CSEC2012
United States US
Lashad Alexander, 24, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced September 29, 2011 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to nine years in prison, three years of supervised release and $130,000 in restitution for human trafficking. Alexander pleaded guilty in February 2011, admitting he forced a young woman to work as a prostitute in the Tacoma area, and financially benefitted from the prostitution acts. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said, “this is just terrible… It amounts to slavery. Society cannot allow it.” The court documents establish that Alexander had recruited a juvenile female in 2005 to engage in acts of prostitution, and that this girl worked as a prostitute for him until his arrest March 29, 2010. The female victim is now an adult. Alexander assisted the victim’s prostitution activities by purchasing clothing, condoms, and cellular telephones for her to use while working. Alexander also bought debit cards for the victim to use to post sex advertisements on the internet. Alexander rented motel rooms for prostitution. The victim had to provide Alexander with her earnings from her work as a prostitute. On some occasions, Alexander struck the victim and caused her to believe that she would suffer serious harm if she did not earn money for him as a prostitute. Today Alexander was ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution to the victim.
CSEC2012
United States US
Anthony C. Willoughby, Jr., age 38, of Toledo, Ohio. was found guilty on December 16, 2011 of juvenile sex trafficking by fraud, force, and coercion following a four-day trial in U.S. District Court. Willoughby was indicted on Sept. 29, 2010, on the charge on which he went to trial. At trial, the evidence established that Willoughby moved a 16-year-old, identified in the indictment as S.W., into his home, and began to have sex with her on a daily basis. He soon thereafter began to have S.W. prostitute for him, soliciting customers off a list provided by Willoughby. Willoughby drove S.W. to prostitution appointments, also made S.W. solicit on a street noted for prostitution and sold her for sex to a visitor. Over several weeks, he got more threatening and violent toward her, culminating in several beatings.
CSEC2012
United States US
Robert Brathwaite, 37, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced December 2011 to a prison term of 10 years on federal charges of sex trafficking of children, transportation of a minor for the purpose of prostitution, and possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). A co-defendant, Tavia Crudup, 23, of Suitland, Md., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for tampering with evidence and obstructing the sex trafficking prosecution. Both defendants pled guilty in September 2011 and were sentenced by the Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. Upon completion of his prison term, Brathwaite will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender. Crudup will be placed on three years of supervised release once she completes serving her prison term. According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, Brathwaite first encountered the victim, a 14-year-old girl, in May 2011. The victim, who had run away from her home in another state, was living in an apartment in the District of Columbia. Brathwaite, also known as “Smoke,” transported the victim to various places in the District and Maryland to prostitute for him. Crudup, a prostitute who identified herself as “Rain” or “Cupcake,” schooled the teenager about how much money to charge for sex and how to conduct herself as a prostitute. She assisted Brathwaite in transporting the victim. On May 31, 2011, the victim was picked up by the Metropolitan Police Department for truancy. An investigation then led police to Brathwaite, who was located, along with Crudup, in a Lexus sport utility vehicle. Law enforcement officers later executed a search warrant and found a fully loaded semi-automatic firearm in the vehicle. Brathwaite was arrested. In the weeks that followed, Crudup destroyed evidence and talked with Brathwaite about ways to obstruct evidence in the case. Among other things, she instructed another person to throw away the victim’s clothes. Crudup subsequently was charged for her role in the case.
