National Conference at Mercer on March 19-20 to Call for End to 21st Century Slavery

Mercer University will host a national conference on human trafficking, titled “STOP Sex Trafficking: A Call to End 21st Century Slavery,” on March 19-20 in Willingham Auditorium on Mercer’s Macon campus. The conference is organized by Mercer students in STOP, the Sex Trafficking Opposition Project, to counter the growing worldwide crisis. According to the U.S. State Department, more than a million women and children are trafficked into sex slavery each year. Nearly 20,000 are trafficked annually into the United States and many of these victims are trafficked into the Southeast.

The conference will feature rescued trafficking victims Kika Cerpa and Joana Santos, who will share their stories. In addition the conference will include presentations from prominent national figures in the anti-trafficking movement, including rock musician and filmmaker Justin Dillon, who will also screen his anti-sex trafficking film, Call+Response, at the conference; Patricia McCormick, the best-selling author of Sold, the story of a Nepalese child trafficked into sex slavery; and Lauran Bethell, founder of a Thailand trafficking refuge center and recipient of the Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award.

“The students’ aspiration is, first, to make sure Macon is not a home for trafficking and, second, to combat sex trafficking wherever it is occurring,” said Dr. Mary Alice Morgan, senior vice provost for service-learning and an adviser to the conference. “The students are fired by idealism but they also have a very informed, practical sense of how to carry that idealism into effective activism.”

The goals of the conference include: raising awareness about sex trafficking, encouraging faith-based mission work overseas and support groups to help survivors here at home, aiding service providers, law enforcement and local government in fighting sex trafficking and supplying care for survivors, and providing a forum for student groups to join together to end sex slavery.

The STOP organization was founded by Mercer students to take on the issue of prostitution-related trafficking in the Middle Georgia area. The conference will build on STOP’s efforts, student organizers say.

“We’re all passionate about the issue of sex trafficking,” said Hannah Vann, a senior and conference organizer. “The idea that there are sex slaves within miles of where we live is sickening, and we won’t stand for it anymore. We've been working hard to raise awareness about the issue, but the conference will take awareness and activism in Macon, in Georgia and in the region to another level. We want to see Mercerians, Maconites, Georgians and all Americans stand up and call to end slavery, and we hope this conference will help to make that happen.”

The conference has been designed to be welcoming to all: faith leaders, students, scholars, service providers, the legal community and anyone interested in learning how communities can join together to rescue women and children and protect thousands more from sex slavery.

The Sex Trafficking Opposition Project began in a First Year Seminar course called “Engaging the World,” in the spring of 2008. While writing their research essays on contemporary ethics and justice, students started asking questions about the many spas and spa billboards dotting Macon’s landscape. They soon joined ranks with members of Baptist Collegiate Ministries and Women’s and Gender Studies students enrolled in a course devoted to violence against women. At the end of spring semester 2008, this diverse coalition of students formed STOP: Middle Georgia’s first anti-trafficking group.

This conference is being organized under the direction of Dr. Morgan, who also directs the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, and Dr. Andrew Silver, the Paige Morton Hunter Associate Professor of English. Co-sponsors for the event include: Mercer University, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Evangelicals for Human Rights, and the Mercer Women’s and Gender Studies Program.

“Every year, the traffickers rob millions of innocent victims of their normal lives,” Dr. Silver said. “We’re asking people to spend a few hours with us to help stop them.”

For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.mercer.edu/stop.

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Forty-Eight Children Recovered in Operation Cross Country III

During the past week, the FBI joined our law enforcement partners in a three-day national enforcement action as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative. This operation, known as Operation Cross Country III, included enforcement operations in 29 cities across the country and led to the recovery of 48 children being prostituted domestically. Additionally, 571 criminals were arrested on a combination of state and federal charges for the domestic trafficking of children for prostitution and solicitation.

“We continue to pursue those who exploit our nation's children,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. “We may not be able to return their innocence but we can remove them from this cycle of abuse and violence.”

