An estimated 4.5 million <a href="https://www.endslaverynow.org/learn/slavery-today/sex-trafficking" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people</a> worldwide are victims of forced sexual exploitation.
One in six teenage <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Empowerment_Series_Understanding_Human_B/n9WDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22ONE+IN+SIX+TEENAGE+RUNAWAYS%22+%2B+%22SEX+TRAFFICKING%22+%2B+%22Polaris%22&amp;pg=PA387&amp;printsec=frontcover">runaways</a> become sex trafficking victims. Children, in fact, make up <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html">20%</a> of all trafficking victims.
The statistics are staggering and tragic. They are motivating factors, though, in January being recognized as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month.”
And while awareness is appreciated, it&#8217;s only the first step on the road to reform for a problem whose solution is hiding in plain sight.
The only way to end sex trafficking is deceptively simple: we have to stop those who create the demand in the first place. No buyers, no business. By creating strong deterrents, we can stem the endless flow of sex trafficked victims used to meet the demand buyers create.
In Nevada, legal brothels have been permitted in select counties for 48 years, but tolerated for well over a century. Thus, instead of creating strong deterrents, the state does precisely the opposite: it encourages sex buyers, and thus sex trafficking — a form of slavery prohibited under the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution — through legalized prostitution in rural locales.
In Nevada, the government is the trafficker, raking in millions of dollars through taxes and licensing fees, not to mention tourism revenue, as a <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/PR_Quick-Facts-on-Nevada-Prostitution-Harms_10-06-20_Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prostitution tourism state</a> it gets paid when women and girls get sold. The other traffickers brag that recruiting in Nevada is the easiest because the laws have already done half of the work for them.
Women such as three survivors of Nevada’s legal prostitution marketplace, who with the help of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) Law Center, are now <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/Williams-v.-Sisolak_First-Amended-Complaint_11.10.2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suing</a> the state to bring this abuse profiteering to an end, citing the 13th Amendment’s absolute prohibition on all forms of slavery, and on governments enabling it.
In Nevada, women are treated as human sexual chattel with young women in particular in demand. And just as in other marketplaces, supply and demand drives the prices as those who profit from their bodies can charge higher prices. As one <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/FINAL_Nevada_March2018-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> by Creighton University noted, “phrases like ‘fresh meat,’ ‘brand new,’ and ‘daddy’s little girl’ are all used to connote the youth of those being sold for sex … The higher profit margins create incentives for traffickers to recruit younger individuals.”
Thus, it is not a coincidence Nevada is among the top ten states for young people, age 20 and younger (including potentially underage), <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/FINAL_Nevada_March2018-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">engaged</a> in the sex trade. In her <a href="https://prostitutionresearch.com/prostitution-and-trafficking-in-nevada-making-the-connections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book</a>, &#8220;Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada, Making the Connections,&#8221; Melissa Farley cites a survey of 45 women who experienced prostitution in legal Nevada brothels that found 23% self-reported that they were prostituted as a child. The same survey found that 57% of the women gave part or all of their income to their pimp or trafficker.
No woman is safe in a world where other women are for sale. In Nevada, women outside prostitution face disproportionate male violence too. Nevada has consistently ranked <a href="https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/nevada_2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first</a> in the nation in domestic violence fatalities, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/232563/forcible-rape-rate-in-the-us-by-state/">seventh</a> (as of 2020) for rape/sexual assault, and <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/blog/nevada-has-nations-4th-highest-rate-for-intimate-murder-of-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth</a> for women murdered by men, while being only the 32nd most populous state in the nation.
And to refute the oft-used argument that legalized prostitution in certain areas reduces its presence elsewhere — at least <a href="https://www.stop.or.kr/atchfile/downloadAtchfile.do?vchkcode=e57a2fa6a78e1d93b2608d481087fb1b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">90%</a>  of prostitution in Nevada is estimated to occur outside of the legal brothel system. Prostitution is officially illegal in Las Vegas and Reno, but commonly occurs in legal strip clubs and legal escort agencies. Per-capita <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/FINAL_Nevada_March2018-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rates</a> for commercial sex, both legal and illegal, are 63% higher in Nevada than the next highest state — New York.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford <a href="https://news3lv.com/news/local/reno-man-sentenced-to-prison-for-attempt-sex-trafficking-and-child-abuse-neglect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said,</a> “January is human trafficking month and there’s no better time to remind Nevadans victimized by human trafficking that my office is here to help.” We applaud his commitment, however, as long as there are legal brothels in Nevada, efforts to fight human trafficking will be futile. 
That one decision would help end human trafficking in the Silver State, free hundreds of women and girls from its ravages, and restore human dignity. But if the state digs in, it is my hope the NCOSE lawsuit and the federal courts will end this <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/nevada-is-not-safe-for-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corrupt and dehumanizing system</a> that — with state backing — presumes women exist for male use.
Christen Price is senior legal counsel for the<a href="http://www.endsexualexploitation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> National Center on Sexual Exploitation</a>, the leading national non-partisan education organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography. Twitter: @NCOSE
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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The Solution To Human Trafficking Is Hiding In Plain Sight

Child Sex Abuse

Human Trafficking

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Sex Trafficking

U.S.