Sex Trafficking2011
Nigeria NG
Dr Hyacinth Orikara proprietor of the Cross Foundation Owner of the "illegal baby factory" is likely to face child abuse and human trafficking charges. Buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and can carry a 14-year jail term. Location: Cross Foundation Aba, Nigeria Nigerian police have raided a home allegedly being used to force teenage girls to have babies that were then offered for sale for trafficking or other purposes, authorities said on Wednesday. Some of the girls told police they had been offered to sell their babies for between 25,000 and 30,000 naira (192 dollars) depending on the sex of the baby. The babies would then be sold to buyers for anything from 300,000 naira to one million naira (1,920 and 6,400 dollars) each, according to a state agency fighting human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
CSEC2011
Mexico MX
Five men and two women were detained in raids on five bars and are being held pending investigation for alleged human trafficking, organized crime, pimping and corruption of a minor. Police freed 62 female victims of a forced-prostitution ring in Mexico City, including a 13-year-old girl, prosecutors said. One of the bars in the case was known as "La Pasarela," or "The Runway," was in business for decades. The women complained they were forced to work as prostitutes in the capital's downtown sector and had to hand over their earnings to a group of pimps, Mexico City chief prosecutor Miguel Mancera said Monday. Mancera said the women were forced to have sex in tiny bedrooms smaller than 6 1/2 feet (6 meters) a side. They would charge between $9 and $26 and paid pimps $4. Mancera's office said one of the victims told police that a man had befriended her in another state and offered to find her work in Mexico City. Upon arriving in the capital, she and other women were forced to prostitute themselves.
CSEC2011
United States US
Turner's first victim escaped and fled to Oakland police. It is presumed this led to the discovery of the second victim.
CSEC2011
United States US
Police said Kendel Morrel, 22, not only coerced a 17-year-old girl to sell herself for sex, but he also tried to sell her for a three-day period as a sex slave. Action 7 News spoke with the undercover agent who exposed the crime. “I believe whole-heartedly that this girl initially started out thinking there would be a job -- a connection possibly turning into a relationship,” said the undercover agent. The teen met Morrell over Facebook, police said. When the teen posted a notification asking for a job, Morrell jumped at the opportunity, according to the agent. “Conversation went over for a period of time, where he was really grooming her for the act of prostitution,” said the undercover agent. Morrell told the girl she'd be selling hip-hop magazines and CDs, but soon the story changed, according to police. Police said he coaxed the underage girl to have sex, then gave her a phone and instructions. “(He said) whenever you answer it, you need to say that it's X amount of dollars for 15 min. X amount for 30 min. X amount for an hour's time -- you're going to treat these guys fair,” said the undercover agent. Police said Morrell posted racy photos of the girl on Backpage.com to find clients. The girl told police that he made her have sex with at least one man who knew she was underage. Police also said that Morrell took the 17-year-old to a meeting with several other people and agreed to sell [her] for $3,000 for three days.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Jose Antonio Reyes-Maradiaga, a 28-year-old El Salvadoran national, residing in Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty on November 1, 2011 to transporting individuals to engage in prostitution in Annapolis and Easton, Md. According to Jose Antonio Reyes-Maradiaga's plea agreement, he assisted a codefendant who operated prostitutions near Annapolis and Easton, Md. On numerous occasions between June and November 2010, he was observed operating or riding in vehicles used to transport prostitutes between the brothels. Reyes-Maradiaga used cell phones to support the prostitution business. On June 28, 2010, police stopped the vehicle Reyes-Maradiaga was operating. He was transported to the police station for processing due to driving without a license. Law enforcement searched his property which resulted in the recovery of two picture identification cards – one from El Salvador in the name of Jose Antonio Reyes-Maradiago and a Mexican license in the name of Luis Alberto Reyes – and a store receipt dated that same day for paper towels, condoms and other supplies for the brothel. Law enforcement also recovered $723.76 in cash and two cell phones containing the phone number for the Annapolis brothel.
