Trinity Mount Ministries

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Former Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Commercial Sex with a Minor in the Philippines

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Former Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Commercial Sex with a Minor in the Philippines

A U.S. citizen pleaded guilty today to paying a 14-year-old girl for sex on multiple occasions in 2007.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., Special Agent in Charge Tracy Corimer of HSI St. Paul, Minnesota and Attaché Ransom J. Avilla of HSI Manila, Philippines made the announcement.

According to court documents, from in or about September 2007 until in or about December 2007, James Marvin Reed, then 52 years old, engaged in commercial sexual intercourse on multiple occasions with the then 14-year-old victim, and impregnated her, while he was working in the Philippines as a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2016, he was arrested by Philippine authorities and returned to the United States for prosecution.

Reed pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place. His sentencing is scheduled in June before U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank in the District of Minnesota.

Trial Attorneys Ralph Paradiso and James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case. CEOS Trial Attorney Kathryn Furtado also served as a vital member of the prosecution team at earlier stages of the litigation.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota also provided substantial assistance in this prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Trinity Mount Ministries

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Sex Traffickers Are Using Social Media To Target Children

Your personal data isn’t the only thing that’s vulnerable on Facebook.

The rise of social media has been a boon for sex traffickers, making it easier than ever for pimps to target, groom and sell your children, top law-enforcement officials say.

“These predators are watching, and they’re listening. They’re friending. They’re seeing, ‘Oh, she’s not happy with school,’ ‘Oh, he’s upset against his parents,’ ‘Oh, he has issues with his sexuality,’ or, ‘She’s having problems with her friends,’ ” says Inspector Jim Klein, commander of the NYPD’s Vice Enforcement Unit.

“Next thing you know, these predators pick up on this, and they start becoming friendly to the point they’re now separating these victims from everybody that’s important to them.”

Some traffickers don’t even hide what they do.

“We’ve had cases where our pimps are . . . friends with [their victims’] relatives, and they’re posting about pimping out girls and making money,” says Queens prosecutor Jessica Melton.

All they need is a cheap ad and a burner phone.

The classified-ads site Backpage.com was seized and shuttered by the feds this month, but when it was in business, 600 to 800 ads were posted for “prostitutes” in New York state each day, according to the NYPD.

Now Backpage’s rivals are moving to fill the void.

“There are multiple sites that are going up on a daily basis,” said Lt. Christopher Sharpe, head of the NYPD human-trafficking team.

Making matters worse, with transactions taking place on a screen, johns are becoming more callous, says James Goward, chief of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

“It’s available for you like getting food delivered by Seamless,” he says.

Source

Trinity Mount Ministries

Friday, April 13, 2018

Backpage.com CEO pleads guilty to human trafficking

April 13, 2018
Documents unsealed today by the Justice Department (PDF) reveal Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in Arizona on April 5th, a day before the site was seized and shut down. Additionally, attorneys general in California and Texas announced today that the site itself has entered a guilty plea to charges of human trafficking in Texas, while Ferrer pleaded guilty to conspiracy and three counts of money laundering in California. Several corporate entities tied to the site, including Backpage.com LLC, also entered guilty pleas to charges of money laundering.

As a part of the deal that will see him serve a maximum of five years in prison, the prosecutors say Ferrer has surrendered the URLs of the site and its data to law enforcement, and that he will cooperate in the prosecution against others involved with the company -- namely co-founders and controlling shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin, who were indicted April 9th.

The plea deal includes Ferrer's admission that a majority of the site's ads were for sex services, and that he conspired with others to launder proceeds from the ads after credit card companies and banks wouldn't do business with the site.

Justice Department Honors New Jersey Human Trafficking Victim Advocate

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 13, 2018

Today, the Department of Justice recognized Dawne Lomangino-DiMauro, co-chair of the Anti-Trafficking Task force of All Counties (New Jersey), with the Crimes Victims’ Rights Award. This honor is awarded to individuals whose efforts to advance or enforce victims’ rights have benefitted victims at the state, tribal, or national levels. She was honored during the annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“Human trafficking is a violent and abhorrent crime, and its victims deserve our highest levels of our support,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “Throughout her career, Dawne Lomangino-DiMauro has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to support trafficking survivors.  Her advocacy has led to clear improvements in New Jersey’s response to the criminal sex trade as well as greater awareness of its victims.  I am grateful for her courageous service.”

Lomangino-DiMauro has been an active member of the anti-trafficking movement in New Jersey for 12 years. She is the co-chair of the Anti-Trafficking Taskforce of All Counties; she has promoted passage of legislation to help victims, including the New Jersey Prevention, Protection, and Treatment Act; and she implemented DreamCatcher, New Jersey’s first state-funded victim service program devoted solely to raising awareness and networking services for identified victims.

Lomangino-DiMauro successfully advocated for new arrest policies in New Jersey, and was instrumental in developing a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families supporting mandatory human trafficking training for all staff.

“Through her tireless efforts to enhance victims’ rights, Ms. Lomangino-DiMauro has changed the way trafficking victims are treated in the state of New Jersey,” said Director Darlene Hutchinson of the Office for Victims of Crime. “The Department of Justice is proud to honor her for her remarkable contributions and for her commitment to justice for all individuals victimized by crime.”

During today’s ceremony, the Justice Department recognized a dozen individuals and organizations for their outstanding efforts on behalf of victims of crime. Awardees were selected from public nominations in ten categories.

