Forced LaborArchive 2008–2016

Forced Labor in Berrien, Cass, Kent, Newaygo, Ottawa, Oceana, Muskegon and Van Buren, Michigan (2009)

A forced labor case from 2009 in Berrien, Cass, Kent, Newaygo, Ottawa, Oceana, Muskegon and Van Buren, Michigan, United States. 2 sources on file.

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What happened

The U.S. Department of Labor levied fines totaling more than $36,000 against eight growers in Michigan for violations of migrant housing and child labor laws — including an allegation of a 6-year-old picking blueberries — and retailers have already discontinued doing business with some of the companies. Two blueberry growers, Adkin Blue Ribbon Packing Co., South Haven, and Jawor Bros., Ravenna, were assessed penalties of $2,584 for child labor violations after the investigation allegedly found children under 12, including a six-year-old, picking in the fields.

Response and intervention

James Smith, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Detroit, called the violations “intolerable and disappointing Tony Marr, general manager for Adkin Blue Ribbon, said his company is investigating what happened. He said the company has strict policies in place with regard to labor laws, and it’s trying to figure out where and how they broke down. link to articles on this case:http://thepacker.com/Department-of-Labor-levies-fines-for-child-labor-violations/Article.aspx?articleid=930942&authorid=342&feedid=215&src=recent and:http://www.freep.com/article/20091101/NEWS06/911010490/1001/News/Michigan-brief-Blueberry-buys-stopped-after-child-labor-probe

Sources

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CSEC2001

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, 2001

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Angelique Danisse Epps and Antione D. Ford met two runaway sisters (14 and 15 years old) in Omaha, Nebraska and transported them to Grand Rapids, MI. Epps had a record of prostitution offenses, and planned to teach the girls how to be child prostitutes according to the GR Press. Ford is a gang member, and both Epps and Ford may have been attached to a murder as well immediately before they left Omaha.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

CSEC2009

Michigan City, Indiana, United States, 2009

United States US

Male, 45, from Michigan City, IN Trafficker apprehended & in federal custody Transporting children across state lines for purpose of sex Enticing minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for purpose of videoing it Child exploitation Sources: http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080515southbend1.htm http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0906/090626southbend.htm

2 sourcesArchive 2008–2016

Sex Trafficking2009

Chesterton, Indiana, United States, 2009

United States US

Justin Cephus, 31, Stanton Cephus, 28, and Jovan Stewart, 30, all of Hammond, Haneef Jackson-Bey, 20, of East Chicago, and Delbert Patterson, 19, of Steger, Ill., have been charged with conspiring to commit and committing sex trafficking and prostitution violations involving 16 minor and young-adult females. From approximately February 2006 until January 2009, the defendants, led by Justin Cephus, who is charged in each of the 21 counts, ran a prostitution business out of his home and various other locations in and around Hammond,” the statement said. “The business, which advertised in the Yellow Pages in Illinois and Indiana under the names ‘Beauty Escorts,’ ‘Beautiful Entertainment,’ and ‘The Finest and the Best,’ provided sexual services to callers from Northwest Indiana and the Chicago, Ill., area.” “Defendants used a variety of tactics to recruit girls and keep them working for the business, according to the indictment, including handing out business cards to pretty girls at retail outlets and telling them that the business involved ‘promotions,’ ‘modeling,’ ‘house cleaning,’ ‘private dancing,’ or ‘massage therapy,’” the statement said. * Source: http://chestertontribune.com/PoliceFireEmergency/7893%20fbi_seeks_info_in_sex_traffickin.htm (Retrieved 7/20/09)

1 sourceArchive 2008–2016