Addressing the wickedness of slavery in 1850, the great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass said the practice “violates the great law of liberty, written on every human heart.” Further, he said, it “contravenes the laws of eternal justice, and tramples in the dust all the humane and heavenly precepts of the New Testament.”
In 1865, America banished chattel slavery, but nowadays — yes, even in 2023 — a modern form of slavery persists in the form of illegal human trafficking. And there are thousands of victims living right here in America.
The crime of human trafficking occurs anytime someone uses force, fraud, or coercion to make another individual provide labor, services, or commercial sex acts. If a person performing commercial sex acts is under 18, the crime of human trafficking <a href="https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still occurs</a> even without the elements of force, fraud, or coercion.
Because this evil $150 billion global enterprise operates in the dark shadows, compiling statistics on its reach is difficult. To stamp it out, we need the same kind of determination that the 19th-century abolitionists showed in their own fight for justice and liberty.
Human trafficking is enabled by those who choose to look the other way rather than paying attention to signs that someone might be a victim.
It is also enabled and exacerbated by elected leftist leaders (such as the current president) who willfully embrace the porous nature of the U.S.-Mexico border, across which so many victims are trafficked into the United States.
As Indiana’s attorney general, I am committed to promoting greater awareness among the public of human trafficking — and I am committed to forcing our federal government to get serious about border security.
With January being National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, now is a fitting time to remind Hoosiers and all Americans to stay watchful for signs that someone might be a trafficking victim. 
According to the U.S. State Department, those signs include observations that someone:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">lives with their employer.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">lives with multiple people in a cramped space.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">otherwise experiences poor living conditions.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">is prohibited from speaking alone to strangers.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">gives answers that appear to be scripted and rehearsed.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">has an employer holding their identity documents.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">shows signs of physical abuse.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">is submissive or fearful.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">is unpaid or paid very little.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">is under 18 and working in the commercial sex industry.</li>
</ul>
People in certain job roles — such as medical professionals, restaurant workers, teachers, and truck drivers — are particularly likely to come into contact with trafficking victims.
Anyone with suspicions that another person is being trafficked should immediately call local law enforcement. They may also call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
My office works with law enforcement to assist crime victims — including administering our <a href="https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/about-the-office/appeals/victim-services/address-confidentiality-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Address Confidentiality Program</a>. This initiative enables victims of certain crimes, including trafficking, to conceal their residential address from the public — and therefore from their victimizers.
Combating this scourge, however, also requires sealing our nation’s southern border from easy trespass by people with criminal intent.
The criminal cartels operating out of Mexico are responsible for a significant measure of the human trafficking that occurs within the United States.
“In the U.S., immigrants, especially immigrant women, make up the largest portion of trafficking victims,” notes Selene Rodriguez at <a href="https://www.texaspolicy.com/how-porous-borders-fuel-human-trafficking-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TexasPolicy.com</a>. “In fiscal year 2021, there were nearly 2 million migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border, and that number only accounts for the people encountered by border agents.”
Studies done by the Latin American branch of the <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/17/how-bidens-border-policy-will-increase-child-sex-trafficking-to-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coalition Against Trafficking International </a>estimates that 60% of Latin American children who set out to cross the border alone or with smugglers “have been caught by the cartels and are being abused in child pornography or drug trafficking.”
As Indiana attorney general, I have filed a <a href="https://events.in.gov/event/attorney_general_todd_rokita_defends_hoosiers_liberty_in_indianas_own_border_security_lawsuit?utm_campaign=widget&amp;utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=State+of+Indiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first-of-its-kind lawsuit</a> aimed at forcing the Biden administration to get serious about securing the border — solely on behalf of Indiana, based on damages unique to our state.
Securing the border would bring relief to millions of Hoosiers and all U.S. citizens who are currently bearing the burdens of runaway illegal immigration. But it also would help prevent the victimization of women and children from Latin American countries who are being trafficked.
We need to talk about these issues not only during National Human Trafficking Awareness Month but indeed all year long.
And beyond the talk, we need action.
Todd Rokita is Indiana’s <a href="https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attorney general</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Southern U.S. Border Sees Rise In Migrant Crossings As Title 42 Policy Is Set To Expire

To Stop Human Trafficking, We Must Raise Public Awareness And Secure The Southern Border

