Orange County a big, lucrative market for sex trafficking

[proverbialwisdom]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-728434-trafficking-orange.html

Orange County a big, lucrative market for sex trafficking

Sept. 9, 2016, Updated 12:01 a.m.
By THERESA WALKER

A new report has led those who work with victims of human trafficking to an unsavory conclusion about Orange County’s wealth: Perpetrators know they can bring victims here to sell for sex acts at a higher price than anywhere else in California.

“Whatever the price in Los Angeles County, whatever the price in San Diego County, it’s going to be twice the price in Orange County and it’s going to be worth the trip for them,” said Lita Mercado, an administrator with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, which will release its annual report today.

This is the fourth year that the task force, a partnership of law enforcement, service providers, nonprofits and faith organizations, has produced its Human Trafficking Victim Report.

Members of the task force, including Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and local police chiefs, will discuss the report and local strategy to combat human trafficking at a news conference this morning.

For the first time, the task force report looks at the origins of victims who have been rescued in Orange County, along with the origins of perpetrators who have been prosecuted here.

The majority in both cases are from other California counties or out of state, the report says, based on a review of data from 2012 to 2015 by Community Service Programs, administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.

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A major federally funded campaign launched in 2014, called “Be The One” or BT1, involved ads on Orange County Transportation Authority buses and at bus shelters, along with training more than 1,100 OCTA drivers on how to spot victims of human trafficking aboard their buses.

Mercado credits public awareness efforts for increasing the number of calls made statewide to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. California has had more calls to that hotline than any other state, Mercado said.

http://blog.octa.net/award-winning-be-the-one-campaign-raises-awareness-about-human-trafficking

Award-Winning “Be the One Campaign” Raises Awareness about Human Trafficking
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

With its mix of education, direct assistance, and advice on how to help, OCTA’s Be the One (BT1) campaign continues to raise awareness about human trafficking. Last weekend, the BT1 campaign was recognized with a Diamond Award from the Global Center for Women and Justice, a program of Vanguard University in Costa Mesa.

The BT1 public awareness campaign alerts bus riders about the problem of sex and labor trafficking and encourages them to be the one to take action by calling a national hotline or alerting a coach operator. OCTA has trained more than 1,100 coach operators on how to spot and get help for victims.

Many residents may find it hard to believe that this form of modern-day slavery exists in Orange County. However, sex and labor trafficking is found throughout the county from the wealthiest to the poorest neighborhoods.

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http://octa.net/About-OCTA/Human-Trafficking-Prevention/

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Police-Orange-County-Transportation-Authority-Turn-to-Buses-to-Fight-Human-Trafficking-270250931.html
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/anaheim-orange-county-sex-trafficking-rescue-mission-247438461.html
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Human-Trafficking-Focus-Womans-Slaying.html

[Galileo126]

1. Ah...life behind the Orange Curtain

Figures....

[proverbialwisdom]

2. Documentary film, Tricked, available on Netflix and Amazon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-wells/making-tricked_b_4412930.html

"Tricked is a groundbreaking documentary that sheds light on the sex trafficking of Americans, a dark secret that has been kept under wraps for far too long. This film is the next step forward in raising public awareness and starting conversations around the need to end this form of modern day slavery."
--Arianna Huffington, President & Editor-in-Chief,Huffington Post

"Truly hair-raising."
--Village Voice

"Tricked is eye-opening, a shocking revelation of what happens in the streets every night in cities across the country."
--Russell Simmons, Co-Founder, Def Jam Records


TRICKED on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrickedFilm

https://twitter.com/TrickedFilm/status/780501748502765568
Moments ago, a bill was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown that ends the criminalization of... http://fb.me/4UWWtZ5BC
September 26, 2016 8:18 pm

https://twitter.com/TrickedFilm/status/777945768820740096
Oakland has launched a new campaign to fight sex trafficking in addition to launching a new website,... http://fb.me/48CH5IQGs
September 19, 2016 7:01 pm

https://twitter.com/TrickedFilm/status/776067439570391040
Another huge development regarding Backpage, a website that is frequently used for child sex trafficking.... http://fb.me/1vulXxNng
September 14, 2016 2:37 pm

[proverbialwisdom]

3. 10/6/16: Backpage CEO, others arrested and site shut down.

http://patch.com/california/losalamitos/s/fwmz9/ceo-of-worlds-top-online-brothel-backpage-com-nabbed-on-calif-pimping-charges

CEO of 'World's Top Online Brothel' Backpage.com Nabbed on Calif. Pimping Charges
“Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal," says AG.

