Cybercrime Cybercrime Fighters' Career Over at Sixteen For the past three years Karen and Mary have taught FBI undercover agents how to impersonate young teens online to catch prowling pedophiles, but at 16 they’re now too old to continue. The two were recruited by the Baltimore FBI office when the father of one of the girls, an FBI agent, looked at his daughter’s computer screen and saw only one word, POS. He asked her what it meant. “POS,” she said, stands for “parent over shoulder.” Karen and Mary designed a vocabulary list, put together a quiz on teen culture, and played hit songs for dozens of agents from around the world, often on a monthly basis. For the past three years an afternoon with Karen and Mary has become a required – and popular – part of the weeklong training for undercover cyber-agents from Texas to Thailand.
The FBI is looking for replacements for Karen and Mary. C3 – Cyber Crimes Center C3 is a state-of-the-art forensic computer lab run by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help investigate domestic and foreign crime conduced on or made possible by the Internet. The agency investigates pornography, but has also uncovered a global network of software pirates, tracked sales of illegal drugs over the Web and has helped prosecutors who how terrorists use the Internet. ++++++++++ Girl in Internet Child Porn Case Has Been Found A couple of weeks ago I reported on the girl who had grown up on the Internet in child porn photos and the search of the Toronto police to find her. The Toronto police released photos of the room in which she had been photographed and, within hours, identified the hotel room. It turns out the girl has been in foster care since 2003, when her adoptive father was arrested on charges related to trading Internet child porn. The girl was originally from Russia and was adopted when she was five. ++++++++++ Prostitution Horror for Young Women As many as 17,500 sex slaves are smuggled into the United States each year, according to the latest federal statistics. This article looks at the sex-trafficking industry in Queens, New York, and a Brooklyn Federal Court case against the Carreto family, an extended family that allegedly smuggled girls into the country for prostitution. ++++++++++ A Demographic Portrait of Statutory Rape Data brief summarizing newly available data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Contains information on prevalence, family risk factors, problem behaviors associated with statutory rape. Two page pdf file packed with data. ++++++++++ Review of sex-offender laws is inevitable A certain percentage of sex offenders are extremely dangerous, some remain predators even into old age, and others are certifiable psychopaths, but the recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than for the general criminal population. Statistics show most sex-offenders do not revert to the same criminal behavior. The problem is that all sex offenders have been lumped into one criminal category. This article presents recent research, discusses the difference between a person who is truly a sexual predator and a person who commits a single solitary sex offense and the need to treat them differently. ++++++++++ Wichita Teens Lured into Child Prostitution Ring A major investigation involving an Oklahoma prostitution ring has revealed that as many as six girls from Wichita, Kan. were involved. Some of them were runaways from a Wichita drug treatment facility. Some of them were recruited by a former football player from a Wichita high school. Five of the six Wichita girls have been accounted for. The sixth is believed to be in Mexico. ++++++++++ Child Pornography: Patterns from NIBRS This Juvenile Justice Bulletin presents findings from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System. NIBRS data suggest that approximately 2,900 crime incidents of pornography with juvenile involvement were known to state and local police in 2000. These offenses most often were committed by an adult male offender, occurred in a residence, and did not involve a computer. 8 pages. Downloadable. ++++++++++ Sexual Exploitation World: Child Sex Trade Becoming Lucrative, Pan-Asian Epidemic A feature article from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site reports that the United Nations estimates that more than 1 million children around the world enter the global sex trade every year. The children are tricked or lured away from their families and are often taken abroad. New technology has increased the spread of child pornography, the demand for it, and the risk to children. Office opens in Tijuana to aid victims of sex rings The Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition is opening an office in Tijuana to provide services to people who have been exploited by child pornography, prostitution and forced labor rings. The multiagency effort will channel victims to shelters, provide them with counseling and support them in finding other work. Tijuana’s sex trade includes about 4,000 prostitutes of all ages. Trafficking groups operate along the border to bring people illegally into the US for sexual or labor exploitation. ++++++++++ United Nations Warns That Internet Child Porn Is Fuelling Global Child Abuse, Including the Sale of Minors Into Prostitution UNICEF says the Internet has sparked enormous growth in child exploitation including through prostitution, pornography, sex tourism and trafficking, and by pedophiles using it to stalk children. According to the UK children’s charity National Children’s Homes, some 55% of the Internet child porn industry is based in the United States while Russia runs second at 23%. People from all over the world are accessing these sites. A US-based website was busted in 2001 which had a quarter of a million subscribers from 59 countries. ++++++++++ Searching for Angela Shelton In this movie, filmmaker Angela Shelton set out to meet every other Angela Shelton in America. She intended to survey the thoughts and perceptions of modern American women. In the process she discovered that, like herself, 16 out of the 32 Angela Sheltons she found had been raped, beaten, or molested. CBS’s 48 Hours featured a special episode on the making of this documentary. Searching for Angela Shelton is