Governor Bill Haslam has signed into law a series of bills addressing the sexual exploitation of minors. One protects victims of sex trafficking from being charged as criminals and allows them to be seen as victims. Another changes the purchase of sex from a minor from a misdemeanor to a felony.
In the wake of an arrest of a couple for trafficking a minor for sex work, the city of St. Louis has been spurred into action. Months after Hilton Worldwide pledged to fight sex trafficking and CSEC, the Millenium Hotel in St. Louis has joined in the movement by vowing to train its employees to recognize the signs of sex trafficking.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/j5eZul
For the original story on the Hilton Worldwide Hotel Chain: http://bit.ly/l3Ns5I
Four Brazilian women filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a Georgia resident, stating he coerced them into having “sex acts with tourists” on his boat in the Amazon. The women claim they were between the ages of 12-17 at the time.
A Filipina mother of eight has been robbed of ten years of her life by a Maryland couple who allegedly forced her to work in their home for thirteen hours a day. The woman was forced to perform domestic duties in the couple’s home as well as massages, and loned out to the couple’s friends and neighbors to perform domestic services for them as well. Despite having a husband and children in her home country, the woman was forced to marry twice while in the United States to prevent her visa from expiring.
Read the full story here: http://1.usa.gov/l1AamB
Source: US Department of Justice
A Georgia woman has been convicted of “two counts each of forced labor, trafficking for forced labor and making false statements in an application to become a U.S. citizen, and one count each of document servitude and alien harboring.” Bidemi Bello allegedly lured two young nigerian women to her home in Georgia, using false documents to sneak them across borders, and promised them a continued education and better life. Instead, she trapped the young women, allegedly beating them with “shoes, a large wooden spoon, electric cords and her hands” and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions. The two women managed to escape and seek help. Bello’s sentencing is set for August 24.
Read more here: http://bit.ly/lwfvBz
Source: CNN
