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Dozens of Missing Kids Rescued as Officials Dismantle Sex Trafficking Ring

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Dozens of children were rescued in a blow to child sex trafficking operations in Florida, officials announced Monday.

Dubbed Operation Dragon Eye, the initiative was spearheaded by the U.S. Marshals Office for the Central District of Florida and supported by the state Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP).

The effort involved 20 agencies working in tandem to locate 60 critically missing children and apprehend suspects tied to trafficking, drugs and child endangerment.

“The real heroes behind this operation are the law enforcement who built and executed this mission,” Uthmeier said in a release. “As your Attorney General and a father of three young kids, protecting children is my top priority. If you victimize children, you’re going to prison, end of story.”

Authorities said the recovered children ranged in age from 9 to 17, and many of them were missing and at risk of being exploited. The U.S. Marshals Service defines “critically missing” children as “those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure or domestic violence.” (Read more from “Dozens of Missing Kids Rescued as Officials Dismantle Sex Trafficking Ring” HERE)

Actress Blasted for Reading Book to Kids With Group Probed for Child Sex Trafficking

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Is it a harmless celebrity book-reading for young children, or is there a darker side tied to child sex trafficking?

Actress Jennifer Garner is coming under fire online after posting a video clip of herself reading the book “Secret Pizza Party” to young children at a Save the Children-sponsored event in Yakima, Washington.

One commenter on X said of the actress noted for “Alias” and “Catch Me If You Can”: “Hollywood actress elitist Jennifer Garner has left many of her fans disturbed after uploading a video of herself reading a book titled Secret Pizza Party to children at a Save the Children event, which is currently under investigation for child sex trafficking. The book Secret Pizza Party instructs children to keep secrets.”

One passage from the book about a thieving raccoon states: “I know what you’re thinking. Why would we keep such a delicious, delicious party a secret? Okay, sure. It’s so folks don’t show up to bonk you with brooms, but that’s not the only reason. When you make something secret, you make it special.”

(Read more from “Actress Blasted for Reading Book to Kids With Group Probed for Child Sex Trafficking” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Whistleblower: Federal Government Facilitating ‘Multi-Billion-Dollar Child Trafficking Operation’ at U.S. Border

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A whistleblower who worked at President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services (HHS) says the federal government is facilitating a “multi-billion-dollar child trafficking operation” at the United States-Mexico border that delivers migrant children to traffickers, abusers, and others looking to exploit them.

On Wednesday, House Judiciary Subcommittee Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chair Tom McClintock (R-CA) held a hearing with experts and whistleblowers regarding the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) program, overseen by the Biden administration, that releases migrant children to sponsors throughout American communities.

Tara Lee Rodas, who worked at HHS in 2021 before blowing the whistle on the UAC program, testified that the federal government is merely a “middleman” in a migrant child trafficking operation that has proven lucrative for the Mexican drug cartels and the sponsors the children end up living with inside the U.S. . .

I must confess; I knew nothing about their suffering until 2021 when I volunteered to help the Biden administration with the crisis at the southern border. As part of Operation Artemis, I was deployed to the Pomona Fairplex Emergency Intake Site in California to help the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) reunite children with sponsors in the U.S. [Emphasis added]

I thought I was going to help place children in loving homes. Instead, I discovered that children are being trafficked through a sophisticated network that begins with being recruited in their home country, smuggled to the U.S. border, and ends when ORR delivers a child to a sponsors – some sponsors are criminals and traffickers and members of Transnational Criminal Organizations. Some sponsors view children as commodities and assets to be used for earning income — this is why we are witnessing an explosion of labor trafficking. [Emphasis added]

(Read more from “Whistleblower: Federal Government Facilitating ‘Multi-Billion-Dollar Child Trafficking Operation’ at U.S. Border” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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‘Operation Tangled Web’: Major Child Sex Crimes, Human Trafficking Bust Nets 16 Suspects

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Authorities have arrested 16 suspects in Arizona in connection with child sex crimes and human trafficking.

According to Phoenix Police, the department coordinated with other law enforcement agencies for “Operation Tangled Web,” an undercover operation targeting the “demand for child sex crimes and human trafficking.”

In carrying out the operation, undercover detectives posted advertisements on websites that are “commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts,” the department said, FOX 10 reported.

“The suspects allegedly solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts and were subsequently arrested,” police said.

“The Phoenix Police Department routinely conducts operations of this type with our local, state and federal partners in a continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels child sex trafficking and the exploitation of children in our community,” they continued. “The following suspects solicited various sex acts from minors and were arrested.” (Read more from “‘Operation Tangled Web’: Major Child Sex Crimes, Human Trafficking Bust Nets 16 Suspects” HERE)

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Teen Trafficking Victim Ordered to Pay $150K in Restitution to Family of Rapist She Killed

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A teenage sex-trafficking victim who stabbed her accused rapist to death was ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family and sentenced to five years of closely-supervised probation by a judge in Iowa on Tuesday.

Pieper Lewis was a 15-year-old runaway when she stabbed her 37-year-old abuser, Zachary Brooks, more than 30 times in a Des Moines apartment in June 2020.

Lewis, now 17, was originally charged with first-degree murder for the fatally stabbing. Last year, she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury. Each charge is punishable to up to 10 years in prison.

Polk County District Judge David M. Porter deferred Lewis’ prison sentence on Tuesday— meaning if she violates her probation she could be sent to prison to serve 20 years.

