FBI Arrest 159, Rescue 105 Child Prostitutes in Largest Anti-Trafficking Operation

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Dario Macieira, Staff WriterLast Modified: 01:02 a.m. DST, 31 July 2013

FBI Bust Child Pornography Ring, Photo by Children's Embassy Megjashi WASHINGTON − In a three-day nation-wide sweep, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with other local, state, and federal officers, arrested 159 pimps and rescued 105 juvenile victims of forced prostitution. The action, named “Operation Cross Country VII”, has been the largest yet of the bureau’s Innocence Lost National Initiative. For comparison, a similar action in 2012 netted 104 arrests and 79 children rescued.

Ronald Hosko, who one year ago was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, spoke to reporters at the FBI headquarters in Washington. In addition to the arrests, the operation included “129 seizures of cash, drugs, firearms… estimated to have a value of $165,000.”

The prostitution sting, which was conducted in cities all across the nation from Miami to Seattle, focused on several different venues for prostitution, both physical and digital, including: truck stops, casinos, motels, internet sites, and social media platforms. Websites such as backpage.com offer easy avenues for the advertisement of sex with children, despite the website’s stated cooperation with police. Raw footage from the operation shows police consulting these websites, including advertisements for escorts around the ages of 20 and 21, who are in fact much younger.

The children that become victims of forced prostitution often come from broken homes and impoverished backgrounds, making them very vulnerable to a pimp’s promises of money or affection. Many pimps began as victims’ boyfriends. Others help girls gain illegal entrance to the United States. Offers and affection the pimps give are quickly used to emotionally control their victims, to isolate them and prevent them from escaping. Some girls do not even come to see themselves as victims, despite the physical and mental abuse they suffer.

Alexandria, as a sixteen year old living on the street, was recruited into prostitution by an abusive boyfriend. At the time she believed she had no other options, remembering, “I called everybody, I need help, I called my family, I called my friends, I called everybody I knew and nobody picked up.” It would take her two years to find the courage to contact the FBI.

Despite the success of recent operations, the number of victims rescued pales in comparison with the number of children at risk of forced prostitution. The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children estimates the number of children annually at risk to be close to 100,000. Many come from states’ foster care systems, and have weak or non-existent ties with their families. Arresting pimps and freeing their victims only treats the symptoms the wider disease. More must be done to help vulnerable children avoid falling victim to sex-trafficking.

Follow Dario on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Staff Writer: @dariomacieira

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Dutch-Moroccan 'Lover Boy' Pimps

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 15:46 p.m. EDT, 17 May 2012

Anti-Sex-Slavery Campaign, Photo by Stevens James Collins PhotographyNETHERLANDS - Al Jazeera reported on the release of a film about the explosive increase in the Netherlands of forced prostitution of girls as young as 12 by their Dutch-Moroccan ‘boyfriends.’

The film by Julia Rooke and Caroline Pare features Ibrahim, a Dutch-Moroccan social worker who made the brave decision to speak about this troubling phenomena.

He starts by telling viewers that he is proud of his heritage as a Moroccan of biracial descent; however, this growing problem of ‘Lover Boys,’ who are also often also of Dutch-Moroccan descent, is one that needs to be publicized and eradicated. The term ‘Lover Boys’ refers to young boys and men who woo young women with promises of love and acceptance, lavish attention, and expensive gifts before turning them out into the street as prostitutes.

This new brand of pimping is subtle at first but later turns violent. Both the pimps and the prostitutes have a difficult time escaping the lifestyle. Many of the young men are vulnerable, at risks kids who are just trying to survive, and when they are introduced to this method of making money by seducing young girls, they choose this form of crime rather than other more risky ventures such as selling drugs.

In the Netherlands prostitution is a legal and well-regulated industry for women 18 years or older. However, the problem with prostitutes pimped out by ‘Lover Boys’ is that fact these girls are often under-aged and can eventually become so ensnared that they can be sold into sexual slavery after enduring incredible abuse at the hands of their ‘lovers.’

Ultimately, Ibrahim chose to work with the film’s producers, Julia Rooke and Caroline Pare because he felt that the risks outweighed the potential of reducing human suffering. Exposing the problem of ‘Lover Boys’ has the potential of further polarizing the Dutch population, which like other European nations, struggles to assimilate different immigrant populations including Muslims. Anders Brievik of Norway is an extreme representative of a group of Europeans who would prefer to deport all Arabs, even those who were born in Europe.

The silence that masks the problem of 'Lover Boys' is similar to hidden plight of the Bacha Bazi. These unfortunate Muslim boys are used as sex slaves by Afghanis men, but this aberrant practice is relatively unknown outside of the country because the subject of sex and prostitution in Muslim communities is taboo and contrary to the teachings of the Qu’ran.

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Published: 17 May 2012 (Page 2 of 2)

Also, the demarcation in Islamic culture between what happens 'inside' and 'outside' the house belies the fact that Islamic nations struggle against many of the same ills that beset every nation - prostitution, pedophilia, rape, etc.