Each year in April, the Department of Justice observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Offices organize events to honor the victims and advocates, as well as bring awareness to services available to victims of crime. This year’s observance takes place April 8-14, with the theme Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims.

The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.

The Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies. Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these officers. More information about the Office of Justice Programs and its components can be found atwww.ojp.gov. More information about Crime Victim’s Rights Week can be found at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/

Trinity Mount Ministries

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

FOOD ALLERGIES LINKED TO ‘PERFECT STORM’ OF BABY WIPES AND GENETICS

Northwestern University researchers have discovered a link between food allergies, baby wipes and genetics.

Author: Sonja Haller, All the Moms

Food allergies in kids range from annoying to a terrifying, time-consuming life or death condition for parents.

Now Northwestern University researchers have discovered a link between food allergies, baby wipes and genetics.

‘PERFECT STORM’ OF FACTORS

Researchers found from working with mice that food allergies developed if:

they possessed genetics that alter skin absorbency,baby wipes that left soap on the skin were used,they were exposed to dust allergens,and they were in contact with problem foods like peanuts and eggs.

Joan Cook-Mills, a professor of allergy-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, called it the “perfect storm” for triggering a food allergy in a news release.

“This is a recipe for developing food allergy. It’s a major advance in our understanding of how food allergy starts in early life.”

The research was published in the April issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

THE BABY WIPES CONNECTION

Cook-Mills found exposing mice with a genetic mutation to something like peanuts alone had no effect when exposed to the skin. She considered all the other things babies are exposed to including environmental allergens. Cook-Mills then read about research studies that delivered compounds through the skin by using soap.

“I thought oh my gosh! That’s infant wipes!”

Northwestern’s research says that a baby’s skin is made up of lipids — fats — that can be disrupted by the soap in baby wipes and in certain babies, with a genetic disposition, this can increase the risk of their exposure to food allergens.

The research doesn’t say that wipes cause food allergies, but it does suggest ways to minimize a baby’s exposure to food allergens.

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

Researchers do have some common-sense, basic suggestions to reduce baby’s skin exposure to food allergens:

Wash your hands before handling the baby.Limit use of baby wipes.Rinse soap off with water.

Original Article

Trinity Mount Ministries

Monday, April 9, 2018

Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography Depicting Victims in the Philippines

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, April 9, 2018

A Manassas, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to using the Internet to pay women to sexually abuse children as young as six years old in the Philippines while he produced numerous images of the abuse.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement.

According to court documents, from at least October 2011 until February 2012, Dwayne Stinson, 53, used an electronic payment service to pay women in the Philippines he was chatting with to sexually abuse children while he directed the abuse. He admitted that some of the children were as young as six or seven years old. The defendant contemporaneously produced numerous screenshot images of the abuse and stored them on his computer.

Stinson pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 24, 2018.

The Prince William County Police Department and Northern Virginia/District of Columbia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NOVA/DC ICAC) assisted in the investigation. CEOS Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Trinity Mount Ministries

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Meet The Group Of Volunteers Who Rescue Children From Sex Traffickers

by Mark Baker

Though human sex trafficking continues to be a major issue that plagues the entire globe, the battle against it rarely gets the attention that it deserves. Last year, theNational Human Trafficking Hotline saw 4,460 cases of human trafficking, many of which involved children being trafficked for sex. Making matters even worse, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimates that one in sex endangered runaways are victims of sex trafficking.

Thankfully, a group of volunteers have come together to take on the human trafficking crisis head-on. The volunteers have started a San Diego-based non profit called Saved in America, which is made up of former law enforcement officers, Navy SEALs and other former military members.

Thanks to this group, countless children have been saved from the clutches of sex traffickers. One such girl was 15-year-old Seraphine Bustillos, who went missing from her California home in July of 2017. Saved in America teamed up with the local police force and helped law enforcement find her three months later. She was with a much older man with a lengthy criminal record when she was found.

Joseph Travers, a chaplain and private investigator, is one of the cofounders of Saved in America. He said he was inspired to start the group when he heard the story of Brittanee Drexel, who disappeared in 2009. She is believed to have been kidnapped, raped, and murdered by traffickers.

“I knew that street gangs, prison gangs and cartels took over drug trafficking in the 1980s and then they took over sex trafficking at the turn of the century,” Travers told People. “When I read about Brittanee Drexel, who disappeared off the face of the planet, I just knew gangs were involved.”

Saved in America has assisted in 60 successful child recoveries in the last three years, and they hope to add to this number in 2018, as the work they are doing is more important now than ever before. In the video below this story, Saved in America volunteers estimate that there are between 3,400 and 8,100 victims of commercial exploitation, including child sex trafficking, in San Diego alone every year. The FBI officially considers San Diego to be one of the 13 highest areas of child sex trafficking in this country.

“The public has got to know what’s going on,” said Sean Murphy, a retired San Diego police lieutenant and member of Saved in America. “It’s happening right here in San Diego, California.”

“All we want to see is, we want to see the recovery of that child and it brought back to where its childhood is not stolen from him or her,” added Master Chief Kirby Horrell, a retired Navy SEAL.

Find out more about Saved In America [in the video on YouTube], and SHARE this story so we can spread the word about the amazing work this group is doing!

Original Article w/ Video

Trinity Mount Ministries