE just with bill title changed.

The essence of the bill: Notice there is no summary of this bill. Even folks in Congress are not sure where this bill is going. Please refer to my earlier review.

On to other Sex Trafficking bills: Normally we would not show the bills below, but do so today to show how Rep Smith is trying to get his International Megan's Law bill through on the backs of other legislation.

Rep Poe, HR-3530 "Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013"

The essence of the bill: Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. Allots funds to provide services for child pornography victims.

Rep Paulsen, HR-3610 "Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2014"

The essence of the bill: Requires each state, within three years, to have in effect legislation that: (1) treats a minor who has engaged or attempted to engage in a commercial sex act as a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, (2) discourages the charging or prosecution of such an individual for a prostitution or sex trafficking offense, and (3) encourages the diversion of such individual to child protection services. Authorizes the Attorney General to withhold specified Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds from a state that fails to comply with such requirement.

Rep Reichert, HR-4058 "Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act"

The essence of the bill: Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to demonstrate that the state has developed policies and procedures for identifying and screening, and for determining appropriate state action and services with respect to, children over whom the state agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision who the state has reasonable cause to believe are victims of sex trafficking or a severe form of trafficking in persons, or are at risk of being such victims. Authorizes a state, at its option, to identify and screen any individual under age 26 without regard to whether the individual is or was in foster care under state responsibility.

Rep Wagner, HR-4225 "SAVE Act of 2014"

The essence of the bill: Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of 2014 or the SAVE Act of 2014 - Prohibits knowingly benefitting financially from, receiving anything of value from, or distributing advertising that offers a commercial sex act in a manner that violates federal criminal code prohibitions against sex trafficking of children or of any person by force, fraud, or coercion. Subjects violators to a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both. Grants U.S. courts extra-territorial jurisdiction over such an offense if an alleged offender is a U.S. national or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence or if an alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the offender's nationality.

Folks need to remember, what happens in Congress WILL eventually trickle down to the States, and WILL affect state registrants when, or if, they do the things Congress is making laws on today.

So please take the time to pick up the phone and call your respective Representatives and Senators, and voice your opinion on ONE or MANY of the bills being considered. YES, your opinions count, voice them today, don't wait till they affect you because then it will be too late.

These need everyone's attention immediately.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

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Governor promises to fast-track sex-trafficking bill

12-24-2011 Indiana:

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he'll help fast-track a bill aimed at cracking down on prostitution and the people who profit from it, getting it signed into law before the 2012 Super Bowl.

Daniels said the sporting event, which is expected to draw more than 150,000 people to the host city of Indianapolis, has developed an unsavory reputation as being the "single worst occurrence" of a flourishing sex commercial sex industry that promotes underage prostitutes to a willing out-of-town clientele.

"We have an obligation to act and to act quickly…" Daniels said at a press conference Friday. "This will be the Super Bowl where this terrible practice will come to an end."

Legislation that expands the state's sex-crime laws will have to be passed by both the House and Senate and delivered to Daniels' desk for his signature by early February. The NFL championship game will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 5, but a host of parties and other events are scheduled the week before.

On Friday, Republican state Sen. Randy Head of Logansport filed legislation aimed at closing loopholes in the state's existing laws that cover the commercial sex industry. Head said the bill is scheduled to be heard in committee on Jan. 4, the first day of the 2012 session. The bill has bipartisan support and legislative leaders have promised to move it on a fast track.

Head is a former deputy prosecutor from Cass County and is a member of the legislature's Criminal Code Commission. He noted that other Super Bowl host cities have reported an influx of sex trafficking during the event and other large sporting events.

"This is not an issue whose time has come, it's an issue that's already come, and we're just trying to catch up," Head said.

The legislation has been pushed by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who's been active in the National Association of Attorneys General effort to curb sex trafficking. Zoeller has said that teenage runaways and illegal immigrants are targeted by the commercial sex industry and exploited for profit. The extent of the crime is difficult to measure, but a U.S. State Department report in 2010 said between 14,500 and 17,500 men, women and children are illegally trafficked into the United States each year, and many are forced into prostitution.

Zoeller said he doesn't want the legislation to tarnish the famed "Hoosier hospitality," but said there was a need to recognize the problems that come with hosting an an event like the Super Bowl.

"As proud as all Hoosiers are to be hosting the Super Bowl and other major sporting events, we should be realistic about some of the problems that are associated with the thousands of visitors from all over the world." Zoeller said. "We need to send a clear message that Hoosier hospitality does not welcome those who would be involved in human trafficking and anyone threatening our children."