Because of the generally monolithic perception Western cultures have about Islamic culture, hidden human right's abuses continue to exist and flourish unabated. The problem is further compounded by many Muslims refusal to speak out and expose not only the hypocrisy but also the immorality that exists in their communities.

Growing up in Africa I was acutely aware of the diminished status of a woman who is perceived by the community to have ‘compromised’ her virtue. When African and Arab immigrants arrive in America, it has been my experience that they view American and European women as ‘loose,’ and thus can be treated poorly without fear of retribution since they have no men to protect them.

For men from patriarchal cultures where the women are sequestered and their every action determined, ‘outside women’ are viewed as fair game and willing accomplices. When they encounter women who are free to make decisions about with whom they will have sex, when and what venues they will frequent, and make the choice to drink and get drunk, in some (NOT ALL) African and Arab men’s minds these women deserve whatever happens to them.

What is also disturbing is the fact that most of these men are usually married to women in their home country or even in the city to which they have immigrated, but unlike the ‘outside women,’ their wives conform to the strict rules of decorum as determined by their community and are never allowed to venture forth unescorted. By contrast their husbands can and do present themselves as free agents and engage in extramarital affairs.

Some of the men and boys who agreed to be interviewed for the film with the condition of anonymity, gave chilling accounts of their disdain for the girls they pimped, and the callousness they demonstrated toward their former 'girlfriends' was chilling.

The film also interviews some of the girls who were forced into a life of prostitution by their ‘boyfriends,’ but have subsequently escaped. After watching the film I encourage you to visit Al Jazeera to read the entire interview with Ibrahim. (Source: Al Jazeera | Film by Julia Rooke and Caroline Pare)

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Dominique Strauss-Khan | Sex Addict, Pimp

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief
Original post date: 21 May 2011Last Modified: 20:44 PM EDT, 26 March 2012
 
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been charged in France with “aggravated pimping” for his alleged participation in a prostitution ring.
 

Dominique Strauss-Kahn bat le bitumePARIS, France - When the media reported on the attempted rape by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former managing director of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) it seemed strange that they referred to the victim as a chambermaid.

The assignation of this descriptor to the rape victim in the 21st century was incongruous.  A fact that must have been noticed as  the media in subsequent coverage began to refer to her as a cleaning women. In this country and in particular within the hospitality industry cleaning women are invisible.

Cleaning is an honorable job and many hard-working individuals have raised their children  by virtue of working in this industry; and thus afforded them the opportunity to move into the professional arena.  As with previous  groups, the first generation often provided the platform upon which subsequent generations built.

Most people however, have utterly no regard and in some cases disdain for these industrious individuals.  Because of their disdain they rarely grant these workers consideration nor acknowledgement as fellow human being.  Strauss-Kahn displayed a disregard for this Muslim woman's humanity as he sought to use her for his base desires.

When I heard about the 'chambermaid' from Guinea who despite the shame this accusation could cause her, displayed uncommon courage in reporting the attempted rape, I was proud of her.  It took a lot for a woman of "such low station" to resist and then report this attempted rape by such a 'powerful' man.  Because of her courage the authorities were able to apprehend Strauss-Kahn as he tried to flee the country.

The fact that this would be rapist had the audacity to attack a woman is unconscionable but it is even more shameful that he would dishonor this Muslim woman by attempting to touch her at all.  Orthodox Muslim, Jewish and Christian women are prohibited from touching or being touched by a man other than her husband.  Such an act would be considered totally inappropriate and one against which they would vigilantly guard.

Strauss-Kahn, was a likely candidate for the presidency of France and thus befitted the station of an aristocrat.  He has since resigned his position at the IMF and in the days following his high-profile arrest this baronial figure was released on a $1 million  dollar bond and sentenced to house arrest.

Without a doubt this is yet another example of one rule of justice for the rich and another for the poor.  The reason that I referred to Strauss-Kahn as a baron is because of his imperious nature and the air of entitlement that he projects.  A baron is one name for a nobleman of the middle ages.  In the middles ages the legal system that existed was feudalism.  Within this system the Upper Class of which barons were a part, ruled their fiefdoms with tyranny and injustice.

These fiefdoms contained large swaths of land which were farmed by the lower classes who were referred to as peasants or serfs.  Either free, slaves or indentured servants, their lives were one of hardship, misery and fear.  The feudal lords had absolute dominion over every aspect of their lives.  In fact, a lord could rape any peasant woman without fear of reprisal and often their husbands were powerless to stop the defilement.

The reason that I chose to refer to the victim as a charwoman is because it is term as equally incongruous to our century as is chambermaid.  The definition of a charwoman is, "quite literally, a woman who does ‘chores’. Already by the 15th century it had connotations of menial or household jobs: ‘making the beds and such other chares’." (Source: Word-Origins)

My friend who is from Trinidad and Tobago told me a saying from her country which I believe is totally apropos here - "every hog has it Saturday."  It means that each time the butcher goes to get a hog for slaughter the other pigs squeal (it seems with delight) that it is not them.  But their turn is coming and some Saturday they will adorn a table as the main course of a meal; and so it is with Dominique Strauss-Kahn.  His Saturday has come.

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