now available for sale on both DVD and VHS. Click here: ++++++++++ History of a Sex Predator Harvey Stokes is known to authorities as one of the West’s most insatiable sexual predators, by his own count, he has assaulted scores of boys and young men over a generation, and has been in jail many times, but has avoided a lengthy prison term. A big, 6 foot 2 man, he targets the weak: runaways and teens in trouble with the law. He likes to pose as an authority figure. He is in jail in Oregon, where he is being held without bond. ++++++++++ Operation Predator stalks those who prey on children Operation Predator, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, brings together U.S. agencies, INTERPOL, and the Justice Department, with several non-governmental bodies, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and state and local law enforcement to impact child sex predators. Over 3,200 people were arrested in the first year of operation, of which more than half have been deportation cases, and there were six arrests for sex tourism. ++++++++++Human Trafficking Fact Sheet - This three page fact sheet from the Administration for Children & Families web site, defines several forms of trafficking in persons, and distinguishes between trafficking and smuggling About Human Trafficking – An overview of human trafficking issues and the various ways in which people are exploited or enslaved. Look Beneath the Surface – a page full of links to human trafficking information, resources, and assistance. ++++++++++ Prostitution of Juveniles Using the NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) system, researchers David Finkelhor and Richard Ormrod examine patterns that may be useful to people trying to identify and respond to the prostitution of juveniles. Highlights of their analysis:  | Juvenile prostitution as encountered by police is more likely than adult prostitution to involve multiple offenders and more likely to occur indoors and in large urban areas. | | Police report more contacts with male juvenile prostitutes than with female juvenile prostitutes. | | Male juvenile prostitutes tend to be older than female juvenile prostitutes and more likely to operate outdoors. | | Police are less likely to arrest juvenile prostitutes than adult prostitutes, but more likely to arrest male juveniles than female juveniles, and more likely to refer female juveniles to other authorities, such as social services agencies. | | Police are more likely to categorize juveniles involved in prostitution as offenders than as crime victims, but those categorized as victims are more likely to be female and young. | | Law enforcement agencies and policymakers need to engage in more analysis, planning, and coordination about how to respond to and record episodes of juvenile prostitution. | | Given the limitations of NIBRS data and the current lack of systematic information about the prostitution of juveniles, considerable additional research is needed. ++++++++++ Child Prostitution Ring Busted in Oklahoma State and federal charges accusing 19 people of crimes including child prostitution, sex trafficking of children and pimping were announced Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Pimps allegedly transported girls as young as 13 from Oklahoma to cities in Texas, Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Arkansas for prostitution. The young girls were recruited then controlled through threats, violence and intimidation. Much of the prostitution took place at truck stops in and around Oklahoma City . The Protect Act, passed by Congress last year, allows stiffer punishment for those accused of crimes against children. Related Story: Oklahoma City youth shelter works to keep kids off the streets ++++++++++ ++++++++++ Global Campaign to Police Child Sex Tourism The child sex tourism industry caters to pedophiles preying on the world’s poorest children. The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children From Sexual Commercial Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (known more simply as “the code”) was recently launched at the United Nations. It is designed to create a more responsible tourism industry and to report potential abusers. ++++++++++ Trafficking in persons Report, June 2003 The third annual Trafficking in Persons Report issued by the State Department is a comprehensive report on the efforts of governments worldwide to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. The report states that a recent U.S. government estimate indicates that approximately 800,000 – 900,000 people annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide and between 18,000-20,000 of those victims are trafficked into the United States . This estimate includes men, women, and children trafficked into forced labor and sexual exploitation. It does not include internal exploitation. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, each country with a significant number of victims is assigned to one of three tiers, based on the country’s governmental efforts to combat trafficking. 116 countries are currently in tiers 1-3. The report is downloadable at the link above. For a dissenting view, read this article from Women’senews about the government’s approach to international sex trafficking. ++++++++++ Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation This on-line publication is a compilation of media, non governmental organizations and government reports from around the world. Information for each country is organized into four categories: Trafficking, Prostitution, Pornography, and Organized and Institutionalized Sexual Exploitation and Violence. Its creation was supported by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). The information may be contradictory and neither information nor statistics were verified by the compilers. Having said this, the factbook is probably the most complete compilation of information on this subject available. The section devoted to the United States is 47 pages in length. ++++++++++ Las Vegas Child Prostitution Two articles appearing in the Las Vegas Sun address the problem of sexual exploitation in Las Vegas. By early December, 2003, Metro Las Vegas police had arrested 142 children on prostitution charges. The STOP program, Stop