By Renee Schiavone (Patch Staff) - October 7, 2016 11:11 am ET

The CEO of Backpage.com, an adult classified listings site that officials allege facilitates sex trafficking, was arrested on a California arrest warrant Thursday, prosecutors say.

CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested in Texas upon returning to the United States from Europe. He's facing felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping, according to the attorney general's office.

“Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal,” said California Attorney General Kamala Harris. “Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world’s top online brothel. Thank you to the California Department of Justice Special Agents, investigators, attorneys, and our partners in law enforcement who have worked tirelessly to bring the operators of this online brothel to justice and protect thousands of victims of trafficking.”

According to press releases issued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Ferrer was arrested at the Houston Intercontinental Airport upon his return from Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon. The site has since been shut down.

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Ferrer, 55, was taken into custody on a California arrest warrant after he arrived in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam, Paxton's office disclosed.

"A lengthy joint investigation by the offices of the Texas and California attorneys general uncovered evidence that adult and child sex trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads that appeared repeatedly on Backpage," the statement reads.

Michael Lacey and James Larkin, controlling shareholders of Backpage, are also facing felony charges of conspiracy to commit pimping, according to the California AG's office.

Arrest Warrant for Backpage,com Executives by Colin Miner on Scribd (see link).

The Netherlands-based company has its U.S. headquarters in Dallas. It has long been linked to sex trafficking in the United States, particularly places like Portland, Oregon, where law enforcement agencies routinely arrest people who have used the site. Law enforcement agencies have even placed ads on the site to lure offenders.

Here in California, officials say there are Backpage sites in more than two dozen cities. There are hundreds worldwide.

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"Backpage’s internal revenue reports show that from January 2013 to March 2015, 99% of Backpage’s worldwide income was directly attributable to the 'adult' section," according to the California Attorney General. "During this 29-month period, Backpage’s self-reporting demonstrates that gross monthly income from California rose to $2.5 million per month, with over $51 million in revenue derived from California in that period."

“Making money off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery is not acceptable in Texas,” Paxton said. “I intend to use every resource my office has to make sure those who profit from the exploitation and trafficking of persons are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Patch's Colin Miner in Portland, Oregon, and Tony Cantu in Texas contributed to this report.

More: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141590460

[proverbialwisdom]

5. California Pursues New Pimping Charges Against Backpage.com, December 23, 2016

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/12/23/california-pursues-new-pimping-charges-against-backpage-com/

California Pursues New Pimping Charges Against Backpage.com
December 23, 2016 7:37 PM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general said Friday that she was pursuing new pimping charges against the operators of Backpage.com, a website that advertises escort services, just two weeks after a judge tossed an earlier case.

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“By creating an online brothel — a hotbed of illicit and exploitative activity — Carl Ferrer, Michael Lacey, and James Larkin preyed on vulnerable victims, including children, and profited from their exploitation,” Harris said in a statement.

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Lacey and Larkin, the website’s former owners, used to own a chain of alternative newspapers around the country, including the Village Voice in New York City.

Harris has alleged that more than 90 percent of Backpage’s revenue — millions of dollars each month — comes from adult escort ads that use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money.

She’s doubling down on pimping charges in her final days before resigning to take her seat in the U.S. Senate.

The Democrat was among 47 state attorneys general who asked Congress in 2013 to help change a provision of the Communications Decency Act that they acknowledged protected Backpage from prosecution.

[proverbialwisdom]

4. The Guardian: Inside San Diego's $810m human trafficking industry – video

https://www.theguardian.com/law/video/2016/jun/21/san-diego-human-trafficking-video

Inside San Diego's $810m human trafficking industry – video

Considered among the best cities to work and live in the US, San Diego also ranks in the FBI’s 13 highest-intensity trafficking areas in the country. Sex trafficking generates $810m in annual revenue for local pimps and gangs, making it the county’s second-largest underground economy after drugs.

But findings of a groundbreaking three-year study on gang-involved sex trafficking, funded by the Department of Justice and released last October, have prompted local government to act, creating a unique precedent for collaborative action

Laurence Mathieu-Léger, Source: The Guardian
Tuesday 21 June 2016 06.30 EDT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/21/san-diego-sex-trafficking-industry-federal-report
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/01/prosecutors-want-worldwide-crackdown-on-online