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World

Andrew Tate was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-tate-arrested-after-clue-in-video-to-greta-thunberg-tipped-police-off-that-he-was-in-country-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently arrested</a> on charges including rape and human trafficking in Romania, but is he really an alleged rapist? Or were the girls involved just willing to sell their bodies in exchange for money and a life of luxury?
Before we answer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-70-is-andrew-tate-a-rapist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that question</a>, let’s look at another story where women allegedly agree to trade debased sexual favors in exchange for a life of glam.
There is a website out there called <a href="https://tagthesponsor.com/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TagTheSponsor.com</a>. Essentially, what the people behind this site do is claim to trap these young, promiscuous girls on Instagram who pretend to be successful “models” by throwing out outlandish sexual offers — all entirely lewd, crude, and crass that go far beyond conventional norms — in exchange for luxury travel, gifts, and more. That happens in real life and the site nicknames the men who support these “models” as “Sponsors.”
Shockingly, these Instagram “models” go along with mortifying propositions. The folks at TagTheSponsor post the conversations online and show how fraudulent their lifestyle really is. It’s disgusting stuff, but this is the price “models” are willing to pay so they can travel to foreign lands and get high-end jewelry supported by “sponsors.”
The point behind the site is to prove that these “sponsorettes” —  as TagTheSponsor calls them — are essentially participating in the world’s oldest profession, though they hide it from their followers.
To secure a life of fame, material, wealth, and fortune, these women readily agree to the most ridiculous, provocative made-up fetishes from TagTheSponsor.com. They’re not models — far from it. That’s just a euphemism for something I don’t need to spell out anymore.
Why does any of this matter? Well, as noted, internet personality Tate has been accused of some very bad crimes against women.
The question again is: Is Tate actually guilty, or did these girls who got involved with him know what they were getting into — similar to the sponsorettes and other “models” around the world?
Now, I’ve actually met Tate. I met him during a group dinner at the Ritz in London. He was the friend of a friend of my then-budding love interest and now-husband. Tate was very nice to me, and for that dinner, I have nothing bad to say about how he treated me. I didn’t speak to him that much — I was literally too busy falling in love with my husband.
Interestingly, at the time I had an assistant who happened to be Romanian. This girl was not the brightest, to put it bluntly, and was also obsessed with Instagram. She would post a lot of seductive photos online and spout dumb comments in real life. She wasn’t a very good assistant.
Needless to say, she isn’t working for me anymore, but she did spend a lot of time talking to Tate that night in England.
At the end of dinner, my former assistant told me that she thought Tate was a pimp in Romania. This seemed crazy because he wasn’t from Romania and I didn’t take her seriously at the time. Then the arrest happened and Tate was accused of being just that and more.
So what do I think now?
Well, based on the evidence I have seen, I don’t think Tate is a rapist. He is exactly what he tells us he is.
Tate openly admits that he expects women to submit to his demands — sexual and otherwise. He has never hidden who he is. In private and public communication, Tate states explicitly what he does to these women and what can be expected if they enter into a relationship, professional or not, with him.
In short, he is really a modern Hugh Hefner of sorts.
To be clear, I do not support Tate’s lifestyle at all. As a Christian, I could never support it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look at it objectively.
I believe that Tate was always upfront with these women in the same way the Playboy Mansion is upfront with Playboy models as to what is expected of them: Wearing scantily clad clothing and bunny ears for Hugh Hefner.
Unlike Hefner’s smut in America, the risk of doing something like in Romania is that it is a <a href="https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Romania/Romania-plagiarism-a-gateway-to-corruption-222223">notoriously corrupt country</a>. It has been for quite some time. Perhaps Tate did whatever he was doing there for legal reasons while taking the risk Romania could trump up charges against him.
It isn’t a stretch to wonder whether or not the Romanian government simply brought charges against Tate so they could seize his assets.
Legacy Media, for its part, has done everything in its power to condemn Tate as guilty.
They hate him. Why? Well, he’s an outspoken anti-feminist. He may not exactly have the right idea about true masculinity, but the internet and media hate anybody who speaks out against feminism or goes against it for whatever reason.
Now, the media keeps revealing private convos that he has had with women — presumably in order to provide evidentiary support behind the claims against him. 
For example, in one conversation he <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11604945/Young-women-working-Andrew-Tate-allegedly-branded-tattoos-said-owned-Tate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> that a woman get a tattoo with his name. Allegedly all the girls in Tate’s posse have to get a tattoo. To paraphrase, Tate is saying those are the rules if they want to work for him or be connected to him.
Again, that does not mean he is a rapist necessarily. In other conversations, he speaks very degradingly and assertively and dominates these women. 
Yet we know that there are many women who are into this kind of BDSM fetish. For some people, this sort of talk is a sexual kink. Most people don’t want to believe that there are women who are into this, but there are.
Now, anybody who has listened to Tate for more than a minute knows that he has been honest about his views of women. There is no mystery that he believes women should submit to him and that they should not expect his loyalty. 
It isn’t outlandish to suspect that the women who were engaging in conversations with him knew what they were getting into when they DMed him. 
That raises another point. It makes me sick that we have to pretend that in every situation the woman is the victim. Society wants you to believe that women never have any power.
The “Metoo movement” disempowered women, but the truth is that women take advantage of men, too, in order to get what they want.
How so? Well, women around the globe know that the easiest way to get what they want — especially from rich men who are well-connected — is to sell sex. This isn’t anything new. 
Sex is a power that women have and they tend to wield it heavily. They use it for greedy purposes — as evidenced by the sponsorette page.
All that being said, I want to emphasize that I do not agree with the way Tate lives his life, but two things can be true at once. 
You can condemn Tate and his business and personal life, while also entertaining the idea that the women who involved themselves with him knew what they were getting into. Perhaps they did it for money, perhaps it was for fame — it likely was for a certain lifestyle that he provided.
But that is what you call an exchange.
There is going to be a lot more to this story, and so far, I have not been surprised by anything that I have seen.

Candace_416x9 copy 25 (1)

Is Andrew Tate A Rapist?

Candace Owens

Europe

Online personality Andrew Tate was detained Thursday by Romanian law enforcement on suspicion of rape, human trafficking, and organized crime. Reports initially appeared to indicate that authorities were able to confirm Tate’s presence in the country because of region-specific pizza boxes featured in a video he sent to far-left climate activist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/greta-thunberg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Greta Thunberg</a>.
According to a report from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/romania-detains-ex-kickboxer-andrew-tate-human-trafficking-case-2022-12-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>, despite speculation over the video tipping police off to Tate’s location, an “anti-organised crime unit representative said it was not the case that Tate&#8217;s arrest had been made as a result of the pizza boxes.”
Reuters <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-12-29/romania-detains-ex-kickboxer-andrew-tate-in-human-trafficking-case#:~:text=Dec.%2029%2C%202022%2C%20at%206%3A58%20p.m.&amp;text=BUCHAREST%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Romanian%20prosecutors,forming%20an%20organised%20crime%20group." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that investigators found six women who had allegedly been sexually exploited by Tate, his brother Tristan Tate, and two other men.
&#8220;The four suspects &#8230; appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost,&#8221; prosecutors said. &#8220;They would have gained important sums of money.&#8221;
The women were then allegedly subjected to “physical violence and mental coercion’ and were ‘sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform pornographic demonstrations […] for the purpose of producing and disseminating through social media platforms,” the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11583711/Andrew-Tates-luxury-villa-Romania-raided-police.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK">reported</a>.
Semafor <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/12/29/2022/andrew-tate-detained-in-romania-for-human-trafficking-allegations">suggested</a> that police were tipped off about Tate&#8217;s presence in the country after he sent a video on Twitter to Thunberg that contained pizza boxes from a restaurant inside the country.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Andrew Tate’s video in response to Greta Thunberg allowed Romanian authorities to confirm he was in the country, and arrest him in human trafficking investigation, due to the pizza chain shown in the 2-minute rant. <a href="https://t.co/RJzwJvZVaP">pic.twitter.com/RJzwJvZVaP</a>
&mdash; Pop Base (@PopBase) <a href="https://twitter.com/PopBase/status/1608586308880039936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tate tweeted at Thunberg earlier this week about his extensive car collection.
&#8220;Hello @GretaThunberg,&#8221; Tate said. &#8220;I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.&#8221;
&#8220;Yes, please do enlighten me,&#8221; Thunberg responded. &#8220;Email me at smalld***energy@getalife.com.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com <a href="https://t.co/V8geeVvEvg">https://t.co/V8geeVvEvg</a>
&mdash; Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1608056944501178368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tate responded in a video trolling Thunberg, which contained the pizza boxes.
A spokesperson for Tate <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/andrew-tate-arrested-suspicion-abducting-28839106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Mirror: &#8220;We cannot provide any details at the moment regarding alleged reports that they have been detained; however, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can.&#8221;
Tate faced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-tate-detained-in-romania-in-human-trafficking-investigation-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allegations</a> of human trafficking in Romania in April 2022.
However, Tate claimed the accusations stemmed from a swatting incident where authorities accused him and his brother of obtaining large sums of money with which they bought houses, luxury cars, and cryptocurrencies, according to reports.
“I was not arrested,” Tate <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/andrew-tate-brother-tristan-arrested-amid-human-trafficking-probe/news-story/248458ec593bf1bc76ce70f8250abf88" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “What happened is I suffered from a case of swatting. It’s very popular with people who are large on the Internet.”
“[Police] turned up, they investigated, they realized nobody was in the house against their will, there was no crime committed […] we had to go to the police station for 45 minutes for pieces of paper, we filled them in, and we were let go,” Tate added.
Brandon Drey contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect new information.