Domestic Servitude2011
India IN
Ismail Ahmed Age: 32 from Nowagaon in Assam Babita Age: 25 Both of these individuals run an illegal placement agency, Ashok Chand. Ahmed was arrested on May 5 from Shakarpur, while he was allegedly trying to sell a minor girl for Rs 1.5 lakh to a decoy customer. During questioning, Ahmed told police that brokers and agents operating in Assam, West Bengal and areas near the Indo-Bangladesh border would send minors to Delhi with promises of a better life. Once here, they would be handed over to an illegal placement agency run by Babita. Seven minor girls and boys, employed as domestic helps, were rescued during the operation — conducted with the help of NGO Shakti Vahini. The traffickers followed two different modules. "Children between the ages of 11-15 were placed in domestic households. Those above 15, especially girls, were sold off in Delhi and Haryana. Girls brought from Bangladesh were promised jobs in modeling agencies. Extreme poverty often led their parents to accept the agents' propositions,'' said an officer. It was revealed that the children had no knowledge either any salary was being paid to them or being sent to their parents for the household work they performed. Most of them had no contact with their parents after coming to Delhi. "The agent was paid a sum of Rs 20,000 to 25,000 by Babita for each minor child. She in turn charged Rs 20,000 to 35,000 from the employer where the children were employed as an initial payment. Then an agreement of 11 months was drawn up with the employer for payment of monthly salary. The monthly salary that was paid was also misappropriated by Babita and it never reached their parents," Mr Chand said.
Domestic Servitude2011
South Africa ZA
The victim ran away from the family that was keeping her. She got a train where a man said he would help her get back home. He then raped her. The train security found her and called the police.
CSEC2011
United States US
case was investigated by the FBI’s Innocence Lost initiative with the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
CSEC2011
United States US
Mariece Chevalia Sims and Dwayne B. Thigpen abducted a 16-year-old from Arkansas and forced her into prostitution in Texarkana, Arkansas; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Atlanta, Georgia. Sims and Thigpen sexually assaulted and continually threatened the victim. Sims and Thigpen were charged with kidnapping; transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Thigpen pled guilty to one count of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Sims was found guilty at trial of kidnapping; forced labor; sex trafficking of children; and transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Thigpen was sentenced to 5 years in prison and five years supervised release. Sims was sentenced to life in prison; five years supervised release, and was ordered to pay $500.00 in fines.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
A 30 year old Atlanta man, Demetrius Homer (“Cateye”), was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on charges of sex trafficking of a minor. According to the U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, “HOMER recruited and enticed a juvenile girl by becoming her boyfriend. The victim, identified in the charges only by the initials “A.M.,” was 14 years old when HOMER met her and began to use a cycle of romance and violence to cause her to engage in prostitution. HOMER hit A.M., threatened A.M. with a knife, and even shocked her with a taser her in front of another juvenile he also placed in prostitution. From January 2009 through November 2009, HOMER took pictures of A.M. and placed advertisements of this young girl on the Internet site Backpage.com to solicit customers. The advertisements listed prices ranging from $60 to $175 depending on the amount of time booked and the location. HOMER would also pay for hotel rooms in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area where the commercial sex acts took place. HOMER even had A.M. engage in prostitution while she was pregnant with his child. HOMER took all the money from A.M. and another juvenile identified in the charges by the initials “J.F.,” which both of the juveniles had earned. HOMER also bonded out “A.M.” from police custody when she got arrested, knowing that she was a minor”.
CSEC2011
United States US
On November 23, 2010, a federal jury convicted Amador Cortes-Meza, 36, of Tlaxcala, Mexico, of multiple charges of sex trafficking and human smuggling offenses related to a scheme to force women and juveniles into prostitution. The jury found Cortes-Meza guilty on all 19 counts after a trial lasting approximately two weeks. According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, “This defendant preyed on the most vulnerable of victims--girls and young women hoping for a better life-- through promises of jobs or marriage. He then physically abused them, enslaved them, and forced them into prostitution. According to the evidence presented in court, from Spring 2006 through June 2008, Amador Cortes-Meza and others charged in the conspiracy recruited and enticed approximately 10 victims to enter the United States illegally from Mexico and come to the Atlanta area. Amador Cortes-Meza then forced them into prostitution for the financial benefit of the members of the conspiracy. He lured the young women and girls to the U.S. by promising better lives, legitimate employment or romantic relationships with him. A brother and two nephews of Amador Cortes-Meza were previously convicted after pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges related to this scheme. Nine of the victims addressed the court about what they suffered at the hands of this sex trafficking ring, telling of physical threats, beatings, and intimidation which caused them to work as prostitutes against their will. Evidence at trial showed that after smuggling the victims into the United States, Amador Cortes-Meza forced them to engage in prostitution by isolating them from their families, brutally beating them, and threatening to harm them and their loved ones. One victim testified that he told her that “he was going to hit her where it hurt the most” and she took that to mean he was going to go after her family. Another victim testified that the defendant told her he would kill her parents in Mexico if he was ever arrested. On a nightly basis, Amador Cortes-Meza provided the victims to drivers who drove them to apartments and homes in Duluth, Ga.; Chamblee, Ga.; Canton, Ga.; Marietta, Ga.; Forrest Park, Ga.; and as far away as Alabama and North Carolina to provide commercial sex to as many as 40 customers a night. The victims testified that the clients were charged $25-30 for 10 to 15 minutes of time with them from which the drivers were given $10.
