 Don’t forget to sign up for the Virtual 5K Collective Run for Collective Liberty. Show your support and walk/run/bike/swim with partners across the country. To register click the link below.We monitor and fact-check media coverage of human trafficking and share the top cases with you from each week. A broad view of what is happening across the country can be translated into action, allowing us to collectively change the system and the public narrative. |
 Media typically portrays child sex trafficking as commercial sex, but the reality is far more vast. Sex trafficking of children can include pedophilia, sex with a minor, or child pornography – particularly devastating as the internet gives these traffickers an accessible avenue for their crime. Arizona Mesa police arrest 18 suspects in human sex trafficking stingThe East Valley Human Trafficking Task Force hosted a “buyer reduction” operation Aug. 5-6 and Mesa police arrested 18 suspects as part of the sting. The suspects were arrested on adult prostitution charges. One of the suspects was also arrested on charges of attempted sexual conduct with a minor, child prostitution with a minor under 15, money laundering, and prostitution.California Sacramento Man Faces 26 Years In Prison After Conviction On Human Trafficking Charges A man has been convicted by a Sacramento jury on several human trafficking charges, the district attorney’s office says. On Friday, the DA’s office announced that David Towner had been convicted of human trafficking, human trafficking of a minor, two counts of pimping, two counts of pandering, and two counts of witness intimidation. Officers say they were able to get in contact with a 16-year-old girl who was believed to be the victim of sex trafficking. Detectives were able to look through the girl’s phone and soon found messages from Towner allegedly trying to recruit her as a prostitute. Detectives believe Towner used several tactics to try and get women to work as a prostitute for him, including one victim who told prosecutors that he had picked her up from Reno under the pretense of giving her a ride. He then allegedly started trafficking her when they got to Sacramento.Minnesota Police Arrest Teen Accused of Helping GOP Strategist’s Underage Sex Trafficking Law enforcement has arrested Gisela Castro Medina, a 19-year-old accused of helping a wealthy, young Republican strategist in Minnesota prey on girls and recruit them for paid sex. Lazzaro, GOP strategist who helped bankroll several Republican politicians, is accused, along with Medina, in the indictment of pairing up with an associate in a months-long campaign in 2020 to recruit five young girls for paid sex—and an attempt to pressure a sixth. The indictment also claims his associate “intentionally interfered” with the federal investigation in March 2021.Texas Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking 14-Year-Old, Adult out of Dallas Hotel A Dallas man has been found guilty of sex trafficking a 14-year-old minor and an adult victim, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah. After less than a half-hour of deliberation, a federal jury in Dallas convicted Anthony Lennell Acy, 34, on one count of child sex trafficking and one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. Agents with the North Texas Trafficking Task Force testified that they recovered Jane Doe 1 and Adult Victim 1 out of a Dallas hotel room and arrested Mr. Acy as he was leaving the hotel parking lot. Both victims testified that Mr. Acy repeatedly beat them, threatened them at gunpoint and knifepoint, and threatened to kill them and their families if they called the police. In the course of the investigation, investigators reviewed Mr. Acy’s hotel records, phone records, financial records, online advertisements, and Facebook posts that corroborated the victims’ accounts of Mr. Acy’s sex trafficking activity  Massage parlor trafficking is an insidious form of trafficking that is incredibly organized and difficult to eradicate across the nation. Kentucky Somerset spa shut down in human trafficking probeA Somerset massage parlor has been shut down in the midst of a multi-agency investigation into human trafficking and prostitution. “A multi-site law enforcement operation took place at three business locations across Kentucky,” a KSP release said. “Law Enforcement agencies have received complaints and tips related to illegal human trafficking, illegal immigration, promoting prostitution, providing sexual services for compensation, and operating without a license.” Agencies involved included the Kentucky State Police, Lexington Police Department, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Search warrant operations were conducted at each location and customer information was identified, the release said. Both state and federal investigations are ongoing.Connecticut Prostitution Charge For Owner Of Mokena Spa The owner of Oriental Pearl Spa was arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor prostitution, following an undercover operation in partnership with the Will County Sheriff’s Department, according to Mokena Police Department. Xiurong Peng, 47, of the 10300 block of Lindsey Lane in Mokena, was arrested after undercover police negotiated and agreed upon a sex act in exchange for money, police said. The Oriental Pearl Spa’s business operations and license has been suspended, pending a future hearing with the Village of Mokena, police said.  LABOR TRAFFICKING: Group ran sophisticated labor trafficking ring under guise of non-profit and child/school resourcesCrypto Companies, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Firms Team Up to Fight Human TraffickingAlexis Skyy Is Releasing A Book That Will Discuss Sex Trafficking And Motherhood JOIN US >> |