Greta Thunberg Andrew Tate

Report Suggests Andrew Tate Arrested After Clue In Video To Greta Thunberg Tipped Police Off That He Was In Country

Crime

Greta Thunberg

American-British media personality and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother were <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/29/andrew-tate-brother-arrested-on-sex-trafficking-allegations-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detained</a> in Romania in a human trafficking investigation Thursday along with a former policewoman, according to <a href="https://www.antena3.ro/actualitate/fratii-tate-perchezitii-vila-lux-tristan-cobra-661477.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>.
Romanian authorities allegedly detained Tate and his brother at their luxury villa after armed police raided his residence searching for evidence related to the case in which the brothers are accused of abducting two women.
Local media reported that sources close to the investigation said the former policewoman allegedly formed a criminal group. Romanian prosecutors said the group explicitly aims to recruit and exploit girls to create and distribute pornographic clips on sites like OnlyFans.
The raid was conducted by the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT ), according to Romanian media outlet <a href="https://www.g4media.ro/noi-descinderi-diicot-la-cei-doi-frati-britanici-din-voluntari-acuzati-ca-au-sechestrat-fete.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G4Media</a>.
According to Daily Mail, DICCOT said in a news release that Romania&#8217;s police, crime, and investigation unit had raided five homes with search warrants issued in connection to an ongoing investigation into an organized criminal group, human trafficking, and rape.
The alleged victims were &#8220;recruited by two British citizens&#8221; who were later transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county, police said.
Authorities did not name the suspects.
The women were then allegedly subjected to &#8220;physical violence and mental coercion&#8217; and were &#8216;sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform pornographic demonstrations […] for the purpose of producing and disseminating through social media platforms,&#8221; Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11583711/Andrew-Tates-luxury-villa-Romania-raided-police.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK">reported</a>.
Authorities reportedly detained the two brothers for 24 hours.
Tate&#8217;s reported apprehension comes a day after he filmed a <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/29/greta-thunberg-and-andrew-tate-trade-barbs-in-twitter-spat/">video</a> criticizing climate activist Greta Thunberg, which included a pizza box from a national chain in Romania.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Andrew Tate and brother Tristan arrested in Romania in human trafficking probe <a href="https://t.co/b5eaZrErAb">pic.twitter.com/b5eaZrErAb</a>
&mdash; BNO News (@BNONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1608578309981442051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tate faced allegations of human trafficking in Romania in April 2022.
However, Tate reportedly said the accusations stemmed from a swatting incident where authorities accused him and his brother of obtaining large sums of money with which they bought houses, luxury cars, and cryptocurrencies, according to reports.
“I was not arrested,” Tate <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/andrew-tate-brother-tristan-arrested-amid-human-trafficking-probe/news-story/248458ec593bf1bc76ce70f8250abf88">said</a>. “What happened is I suffered from a case of swatting. It’s very popular with people who are large on the Internet.”
“[Police] turned up, they investigated, they realized nobody was in the house against their will, there was no crime committed […] we had to go to the police station for 45 minutes for pieces of paper, we filled them in, and we were let go,” Tate added.
According to a report from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/romania-detains-ex-kickboxer-andrew-tate-human-trafficking-case-2022-12-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>, though it has been speculated that authorities were able to confirm Tate’s location in part because of the pizza boxes featured in his response video to Thunberg, an “anti-organised crime unit representative said it was not the case that Tate&#8217;s arrest had been made as a result of the pizza boxes.”

Cropped Hand Of Handcuffs

Andrew Tate Detained In Romania In Human Trafficking Investigation: Report

OnlyFans

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated a clinical <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2022-060416/190310/Exploitation-Labor-and-Sex-Trafficking-of-Children?autologincheck=redirected">report</a> last week about assisting pediatricians with identifying children and teens subjected to human trafficking.
The Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health published the “Exploitation, Labor and Sex Trafficking of Children and Adolescents: Health Care Needs of Patients” report which lists potential “red flags” while discussing screening tools and providing detailed information for evaluation and aftercare.
Jordan Greenbaum, MD, lead author of the report, said in a <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2022/american-academy-of-pediatrics-issues-clinical-report-update-on-exploitation-labor-and-sex-trafficking/">news release</a> that COVID-related lockdowns and travel restrictions increased children’s vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers amid many families experiencing income loss.
“What is especially challenging for healthcare professionals is that individuals experiencing trafficking or exploitation may not perceive themselves as being exploited or may be reluctant to disclose their situation to medical staff,” Dr. Greenbaum said. “This makes it difficult to recognize children and adolescents in need.”
Such red flags physicians should look for include a guardian who is not a relative or a parent refusing to let a child speak accompanying the child. Others may show signs of inflicted injury, malnutrition, and a history of abortions.
Dr. Greenbaum said the American Academy of Pediatrics, which covers some 67,000 members, advises that all pediatric care providers and staff adopt a trauma-informed, culturally responsive approach without judgment or pressure in working with this vulnerable population.
“Physicians can play a vital role in offering critical services to vulnerable and exploited children and adolescents,” Dr. Greenbaum said. “An important first step is to develop trusting, respectful relationships with patients who need to feel safe and supported.”
Nearly 5 million children worldwide experienced forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation in 2021, according to the news release.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported by <a href="https://healthnews.com/news/new-study-assists-pediatricians-with-identifying-trafficked-children/">Health News</a> more than 27.5 million people were forced into labor, with the majority happening in the Asia and Pacific region and the Arab States. Of the millions forced into labor, 12% included children, with over half placed into sex trafficking.
Health News reported U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said traffickers use technological advancements, which expose victims to severe dangers — many of whom are children runaways from low-income families that have created a bond with their aggressor after being persuaded with money, food, clothes, and attention.
Health News further noted an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 victims trafficked into the United States annually, while the number of people prosecuted in the U.S. for human trafficking has increased by 84% (729 to 1,343) from 2011 to 2020.