In the spring of 2003, the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), formed the Innocence Lost National Initiative to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution. This program brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers all from around the country to NCMEC, where the groups are trained together. In addition, CEOS has reinforced the tr aining by assigning prosecutors to help bring cases in those cities plagued by child prostitution. To date, the 32 Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups have recovered 670 children. The investigations and subsequent convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple 25-years-to-life sentences and the seizure of more than $3 million in assets.

The FBI would like to thank its partners who participated in Operation Cross Country and ongoing enforcement efforts, specifically:

Alsip Police Department (IL); Anaheim Police Department (CA); Anchorage Police Department (AK); Ann Arbor Police Department (MI); Atlanta Police Department (GA); Aurora Police Department (CO); Beaverton Police Department (OR); Bensenville Police Department (IL); Beverly Police Department (MA); Birmingham Police Department (AL); Boston Police Department (MA); Brandon Police Department (MS); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CA); California Department of Justice (CA); Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC); Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office (OR); Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (OR); Clackamas County/Multnomah County Victims Assistance (OR); Clarendon Hills Police Department (IL); College Park Police Department (GA); Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department (IL); Corvallis Police Department (OR); Dallas Police Department (TX); Metropolitan Police Department (DC); Denver Police Department (CO); Des Plaines Police Department (IL); Detroit Police Department (MI); Downers Grove Police Department (IL); DuPage County Sheriff’s Police Department (IL); Elk Grove Village Police Department (IL); Essex Police Department (MA); Eugene Police Department (OR); Evanston Police Department (IL); Everett Police Department (MA); Everett Police Department (WA); Florida Attorney General’s Office (FL); Flowood Police Department (MS); Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (OH); Glenview Police Department (IL); Glenwood Police Department (IL); Gloucester Police Department (MA); Grayslake Police Department (IL); Gurnee Police Department (IL); Gwinnett County Police Department (GA); Hapeville Police Department (GA); Harris County Sheriff's Office (TX); Highland Park Police Department (IL); Hillsboro Police Department (OR); Hinds County Sheriff's Office (MS); Houston Police Department (TX); Immigration and Custom Enforcement; Internal Revenue Service; Jackson Police Department (MS); Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (FL); Janus Youth Services (OR); Kent Police Department (WA); Lake County Sheriff’s Department (IL); Lakewood Police Department (CO); Lakewood Police Department (WA); Lane County Parole (OR); Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (NV); Lifeworks NW (OR); Lima Police Department (OH); Lombard Police Department (IL); Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (VA); Lynwood Police Department (WA); Madison Heights Police Department (MI); Malden Police Department (MA); Marblehead Police Department (MA); Massachusetts State Police Department (MA); Melrose Park Police Department (IL); Melrose Police Department (MA); Miami Dade Police Department (FL); Miami Police Department (FL); Michigan State Police (MI); Minneapolis Police Department (MN); Minnetonka Police Department (MN); Mississippi Attorney General’s Office (MS); Montgomery County Police Department (MD); Moreno Valley Police Department (CA); Mount Prospect-Arlington Heights Police Department (IL); Mount Vernon Police Department (IL); Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (OR) ; Multnomah County Juvenile Services Division (OR); Mundelein Police Department (IL); Naperville Police Department (IL); National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; Norwood Police Department (MA); Oak Brook Police Department (IL); Oak Lawn Police Department (IL); Oakland Police Department (CA); Ontario Police Department (CA); Orange County District Attorney’s Office (CA); Oregon Department of Human Services (OR); Peabody Police Department (MA); Phoenix Police Department (AZ); Portland Police Department Victim Assistance (OR); Portland Metro Gang Task Force (OR); Miami Beach Police Department (FL); Portland Police Bureau (OR); Prince William County Police Department (VA); Rankin County Sheriff's Office (MS); Richton Pack Police Department (IL); Riverside Police Department (CA); Rosemont Police Department (IL); Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (CA); Sacramento Police Department (CA); Salem Police Department (MA); San Diego Police Department (CA); San Francisco Police Department (CA); Sandy Springs Police Department (GA); Saugus Police Department (MA); Sauk Village Police Department (IL); Seattle Police Department (WA); Sexual Assault Resource Center (OR); Skokie Police Department (IL); Southfield Police Department (MI); St. Louis Park Police Department (MN); Swampscott Police Department (MA); Tacoma Police Department (WA); Tigard Police Department (OR); Toledo Police Department (OH); United States Attorney’s Office; Walpole Police Department (MA); Washington County Sheriff's Office (OR); Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office (MI); Wayne County Sheriff's Office (MI); Wellesley Police Department (MA); Westmont Police Department (IL); Will County Sheriff’s Police Department (IL); and Willowbrook Police Department (IL).