Head's bill would expand current state laws against promoting prostitution and child solicitation, making it easier to prosecute sex-traffickers. The bill would make it a class A felony, punishable by 20 to 50 years in prison, for any person to sell a child for purposes of prostitution or sexual conduct. Existing state law covers parents and guardians only. ..Source.. by Maureen Hayden

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Super Bowl a magnet for under-age sex trade

2-1-2011 National:

(Reuters) - Pimps will traffic thousands of under-age prostitutes to Texas for Sunday's Super Bowl, hoping to do business with men arriving for the big game with money to burn, child rights advocates said.

As the country's largest sporting event, the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will make the Dallas-Fort Worth area a magnet for business of all kinds.

That includes the multimillion dollar, under-age sex industry, said activists and law enforcement officials working to combat what they say is an annual spike in trafficking of under-age girls ahead of the Super Bowl.

"The Super Bowl is one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told a trafficking prevention meeting in January.

Girls who enter the grim trade face a life of harsh treatment and danger, according to a Dallas police report in 2010. Few who emerge are willing to speak about it. Tina Frundt, 36, is an exception.

Now married and living in Washington D.C., Frundt was lured into sex work at 14 after she fell for a 24-year-old who invited her to leave home in 1989 and join his "family" in Cleveland, Ohio.

That family consisted of the man and three girls living in a motel. When Frundt declined on the first night to have sex with her boyfriend's friends they raped her.

"I was angry with myself for not listening to him, so the next night when he sent me out on the street and told me ... (to earn $500) I listened," she said in a telephone interview.

Frundt paced the streets for hours and finally got into a client's car.

When she came home in the morning with just $50, her pimp beat her in front of the other girls to teach them all a lesson and sent her back onto the street the next night with the warning not to return until she had reached the quota.

The scenario was repeated night after night as Frundt's pimp moved his stable across the Midwest. Any sign of rebellion led to further beatings. Escape seemed out of the question.

"I was a teen-ager in a strange town with no money and no place to go," she said. She finally escaped by getting arrested.

ENSNARED

Up to 300,000 girls between 11 and 17 are lured into the U.S. sex industry annually, according to a 2007 report sponsored by the Department of Justice and written by the nonprofit group Shared Hope International.

Some 90 percent of runaways and children whose parents force them to leave home fall into the trade and are often beaten, drugged, raped or imprisoned to force compliance, said a section of the report which referred to Atlanta.

Pimps tattoo girls with "$" signs or the word "Daddy" and take them to unfamiliar cities where they are more vulnerable.

Typically, pimps recruit unwitting girls at shopping centers, mall events and on the Internet. Once ensnared, shame, fear and psychological manipulation by pimps make it hard to break free.

Clients, often called "Johns," hook up with girls via the Internet, through hotels, massage parlors, strip clubs and escort services, the report said.

"At previous Super Bowls, pimps hired cab drivers to turn their vehicles into mobile brothels," said Deena Graves, executive director of child advocacy group Traffick911.

Up to 10,000 adult and under-age girls have come to previous Super Bowls, said Jerry Strickland, communications director in the Texas attorney general's office, who acknowledged that precise figures are hard to gauge.

"The statistics are a moving target. They (under age sex workers) can't be counted in turnstiles like ticket holders," he said in an interview.

RESCUE

Law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups rescued around 50 girls during the previous two Super Bowls, said Graves. Six were registered on the Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. One had been trafficked from Hawaii.

"Even one rescue is considered a success," said Frundt who now advocates for exploited girls and has founded a girls' treatment center and a safe house for girls in Washington D.C.

To fight the trade, authorities, child welfare advocates and the airline industry are collaborating.

Representatives from American Airlines, Delta, United, Quantas and American Eagle are holding a training session to help them spot signs of trafficking. Nancy Rivard, president of Airline Ambassadors International, will also work with another 100 flight crews to distribute materials on flights.

Some 67,000 people signed a petition on www.change.org opposing sex trafficking as part of a campaign by Traffick911 called "I'm Not Buying It!" that is supported by 60 nonprofits and faith-based groups.

That campaign has also attracted heavy hitters like Dallas Cowboy Jay Ratliff, a three-time Pro Bowler, who made a public service announcement entitled "Real men don't buy children. They don't buy sex."

Ratliff, who himself has two daughters, is recruiting other National Football League players for the campaign.

"You hear of sex trafficking overseas," he wrote in an email from Hawaii where he is playing in the Pro Bowl. "But you never imagine it is happening in the United States." ..Source.. by Mickey Goodman

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