A child sits in the hallway of a house, 30 August 2005. THE AGE Picture by JOHN

New Study Details How Pediatricians Can Identify Trafficked Children

American Academy of Pediatrics

Child Abuse

If you were to run a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media</a> company, what would take priority — silencing your political opponents or ridding it of child porn?
If you&#8217;re the new owner of Twitter Elon Musk, it&#8217;s addressing truly evil things that exploit minors. If you&#8217;re a leftist, it appears that it&#8217;s making sure conservatives don&#8217;t have a voice.
Roughly two-thirds of Twitter&#8217;s former 7,500-person workforce have <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/21/23472025/elon-musk-twitter-hiring-again-ending-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">either been fired or have voluntarily departed</a> since Musk took over the company. With the exodus has come a bevy of leftist complaints that the world&#8217;s richest man is going to turn the site into the wild west, a bastion of hate, or that the whole thing might fall down altogether.
What those individuals haven&#8217;t explained is why it took new ownership to make sure that one of the company’s top focuses is ending the abuse of children on the site.
On Monday, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/priority-1-elon-musk-to-address-twitters-child-sexual-exploitation-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Musk, who has made sweeping changes within his newly purchased $44 billion company, responded to a report shared by Twitter user EvaFoxU, which features a human trafficking survivor talking about how the company “has begun addressing the issue of posting child sexual exploitation content on Twitter after years of the platform’s inactivity on the subject under past management.”
The tech guru responded that ending the filth on the site is &#8220;Priority #1.&#8221;
In reaction to Musk&#8217;s claims, anti-human trafficking advocate Eliza Bleu <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=After+years+of+advocating+for+the+minor+survivors+of+Twitter%2C+I%E2%80%99ve+never+been+as+hopeful+as+I+am+right+now&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS998US998&amp;oq=After+years+of+advocating+for+the+minor+survivors+of+Twitter%2C+I%E2%80%99ve+never+been+as+hopeful+as+I+am+right+now&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59i450l8.166j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;After years of advocating for the minor survivors of Twitter, I’ve never been as hopeful as I am right now.&#8221;
Bleu, who has oft shared her frustration with social media in general on the matter, added that the swiftness of Musk&#8217;s deliberations was welcome news.
&#8220;I don’t expect perfection from a platform,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.teslarati.com/twitter-taking-child-exploitation-seriously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> in an interview with Teslarati, a news outlet that reports on all things Musk. “All I’ve ever wanted was to see a sense of urgency around such a serious matter. In many of these cases, this is a matter of life or death for each victim, so every second matters.&#8221;
Bleu also directly hit back against former Twitter employees for letting the problem rage.
&#8220;The fact of the matter is that Twitter knew about the child sexual abuse material problem for 10+ yrs,&#8221; she alleged. &#8220;Sued by two minor survivors. Ignored countless victims globally. You failed children. Not me. You.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I get it, some of the ex-twitter employees are mad at me, that’s fine. 
The fact of the matter is that Twitter knew about the child sexual abuse material problem for 10+ yrs.
Sued by two minor survivors. 
Ignored countless victims globally. 
You failed children. Not me. You. <a href="https://t.co/oNPR8K2Mmu">pic.twitter.com/oNPR8K2Mmu</a>
&mdash; Eliza (@elizableu) <a href="https://twitter.com/elizableu/status/1594511882764701696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She also pointed out that the obscenity was so ubiquitous, dozens of big-name brands left the site.
&#8220;You worked at Twitter in September when 30+ brands left advertising on Twitter because of child sexual abuse material,&#8221; she tweeted. &#8220;Not me. You. You folks reviewed child sexual exploitation material and refused to remove it. The minor survivor begged on the brink of suicide. Over 167,000 views and 2,223 retweets. You did that. Not me. You.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
You worked at Twitter in September when 30+ brands left advertising on Twitter because of child sexual abuse material. 
Not me. You. <a href="https://t.co/mouQb4rCvq">https://t.co/mouQb4rCvq</a>
&mdash; Eliza (@elizableu) <a href="https://twitter.com/elizableu/status/1594512484395794432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yet if you were to ask other Twitter employees, they might say that the site is now more dangerous because Musk believes in free speech.
For example, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137413251/twitter-employees-quit-elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that amongst the staffers who left were ones &#8220;who develop automated systems to analyze the 37.5 million tweets posted every hour, and most crucially, a large group of content moderators who constantly review posts.&#8221;
For example, one former senior data scientist who worked as a contractor for Twitter <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/11/20/former-twitter-employees-horrified-by-musk-reinstating-trump-account/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fortune, &#8220;Elon Musk’s decision to let Trump back on the platform is incredibly upsetting. We all worked very hard to keep the platform safe for people to use.”
This isn&#8217;t to say that this individual is responsible for the child porn problem. Yet it does raise questions as to who was paying attention to it with the gravitas it needed.
Based on media reports, the company was slow to respond when faced with complaints.
&#8220;A minor sued Twitter saying that the company refused to remove a sexually explicit video of him at age 13, originally posted in 2019,&#8221; Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-child-sexual-exploitation-content-is-top-priority-2022-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;The minor reported the video but it took nine days for the company to remove it from its platform, and this was only after an agent from the US Department of Homeland Security intervened.&#8221;
So to recap, when Twitter was bloated with thousands of employees doing things such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/id-fire-whoever-uses-them-matt-walsh-responds-to-posh-amenities-at-twitter-offices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attending</a> yoga sessions during the work day, the company had to be pressured to remove mortifying content that harmed children.
Under Musk and his alleged skeleton crew, not only does it appear the site is working perfectly fine and free speech is better than ever on the platform, but the benevolent Chief Twit has made it his number one goal to rid the site of child porn.
Can any critic explain convincingly why exactly that is a bad thing?
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Twitter Elon Musk Illustrations