The judge said Lewis was ordered to pay the estate of her rapist because the court was “presented with no other option,” adding that the restitution is mandatory under Iowa state law. (Read more from “Teen Trafficking Victim Ordered to Pay $150K in Restitution to Family of Rapist She Killed” HERE)

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Predator R. Kelly Sentenced to 30 Years in Sex Trafficking Case

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. . .R. Kelly, the Grammy-winning singer and pinnacle of ’90s pop stardom, was slapped with 30 years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing women and underage girls and boys over the course of decades.

The fallen “I Believe I Can Fly” singer did not react as US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the stiff sentence after listening to statements from seven victims during an hours-long hearing in Brooklyn federal court.

“With every addition of a new victim, you grew in wickedness,” said one woman, Angela. “You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.”

Kelly, 55, whose full name is Robert Kelly, was convicted on nine charges, including racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which bars interstate transportation of women and girls for “immoral purposes.”

Prosecutors portrayed him as a serial predator over several decades who used his fame to exploit his victims, and asked the judge for a sentence of more than 25 years. (Read more from “Predator R. Kelly Sentenced to 30 Years in Sex Trafficking Case” HERE)

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Former USA Gymnastics Coach Kills Himself After Being Charged with Human Trafficking, Sexual Assault

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Former USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert committed suicide after he was charged on Thursday with 24 counts of criminal misconduct, including human trafficking and sexual assault, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.

State officials confirmed the news to WLNS CBS that the coach died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 63 years old.

Geddert coached the 2012 U.S. women’s gold-winning Olympic team and worked closely with Larry Nassar, the disgraced physician convicted of multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and child pornography that owned and operated Twistars USA Gymnastics gym near Lansing, Michigan, where Nassar also treated several gymnasts.

Geddert was charged with 14 counts of human trafficking and forced labor causing injury; six counts of human trafficking of a minor for forced labor; one count of continuing criminal enterprise; one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct; and one count of lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation. (Read more from “Former USA Gymnastics Coach Kills Himself After Being Charged with Human Trafficking, Sexual Assault” HERE)

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Charter Jet CEO Charged With Sex Trafficking of Young Girls

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The CEO of a private jet company was reportedly busted for sex trafficking of children across state lines last week. Paul Alexander, 57, was arrested for reportedly bringing girls across state lines, according to the New York Attorney General.

Paul Alexander, the CEO of Central Jet Charter, has been charged with sex trafficking after allegedly being caught in a sting operation. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Mile High,” claimed to have caught Alexander offering sex with a 12-year-old girl and 14-year-old girl for $300 to an undercover agent across state lines, according to authorities.

The Daily Beast reported, “An undercover cop posing as a customer met with Alexander—who showed him nude photos of the girls, charged him $300 for sex with them, and suggested he ply them with drugs and pot so they would be more cooperative, authorities said.”

The arrest came from a months-long joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, the New York City Police Department’s Vice Major Case Squad, and Human Trafficking Team exposed the alleged crimes by Alexander.

Alexander, who is said to be a Level 3 Sex Offender from the Bronx, has been charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking minors after months-long investigation by the NYPD and the New York Attorney General’s office, reports Daily Mail. As per the report, Alexander is a registered sex offender and was arrested on Thursday, December 3, for allegedly sex trafficking children throughout New York City. (Read more from “Charter Jet CEO Charged With Sex Trafficking of Young Girls” HERE)

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Nearly 200 Arrested in Sexual Exploitation of a Single Florida Teen (VIDEO)

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Sunshine State authorities busted a massive child sex trafficking network — accused of exploiting a single teen — this week, ending a two-year probe that netted 178 arrests, including a high-profile booster for Florida State University, according to a report and police.

The operation, called “Stolen Innocence,” which began in November 2018, wrapped up on Tuesday — and those allegedly involved face charges ranging from solicitation of prostitution to human trafficking of a minor, the Tallahassee Police Department said in a press release.

It began when department investigators spotted images of a child posted on a website that advertises sex for money, authorities said. The girl was 13 and 14 when most of the alleged offenses occurred — but the abuse may have begun even before her 13th birthday, Elizabeth Bascom, one of the lead investigators, told The Tallahassee Democrat.

A total of 72 suspects were charged with misdemeanors and notices to appear, and 106 people were hit with felony charges — 18 of those being charged federally, according to authorities.

(Read more from “Nearly 200 Arrested in Sexual Exploitation of a Single Florida Teen” HERE)

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U.S. Marshals Rescue Another 25 Missing and Sex-Trafficked Children

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Working with state and local authorities, U.S. Marshals rescued 25 missing and endangered children from Ohio in what remains an ongoing effort called Operation Safety Net.

The missing children ranged in age between 13 and 18 and were found across the state of Ohio and as distant as Miami, Florida.

“These are kids that have been abused, neglected. Some involved in human trafficking,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliot told WOIO-TV. “Sometimes the situations they – they go to, believe it or not, may be better than the situations they left from. We’ve had some cases where the mother and or father, or both, may have been prostituting their own child.”

According to the officers involved, Operation Safety Net will continue for a few more weeks in an effort to locate the roughly 200 missing children from Northeast Ohio alone. (Read more from “U.S. Marshals Rescue Another 25 Missing and Sex-Trafficked Children” HERE)

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