All of the charges announced today are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Department of Justice Announces Grants to Enhance Efforts to Fight Human Trafficking

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Associate Attorney General Kevin J. O'Connor today announced almost $10 million in additional funding to supplement existing task forces and to expand the number of task forces working with community-based organizations to combat human trafficking. The Associate Attorney General made the announcement at the 2008 National Conference on Human Trafficking, where more than 350 representatives from federal, state, and local organizations gathered to discuss methods of investigating human trafficking and servitude and how best to provide services to trafficking victims.

"Human Trafficking is a serious crime and deserves the focused attention of law enforcement and victim service providers," said Associate Attorney General O'Connor. "The task forces receiving funding today are made up of both of these important elements. We will continue to use all of the resources at our disposal to make sure that traffickers are convicted and that victims receive the assistance they need to recover."

Since 2001, the Department has partnered with state and local law enforcement, and victim service organizations to convict 342 traffickers and assist 1,300 victims from 80 countries. In 2007 alone, the Department opened 154 new trafficking investigations.

Of the funds announced today, more than $4.1 million will go to task forces in: Washington, D.C.; Hawaii; Boston, Mass.; Suffolk County, N.Y.; New Jersey; Nassau County, N.Y..; San Jose, Calif.; Saint Paul, Minn.; Lee County, Fla.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Multnomah County, Ore..; Westminster, Calif.; Homestead, Fla.; Pitt County, N.C..; Harris County, Texas; Seattle, Wash.; and Clearwater, Fla. Three new task forces will be established in Westminster, Calif.; Homestead, Fla; and Pitt County, N.C. To date, the Department has provided more than $70 million in total funding to these task forces.

In addition, the following victim service organizations have received funding to work with the task forces:

Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance
$230,000

International Rescue Committee, Miami, Fla.
$460,000

North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
$460,000

Salvation Army, Orange County, Calif.
$460,000

Bilateral Safety Corridor
San Diego, Calif.
$230,000

YMCA of Greater Houston Area
Houston, Texas
$230,000

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs
Chicago, Ill. area
$230,000

Safe Horizon, Inc.
New York City and Nassau County, N.Y. areas
$230,000

Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Island Division
$230,000

Justice Resource Institute, Inc.
Massachusetts
$200,000

Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Los Angeles, Calif.
$230,000

Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
$230,000

International Rescue Committee
Phoenix, Ariz.
$230,000

International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo.
$230,000

Tapestri, Inc.
Atlanta, Ga.
$230,000

Catholic Charities of Venice, Inc.
Lee County, Fla.
$230,000

Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pa.
$230,000

Catholic Charities Oregon
$299,999

Salvation Army Alaska
$230,000

Refugees Services of Texas
$230,000

Northeastern University
$299,999


The Department also announced more than $400,000 to fund two studies conducted by Abt Associates, Inc. and San Diego State University Research Foundation. The studies will assess criminal justice strategies and collaborative programs across the country and internationally that focus on reducing the demand for commercial sex.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. More information about OJP's work on human trafficking can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/. More information about the efforts of the Civil Rights Division to combat human trafficking can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/whatwedo/whatwedo_ctip.html.

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