Musk And Skeleton Crew Take On Problem Ousted Twitter Employees Ignored: Child Exploitation

Elon Musk

Twitter

The parent company of Pornhub is being sued by a minor child&#8217;s mother for the X-rated adult website allegedly allowing the dissemination of videos and images of her son being molested by an Alabama man despite authorities&#8217; warning.
Plaintiff CV1 Mother, an anonymous name used due to the sensitive and private nature of the allegations, filed a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.almd.78851/gov.uscourts.almd.78851.1.0.pdf">lawsuit</a> last month against Pornhub&#8217;s parent company, MindGeek, other foreign entities, and Rocky Shay Frankin, a resident of Greenville, Alabama, who has been accused of entering into a contractual relationship with the pornography website&#8217;s operator in a U.S. District Court of Alabama.
&#8220;This lawsuit concerns perhaps one of the most disturbing courses of conduct imaginable: the exploitation of child molestation for profit,&#8221; the lawsuit reads. &#8220;The MindGeek Defendants are those entities who utilized their platform(s) in collaboration with Defendant Franklin to disseminate obvious images and videos of child molestation, thereby profiting from their dissemination.&#8221;
Franklin allegedly uploaded at least 23 videos molesting the child offered for at least $15, which prosecutors said represents &#8220;substantial financial benefit to the MindGeek Defendants in multiple ways.&#8221;
Franklin was arrested in May 2020 for sexually exploiting a child, advertising child pornography, and distributing child pornography. Following his arrest, he pled guilty and is currently serving 40 years in prison.
Before his sentencing, the lawsuit claims Franklin lived with plaintiff CV1&#8217;s Mother and her children between July and October 2018, during which he assaulted the 12-year-old and another minor.
&#8220;Franklin overpowered them and, in some cases, drugged them for the purpose of preying on them [while] recording his acts of sexual violence,&#8221; the court document describes.
According to the lawsuit, Franklin entered a contractual relationship with MindGeek, where the footage of the molestation generated an &#8220;astonishing&#8221; 188,000 video views with more than 1,100 subscribers on Pornhub.
MindGeek officials were asked by authorities to remove the content of the 12-year-old victim&#8217;s assault.
MindGeek allegedly removed the content in December 2019 following three separate requests from authorities.
MindGeek told <a href="http://The Journal of Montreal">The Journal of Montreal</a> that company officials were aware of the lawsuit, saying the Pornhub parent company has cooperated with authorities in the investigation.
&#8220;We sympathize with all victims of abuse,&#8221; the company said. &#8220;We have zero tolerance for illegal material.&#8221;
Pornhub has recently come under fire after both Visa and Mastercard cut off payment privileges with MindGeek, the site&#8217;s parent company, and its advertising arm, TrafficJunky. The move from the payment processing companies followed a federal judge ruling in August that it was reasonable to conclude Visa knowingly &#8216;intended to help monetize child pornography&#8217; on Pornhub and other sites operated by MindGeek in the Fleites v. MindGeek lawsuit.
The judge’s ruling came a month after MindGeek denied allegations from a nonprofit organization that more than half of its employees were likely laid off following the resignation of two of the company’s top executives on the same day.
MindGeek’s former chief executive officer, Feras Antoon, and ex-Chief Operating Officer David Tassillo resigned earlier this year after more than a decade of running the adult website company, though both remain shareholders.
Laila Mickelwait, founder and CEO of Justice Defense Fund, a nonprofit that has opposed Pornhub since it was accused of having ties with the sex trafficking of minors, advocated for a complete shutdown of the site and to hold all of its executives accountable after issuing a list of accusations.
&#8220;Pornhub was cut off from all credit cards, they deleted 80% of the site/10 million videos…Instagram shut down their 13 million follower account, the CEO &amp; COO were forced to resign, 194 victims of child abuse and sex trafficking are suing them in lawsuits across the U.S./Canada…,&#8221; Mickelwait said in a tweet. &#8220;A bad day for Pornhub is a great day for humankind.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pornhub was cut off from all credit cards, they deleted 80% of the site/10 million videos…Instagram shut down their 13 million follower account, the CEO &amp; COO were forced to resign, 194 victims of child abuse and sex trafficking are suing them in lawsuits across the US/Canada…
&mdash; Laila Mickelwait (@LailaMickelwait) <a href="https://twitter.com/LailaMickelwait/status/1591866112647565313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
More than 200 victims of image-based sexual abuse worldwide signed a <a href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/ProtectAct_SurvivorLetter-w-Signatures.pdf">letter</a> supporting new legislation a Republican lawmaker introduced earlier this year that would require age and consent verification of those depicted in sexually explicit or intimate materials online.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced <a href="https://www.lee.senate.gov/services/files/52B309C1-784C-4BFA-8487-1355D3592504">The Preventing Rampant Online Technological Exploitation and Criminal Trafficking Act</a>, otherwise known as the PROTECT Act. The proposed legislation comes as lawmakers and victims look for solutions to solve the child sexual abuse imagery epidemic that has grown exponentially since the late 1990s when the Internet started becoming a household necessity.

