Human Trafficking Watch

The very fact that this is going on in Saudi Arabia tells us many things about the Saudi culture. Their PR firms can peddle a lot of nonsense about how modern they are, but the Saudis are entrenched in their old ways.

Child-protection groups say children are often given away in return for hefty dowries, or as a result of old customs in which a father promises his infant daughters and sons to cousins out of a belief that marriage will protect them from illicit relationships.

Depraved. Sick. Sad.

This is an interesting story about the out-of-control gang activity in British Columbia. Among the vices, human trafficking tied to sex crimes appears:

Their major centres of criminal operation are Metro Vancouver, southern Ontario and Montreal, the report said. Some of the B.C. crime groups are also involved in human trafficking, it said.

“A small number of organized crime groups, mostly based in B.C. and Quebec, are involved in the facilitation of international trafficking in persons (TIP), it said.

“Conversely, several street gangs are active within the domestic TIP market for the purposes of sexual exploitation. These groups facilitate the recruitment, control, movement and exploitation of Canadian-born females in the domestic sex trade, primarily in strip bars in several cities across the country.”

From the kansascity.com Crime Scene blog, James Hart posts a press release from  US Attorney John Wood:

Ling Xu, also known as “Cherry,” 46, Zhong Yan Liu, also known as “Lucky,” 36, and Cheng Tang, also known as “Tom,” 22, all citizens of China residing in Overland Park, pleaded guilty in separate appearances this morning before U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan.

Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to coercing persons to travel across state lines and national borders to engage in prostitution and illegal sexual services.

They also pleaded guilty to money laundering by wiring more than $500,000 from the proceeds of that unlawful activity to China. Xu also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for using the passports and identification of her female workers in order to make most of those wire transfers. All three defendants remain in federal custody

The Kansas City Business Journal has more.

Some law enforcement officials have gotten together to give presentations on human trafficking. It’s sad that when I see an article like this, it appears to be Human Trafficking 101 and the narrative is pushed that it’s new to everybody and we need to understand what’s going on.

It’s a brutal form of organized crime that entices young women to come to the United States with promises of legal employment, and traps them in prostitution or forced labor with violence against them and often death threats to families back home, the top prosecutors said.

“The women were all vulnerable, they had all been courted by men,” Milgram recalled of one Brooklyn-based prostitution ring she prosecuted. “There were rapes, there were forced abortions. . . . We characterized some of it as torture.”

“We’re only going to make progress on this . . . by making everyone understand what a big problem this is,” Christie said. “I tell people in law enforcement, “All you have to do is have one of these cases, and you’ll understand.’ “

The AP is reporting that 55 men were arrested after an eight-month-long investigation into an online file-sharing operation:

Fifty-five men, including a former sheriff’s deputy and at least one attorney, were charged with possessing child pornography following an eight-month investigation, authorities said Tuesday.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said the suspects used peer-to-peer networks to exchange graphic images and videos, then stored the files on their computers.

All were charged with possession of child pornography. Some had been charged with additional offenses, such as production of child pornography and committing crimes while registered sex offenders.

British pop star, Gary Glitter, is roaming the world again after being release from a Vietnamese prison. He was convicted in Vietnam three years ago for molesting children and previously convicted in the UK for child porn possession. Glitter is the guy who wrote “Rock and Roll (Part 2)” that has become a sports anthem. It’s good to read the NFL banned his version of “Rock and Roll (Part 2)” from its games. The NFL and other organizations have substituted a cover version for Glitter’s version, however, and I’m not sure if that’s any different than playing his.

Various media have reported the guy still has millions and is seeking refuge in Asia. The British government renewed his passport in 2002 and the Daily Mail is reporting that as a blunder. However, 19 countries so far have refused him entry. Officials in Hong Kong put him back on a plane to Thailand where he was first refused entry. Countries that normally pander to sex tourism are avoiding a celebrity who inadvertently put a spotlight on the issue.

The Times is reporting that he will be shuffled back to England:

When he does arrive back in Heathrow the singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will be met by police and told that he was being placed on the sex offenders’ register.

He will join 30,000 people on the register and will be required to give police his name, date of birth, home address and national insurance number. He will be kept under the highest level of surveillance and be visited weekly by police and probation staff. If he breaks the terms of his registration he could face a prison sentence of up to five years.

I hope his celebrity keeps him in check. A pedophile with millions is dangerous and Glitter appears unrepentant.

This is a bizarre story in that the perpetrator, Jeremy Noyes,  allegedly was attempting to convince a New Zealand woman to raise her daughter as his sex slave. The FBI was tipped off by a classmate via a Web site and then a former girlfriend confirmed the allegations. However, the FBI can’t confirm the mother and daughter exist.

Noyes wanted them to move in with him and that “his long term intent was to assemble a ‘family’ of female sex slaves that would begin with” the woman and her daughter.

“Noyes intended to impregnate (the 4-year-old) when she was between the ages of 8 and 14 and then continue to breed the future offspring that would result from his plan,” Noyes’ classmate told the FBI. “Noyes intends to buy a farm or an island where he could put his new society together.”

The FBI investigation said it found women who corresponded with Noyes online and, in turn, the child-sex images in his e-mail account earlier this month.

I’m always astounded when women are willing to deal in child porn and even more so when those women involve their own children. I can only hope the women who sent him the images don’t actually have children. Hopefully the images will lead to their arrests also.

27-year-old Philip Thompson pleaded guilty to child porn charges and was sentenced indefinitely to prison in Britain, using a wait-and-see approach to how long he’ll actually serve. His lawyer made excuses for him:

Lawyer Brian Russell said Thompson had cooperated with police since his arrest in February.

“This is really a young man who has fallen into that stereotype of a rather sad and lonely teenager who spends too much time in a darkened room in front of a computer screen,” Russell said. “He has not had much life experience to get himself mature.”

Immature? I hope there aren’t a lot of people buying into that line of thinking when it comes to child porn trafficking online. Calling Thompson a stereotype insinuates that child porn is something acceptable if you only know the circumstance. In addition, Thompson is 27 years old, not a teenager.

It is these situations that make me wonder how some defense attorneys sleep at night. At least the judge had a reasoned opinion of him:

Judge Michael Taylor gave him an indeterminate prison sentence, saying he must prove he is not a risk to society before he can be released.

He told Thompson he was “somebody who is prepared to go to extreme lengths to feed your lust. You are a very dangerous individual indeed.”

Indeed.

I hate the way that people abuse good things for their evil purposes:

A Santa Barbara man is charged with advertising on Craigslist for a guide who would help him find children to have sex with in Thailand.

Michael Patrick Mahoney had his bond set at $100,000 Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. He was arrested Saturday by federal agents at Los Angeles International Airport after he boarded a flight for Bangkok. He was carrying children’s stuffed animals, Disneyland shirts and chocolates.

The 51-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of a child sex tourism charge.

The investigation into Mahoney began last week after immigration officials noticed his ad on the Craigslist Web site.

Officials say an undercover agent posed as a travel guide and sent an e-mail offering to arrange meetings with children.

I have been ill and had to take time off. I’m back now and will catch up as quickly as I can.