Turning Out Child Prostitutes, was introduced in 1994. It was built on the belief that underage prostitutes aren't criminals, but victims of pimps. STOP emphasizes rehabilitation and follow-up. Two articles appearing in the Las Vegas Sun address the problem of sexual exploitation in Las Vegas. The was introduced in 1994. It was built on the belief that underage prostitutes aren't criminals, but victims of pimps. . Repeat offenders are given the option of going to live at the Children of the Night home in LA where they can attend a private on-site school, learn life skills and receive drug and alcohol counseling. About half the child prostitutes arrested in Las Vegas are part of the western U.S. "pipeline" that includes Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. Pimps shuttle children from city to city in those states. ++++++++++ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) A question following last week’s satellite downlink program about sexual exploitation of children sent me to the NCMEC. Here you’ll find such resources as Legal Resources for Child-Sexual-Exploitation Cases and a public relations campaign with downloadable posters: The Sound a Child Makes When Sexually Assaulted Is Often Silence. There is, of course, much more here to look over. ++++++++++ OJJDP Videoconference: Working Together to Stop the Prostitution of Children Will be broadcast December 11, 2003 , from 1:30 to 3:00 pm Eastern Time. The conference will examine the challenges faced by policymakers and juvenile justice and other youth service professionals who are concerned with the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth. The broadcast will: | Emphasize the importance of collaboration | | Explore effective prosecution strategies to hold perpetrators accountable | | Present strategies for protecting and supporting the victims | | Highlight the importance of personal safety awareness, education, and broad prevention efforts | | Feature community efforts designed to break the cycles of violence and victimization. |
To find out where the broadcast will be downlinked in your area of the country or to register to view the broadcast live on line, go to http://www.trc.eku.edu/jj. You’ll find a list of all the registered downlink sites in the country at this site as well as more information on the videoconference. Should you miss the conference you can still view it in the videoconference archives starting about a month after the conference airs. If you’re in northern Nevada or northeastern California , NCJFCJ will host the downlink at our headquarters building in Reno . For details email Cheryl Lyngar. ++++++++++ Looking at the Demand Side of the Sex Trade Experts say sexual trafficking is only possible as long as there is a demand for it and that the way to respond is to dismantle demand. This article from Women’s eNews, reports on a conference in Chicago addressing the global demand for sexual services and what can be done about it. Related Issue: Sexual Exploitation of Children in North America "The Commercial Exploitation of Children in the U.S. Canada and Mexico" was released in 2001. It is the most thorough treatment of this subject I have ever seen. For links to the executive summary (38 pages), the complete 257 page report, and a nine-page set of recommendations, click above and look to the sidebar to the right side of the page. University of Pennsylvania researchers, professors Richard Estes and Neil Weiner, say that "Child sexual exploitation is the most hidden form of child abuse in the U.S. and North America today. It is the nation’s least recognized epidemic." The study results say that tens of thousands of U.S. , Mexican and Canadian children and youths become victims of juvenile pornography, prostitution and trafficking each year. The study estimates that in the United States 325,000 children a year are subjected to sexual exploitation. Among the sexually exploited children in the United States , the study estimates that:  | 121,911 ran away from home | | | 6793 fled mental hospitals, foster homes or other institutions | | | 51,602 were thrown out of their home by a parent or guardian. |
The study identifies 17 groups of children in the U.S. who are at "substantial risk" of being sexually exploited. The largest groups are runaway, thrownaway and other homeless American children who use survival sex to acquire food, shelter, clothing and other things needed to survive on American streets. The customers of street children include | pedophiles, pederasts, pimps and traffickers, | | | transient males, including members of the military, | | | long-haul truck drivers, | | | seasonal workers, | | | conventioneers, and | | | sex tourists. |
Other groups of commercially sexually exploited children in the U.S. include girls in gangs; transgender street youths; foreign children brought into the U.S. illegally, especially from Africa , Asia , Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the Americas ; and U.S. youth who are trafficked nationally and internationally as part of organized sex crime rings. According to Estes, in the U.S. child sexual exploitation affects as many boys as girls, but boys are less well served by human-service and law enforcement systems because of the widespread belief that boys are better able than girls to fend for themselves. Given the high levels of emotional dysfunctions, drug abuse and violence that exist for boys living on America ’s streets, however, this is not true. In time, many boys shift from being victims of sexual abuse to victimizing other boys and girls as pimps and traffickers. Some U.S. children engage in commercial sex while living at home. Many of them live in secure middle-class homes and few of their parents are aware of their children’s involvement in pornography or prostitution. Most of their customers are members of their own junior and senior high school peer groups. Estes and Weiner have identified an 11-point action agenda focused on eliminating the further commercial sexual exploitation of America ’s youth. They say that official reports seriously underestimate the problem. The study found gaps in policies and services to combat sexual exploitation and help the victims.
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