The 2018 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

Pornhub Parent Company Sued For Allegedly Posting Footage Of Adult Molesting 12-Year-Old

Alabama

Business

Child pornography

Courts

Pornhub

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alabama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama</a> Department of Labor officials <a href="https://www.labor.alabama.gov/news_feed/News_Page.aspx">said</a> Tuesday that two companies that manufacture car parts for Hyundai and Kia were issued more than $35,000 in fines for violating the state&#8217;s child labor laws.
Automotive supplier SL Alabama, which produces headlights and mirrors for Hyundai, and JK USA, a temporary employment agency providing workers to car part manufacturers, were fined $17,800 each for multiple violations of the Child Labor Law. Such violations included employing seven children under the age of 16, two violations for failing to obtain proper child labor permits, and five violations for failing to provide identification documents.
&#8220;This practice of providing and employing underage and undocumented workers is appalling,&#8221; Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said. &#8220;Employee safety, especially the safety of children, is a top priority.&#8221;
Washington said the businesses violated the law and put these children at risk, some of whom were operating plastic bonding machines in a prohibited occupation and location.
Kenneth Stripling with the U.S. Department of Labor <a href="https://www.labor.alabama.gov/news_feed/News_Page.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the investigation found SL Alabama engaged in &#8220;oppressive child labor&#8221; and reiterated that employers must comply with federal, state, and local labor laws employing workers of legal age.
SL Alabama told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hyundai-kia-auto-parts-supplier-alabama-fined-child-labor-violations-2022-10-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a> in a statement that the car parts manufacturer &#8220;has never knowingly employed minors to work at any of its facilities,&#8221; adding that a staffing agency supplied the underage employees to work at the plant.
The company claims it had cooperated with regulators by paying the fines, ended the relationship with the staffing firm, and replaced the facilities president.
Alabama Department of Labor officials issued a warning saying violating child labor laws would &#8220;not be tolerated in Alabama&#8221; and that the agency will &#8220;vigorously investigate any business or industry suspected to be participating in this illegal activity.&#8221;
&#8220;We will continue to take action and use all tools at our disposal to ensure young workers&#8217; safety and well-being is not jeopardized by employers who fail to comply with the law,&#8221; Regional Solicitor of Labor Tremelle I. Howard said, per <a href="https://www.al.com/business/2022/10/alabama-hyundai-parts-supplier-hit-with-30076-fines-penalties-for-oppressive-child-labor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AL.com</a>.
Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-hyundai-subsidiary-has-used-child-labor-alabama-factory-2022-07-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in July that investigative work by the outlet documented child labor practices at another auto parts supplier in the state, Hyundai-owned SMART Alabama LLC.

Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizella Holds 125th Anniversary Of Labor Day Event

Alabama Fines Hyundai, Kia Parts Manufacturers Over ‘Oppressive Child Labor’

Cars

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a> sheriff said that his department “always” caught <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disney</a> employees during undercover operations, while revealing the results of a week-long investigation into human trafficking. 
The large investigation, known as “Fall Haul 2,” was spearheaded by the Polk County Police Department and involved a week-long sting operation in central Florida that netted over 150 arrests.  
“Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and arrest those who are fueling the exploitation of human beings (Johns) and those profiting from the exploitation of human beings. Prostitution is not a victimless crime – it results in exploitation, disease, dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families,” Sheriff Grady Judd <a href="https://www.polksheriff.org/news-investigations/polk-county-news/2022/09/09/polk-county-sheriff-s-office-arrests-160-during-seven-day-human-trafficking-enforcement-operation-operation-fall-haul-2">said</a> in a statement. 
People from Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, California, North Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Arizona were all arrested during the undercover operation. Notable arrests included a Disney bellhop, a Georgia police deputy chief, and a high school physical education teacher.
The Disney employee, 57-year-old Guillermo Perez, was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. Perez is a bellhop for Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. While showing Perez’s photo while at the press conference, Judd suggested he was not surprised to have arrested a Disney employee. 
“Now, where would we be with an undercover operation and no Disney employees?” he said. “Oh yes, we always have Disney employees.”
Also arrested was an independent photographer who the sheriff’s department said is occasionally &#8220;contracted by Disney.&#8221; 
Jason DiPrima, the former deputy chief of administration for the Cartersville Police Department in Georgia, was arrested as well for soliciting a prostitute. DiPrima, who has since resigned from his position, allegedly gave an undercover detective $180 and a pack of White Claw, according to the sheriff. 
“He did a mean, nasty thing to his family,” Judd <a href="https://www.wfla.com/news/polk-county/disney-worker-teachers-among-160-arrested-in-polk-county-human-trafficking-investigation-sheriff/">said</a>. 
A correctional officer at Lake County Correctional Facility was  also detained and will now be “in the jail as a jailbird like those jailbirds he watches,” the sheriff said. 
Several school employees were also arrested during the sting. Twenty-six-year-old P.E. teacher John Layton was arrested for soliciting a prostitute and received a terse response from the sheriff when he said that he had track practice in the morning. 
“No, the students have track practice in the morning; you have jail practice in the morning,” Judd stated. 
One former teacher, 41-year-old Cameron Burke, who was out on bond, was also caught up in the investigation. Burke had been facing charges related to accusations that he had been having sex with a 15-year-old student. Judd said that Burke was emotional, but got little sympathy from the sheriff. 
“Dude, why didn’t you think of that ahead of time?” he said. “Of course, you only have three brain cells.”
Drugs were also seized during the seven-day investigation.
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">kids entertainment content</a>.

Flashing Lights on Police Car

‘We Always Have Disney Employees’: Florida Sheriff Reveals Results Of Human Trafficking Investigation

Florida Police Arrest Over 150, Including Disney Employee, In Human Trafficking Investigation