CSEC2011
United States US
Matthew Tompkins and associate Demetrius Lemus. Tompkins forced over 30 women into prostitution the youngest of which was 14 years old. Thompkins assets totaled over three million dollars. On March 27, 2008, Thompkins was sentenced to 23.3 years in prison and lifetime supervised release. Demetrius Lemus was sentenced to eight years a reduced sentence because he testified against Thompkins.
CSEC2011
United States US
Chesire Martinez Robinson, a/k/a “Candyman,” 30, of Austell, Georgia, was sentenced December 5, 2011 by United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester for conspiracy to engage in, and the commission of, sex trafficking of a minor and transporting a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution. Robinson was convicted of the charges on September 14, 2011, after a jury trial which lasted three days. According to United States Attorney Yates, the indictment and information presented in court: In or about July 2009, and continuing through on or about October 2, 2009, Robinson, a convicted felon, caused the victim, a 16-year-old girl, to engage in prostitution at various hotels and at a truck stop in the Atlanta area. Robinson brought the victim, who he knew to be a minor, from her home in South Carolina to the Atlanta area. He placed photographs of the victim in escort and erotic services sections of various Internet websites, and used those ads to recruit men to engage in commercial sex acts with the victim. The victim worked for Robinson six nights per week for numerous hours each night, giving all of her money to Robinson. During a mere eight weeks, Robinson earned more than $14,000 from the victim’s commercial sex acts.
CSEC2011
Philippines PH
Pagdilao said that CIDG-WCPD operating elements led by Police Superintendent Emma M. Libunao raided around 9:00 PM last night the Sweet Girl Honey Pot night club situated at Fields Avenue, Baligabo, Angeles City and rescued the 42 victims. The head of the raiding team, Police Superintendent Emma M. Libunao, said the raid stemmed from a complaint made by Ledillia Cortez of Camp O’ Donnel, Capas, Tarlac that her 17-year old niece who had been missing for a week after she left to look for a job was being held in a night club in Angeles City. Cortez told CIDG that she received a text message from her niece last May 14, 2011 that the latter wants to be rescued because the floor manager of the said club was forcibly arranging her to a bar-fine, a deal which allows male customers to take out female club workers for sexual services elsewhere in exchange for a P1,500 fine. The 17-year old victim later told CIDG investigators that she was forcibly being held by the floor manager because of the debt she has incurred from availing the club’s uniform for its women workers.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
"All 10 defendants were arrested by the SWAT team of the Baltimore police on October 12." --The Associated Press http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/el-paso-prostitution-ring-defendant-denied-bail-1946210.html "When Child Protective Services started an investigation into the reported abuse and neglect of at least five children living in the household, the 10 defendants fled altogether taking their victims with them, added the FBI agent. Angell also testified that Reemer drove one of the vehicles in which the victims were taken to Colorado during their flight." --The Baltimore Sun
Sex Trafficking2011
United Kingdom GB
Eye-witnesses described how a number of police Land Rovers and unmarked police cars swept into King Street in Belfast city centre yesterday around 10am. In dramatic scenes they raided a large apartment block adjacent to the Ibis hotel and arrested two men, aged 22 and 29. One witness, who did not wish to be named, said the apartments were known to be a base for prostitutes, with clients visiting at all hours. Two of the women, both in their 20s, were rescued yesterday from the King Street apartment block and a property in nearby College Place North. The other four women were rescued over recent weeks during the three-month long PSNI investigation. A 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were also arrested in Cavendish Street, off the Falls Road in west Belfast. One of the suspects is from Northern Ireland, the other three arrested are eastern European.
Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
On August 22, 2011 Cherry Valera, 44, and Bernard Salvatierra, 46, a married couple from Bellingham, Washington were sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart in connection with their May 10, 2011 guilty pleas. Valera pleaded guilty to harboring an alien for financial gain and Salvatierra pleaded guilty to unlawful employment of an alien. Valera was sentenced to four months in prison and 100 hours of community service during two years of supervised release. Salvatierra was sentenced to 6 months of home detention with electronic monitoring. According to court filings, Valera recruited an impoverished, young woman from the Philippines to be her family’s live-in domestic servant. Valera and Salvatierra employed the victim from August 2006 until September 2009, when she escaped. During her employment, the victim was required to work seven days a week, providing full-time childcare, cleaning, cooking and other domestic services. The victim endured verbal abuse and threats during her stay with the defendants, who paid the victim $200 to $240 per month.
Sex Trafficking2011
Philippines PH
Entrapment Operation by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). CIDG posed as clients. There was collaboration among CIDG Women and Children Protection Division, IACAT prosecutors, and Department Social Welfare and Development representatives. 60 women were rescued
CSEC2011
United States US
GIOVANNI VAZQUEZ, also known as “Screech,” 24, of Norwalk, pleaded guilty on September 29, 2011 before United States Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport to one count of transportation of an individual with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The charge stems from VAZQUEZ’ involvement in an interstate prostitution enterprise that included the sex trafficking of two minor victims. According to court documents and statements made in court, VAZQUEZ and others were involved in a prostitution business. In pleading guilty, VAZQUEZ admitted that, in November 2010, he and a co-defendant transported a victim from Connecticut to New York to engage in prostitution. VAZQUEZ also admitted that he and others trafficked other victims, including two minors who were 14-years-old and 17-years-old, across state lines to engage in prostitution.
Sex Trafficking2011
South Africa ZA
The victim was dropped off at the hospital by her perpetrator because she had experienced severe physical abuse from her trafficker. While she was receiving treatment for the physical abuse after receiving psychosocial support from the social worker at the hospital , it emerged that she was a victim of trafficking and that her perpetrator was still trying to make contact with her while she was in hospital.The victim had left her home in the Eastern Cape and ended up in Johannesburg, when she arrived her and her friend were approached by a Nigerian man who promised them employment in Cape Town. On arrival they were forced into sex exploitation in a brothel in the Northern Suburbs in Cape Town. Local NGOs assisted with both the practical support and aftercare support.
CSEC2011
United States US
Cops cracked the case after one victim's sister called a sex trafficking hotline established in June 2010 by Kings County prosecutors and reported that her sister was being held against her will by a pimp. The sister said that during the time he was forcing the victim to be a prostitute, Mr. Rogers had prevented her from going to school and that the family had not been able contact her. According to the indictment, Mr. Rogers began forcing the 17-year-old victim into prostitution in 2008 and told her that if she did not make at least $1,000 a night, he would beat her. On at least one occasion, he tortured and killed a mouse to show what he would do if she ran away. Mr. Rogers met the 15-year-old victim a year later and used similar intimidation tactics, according to the indictment, which also accused him of locking the victims in an apartment that Mr. Songster guarded. Rogers is accused of branding his nickname - Scooby - across one girl's back, videotaping them having sex and peddling the movies online for cash. On his Facebook page, he listed his activities as "pimpin hoes" and "getting this money."