Sex TraffickingArchive 2008–2016

Sex Trafficking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2002)

A sex trafficking case from 2002 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?

What happened

The FBI led an investigation and used the Patriot Act to obtain confidential information, which resulted in the rescue of the victim. The trafficker was identified after bragging in an Internet chat room under the name of “master for teen slave girls” and sending photographs of the victim whom he identified as his “sex slave.” The victim was found restrained to a bed post with a dog collar and a chain at the offender’s house.

Response and intervention

The offender was prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and sentenced to 17 years in prison. The victim was taken to a local hospital for an examination and consequently reunited with her parents. The legislations Protect Our Children Act and Sex Offender Internet Prohibition Act were introduced in 2007. Offender's acquaintance from a chat room on the internet tipped information to the law enforcement.

Nearby cases

All 892 in the United States →

CSEC2011

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States, 2011

United States US

Michael Simmons, Stephanie Gease, and Deshonqua Strait were all convicted in relation to a case of child prostitution. Simmons was found guilty of transporting a child from PA to CA and sentenced to 17.5 years. Gease, was sentenced to 8 months for purchasing a bus ticket and escorting the child to the bus station. Strait was sentenced to 12 months for training and supervising the child.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

Bonded Labor2009

Squirel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 2009

United States US

American Woman married to man from Thailand who own The Silk Elephant import workers from Thailand, keep them in a very small apartment above the restaurant (at least 12 total) and make them work long hours with little pay (paid under the table) in restaurant below. They are baited with the possiblity of green cards and kept as indentured slaves - owing the owner for rent, food, clothing, etc. Eventually they are sent back to Thailand - so said a former employee of the establishment. The same owners own another restaurant in the city with two floors above as well for their employees to live there.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

CSEC2006

Warren, Ohio, United States, 2006

United States US

Greg Lowery, 45, of Warren, Ohio, was charged with conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in prostitution or other unlawful sexual activity. Lowery's ex-girlfriend and co-defendant Pamela Tilley, 46, also of Warren, is charged with the same offense. Tilley is the mother of one of the children, the 13 year old. Tilley and Lowrey were using crack, drinking alcohol, and travelling across state lines into Pennsylvania to sell Tilley's daughter and a 15 year old runaway.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016