Florida

Police

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a> agents and local authorities rescued 141 adult victims of human trafficking, 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking and related crimes, and have identified 37 actively missing children during a two-week nationwide operation in August dubbed <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/ourwork/impact">&#8220;Operation Cross Country.&#8221;</a>
The average age of victims in similar operations is approximately 15 years old, while authorities said the youngest victim discovered during this operation was 11 years old.
&#8220;Human trafficking is among the most heinous crimes the FBI encounters,&#8221; FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/fbi-announces-results-nationwide-sex-trafficking-operation">statement</a>. &#8220;Unfortunately, such crimes—against both adults and children—are far more common than most people realize.&#8221;
Federal officials arrested 85 suspects of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses as part of Operation Cross Country, which conducted 391 operations over two weeks. Teams included in the operation consist of FBI special agents, intelligence analysts, victim specialists, and child adolescent forensic interviewers working with 200 local, state, and federal partners.
Victim specialists provide a bridge for survivors who have lost trust in the system by helping them establish a positive relationship with law enforcement.
Specialists also help survivors receive available resources based on individual needs, such as crisis intervention and basic living needs.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which also partnered with the operation, said the success of rescuing the minors who were trafficked reinforces what the organization sees daily.
&#8220;Children are being bought and sold for sex in communities across the country by traffickers, gangs, and even family members,&#8221; Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO of the center, said in a statement. &#8220;We&#8217;re proud to support the FBI&#8217;s efforts to prioritize the safety of children. This national operation highlights the need for all child-serving professionals to continue to focus on the wellbeing of children and youth to prevent them from being targeted in the first place.&#8221;
The center&#8217;s website <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/ourwork/impact">reports</a> it assisted law enforcement, families, and child welfare with 27,733 missing children cases.
According to the FBI&#8217;s National Crime Information Center, there were 337,195 entries for missing children in 2021. The number of missing child entries was 365,348 in 2020.
&#8220;The initiative really just takes a concentrated period of time when we&#8217;re just focused on the problem of child sex trafficking,&#8221; Section Chief Jose Perez, who oversees violent crime investigations in the FBI, said according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-nationwide-operation-locates-actively-missing-kids-child-sex-trafficking-victims">Fox News</a>. &#8220;What we do is we sit down with our local partners and our task forces and identify certain areas where we know sex trafficking is prevalent, and we&#8217;ll dedicate resources and efforts to identify and remove victims from those areas.&#8221;

eye of boy through key whole, child abuse concept

Nationwide Sex Trafficking Operation Rescues 141 Adults And 121 Minors

Christopher Wray

One week after a federal judge ruled that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/visa">Visa</a> Inc. allegedly helped monetize child pornography through adult websites like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pornhub">Pornhub</a>, the payment processing giant on Thursday said it would suspend its services with the advertising arm of Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California wrote, &#8220;Visa knew that MindGeek&#8217;s websites were teeming with monetized child porn,&#8221; in the Fleites v. MindGeek lawsuit filed last year alleging Pornhub&#8217;s operator violated federal sex trafficking and child pornography laws.
Visa, who has since condemned child sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sex abuse materials, had asked the court to dismiss the claim that the company violated a California law prohibiting false advertising and illegal business practices. However, Judge Carney denied the request.
Alfred Kelly, CEO of Visa, wrote in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2022/08/03/we-do-not-1659542369610.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a> that the company &#8220;strongly disagree[s]&#8221; with the judge&#8217;s decision, adding the allegations have mischaracterized its policies and practices.
&#8220;The allegations in this lawsuit are repugnant and stand in direct contradiction to Visa&#8217;s values and purpose,&#8221; Kelly wrote.
Kelly, who felt compelled as a father and grandfather to speak out, said Visa cards would no longer be able to purchase advertising on any sites affiliated with MindGeek.
MindGeek&#8217;s advertiser, TrafficJunky, which garners 4.6 billion daily ad impressions on the world&#8217;s top adult websites, has indefinitely lost its &#8220;privileges&#8221; with Visa after the recent legal decision has created &#8220;new uncertainty&#8221; about the advertiser&#8217;s role, Kelly wrote.
&#8220;Visa has longstanding rules and processes designed to uphold the integrity of our network,&#8221; the CEO wrote. &#8220;We have taken this opportunity to reiterate and reinforce our requirements with respect to legal transactions with all acquiring institutions – those institutions that bring merchants to our network and hold direct relationships with them.&#8221;
&#8220;We have made it clear that acquirers and merchants who are unable to meet our standards and requirements are not welcome on our network,&#8221; Kelly added.
Following a New York Times exposé published in 2020 that highlighted the story of Serena Fleites, the plaintiff in the case against MindGeek, Visa suspended its services with websites that contained user-generated content in December 2020. To this day, the company says users cannot use Visa cards on Pornhub.
Fleites alleges a former boyfriend pressured her into making a sexually explicit video which he would later upload to Pornhub without her knowledge or consent when she was 13 years old. The video garnered millions of views and spiraled the plaintiff&#8217;s life out of control.
MindGeek issued a statement that said the court has not ruled on the veracity of the allegations and is required to assume all of the plaintiff&#8217;s claims are true and accurate.
&#8220;When the court can actually consider the facts, we are confident the plaintiff&#8217;s claims will be dismissed for lack of merit,&#8221; a spokesperson from MindGeek told Variety. &#8220;MindGeek has zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.&#8221;
The online porn network operator also claims to have banned uploads from anyone who has not submitted government-issued identification that passes a third-party verification.
MindGeek said it eliminated the ability to download free content, integrated several leading technology platforms and content moderation tools, and instituted digital fingerprinting of all videos found to violate its rules against non-consensual content and child sexual abuse.
&#8220;Policies to help protect against removed videos being reposted, expanded our moderation workforce and processes, and partnered with dozens of non-profit organizations around the world,&#8221; MindGeek&#8217;s spokesperson said. &#8220;Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false.&#8221;
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation has played a part in an international effort to dismantle Pornhub by acting as co-counsel on a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/Doe-v-Mindgeek-amended-complaint-7.27.2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">class action lawsuit</a> filed on behalf of two childhood sex trafficking survivors alleging the videos and images of their abuse were posted on Pornhub and other MindGeek-owned sites.
As the case against MindGeek develops, the non-profit has called on Visa to cut ties with the pornography industry altogether.
&#8220;Visa long supported the monetization of child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, rape, and image-based abuse images found on MindGeek-owned pornography websites by continuing to process payments for the company despite being put on notice by NCOSE and others of the abuse. Now, Visa has taken an incremental step, but they must do more,&#8221; Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the non-profit, told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;If Visa cares about these issues as much as they say they do, Visa must suspend all payment processing services for XVideos, XHamster, and all pornography tube sites as well as their advertising arms, not only TrafficJunky,&#8221; Hawkins said.
However, Visa&#8217;s CEO wrote the company would not make moral judgments on lawful purchases and said customers could purchase content from MindGeek studio sites that feature adult professional actors in legal adult entertainment.

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