On September 15, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on domestic minor sex trafficking.
Speaking on behalf of legislation she had introduced, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said, “Despite the need, a Congressional Research Service report that I requested, found that funding for specialized services and support for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking are extremely limited…Throughout the country, organizations specializing in sex trafficking collectively have fewer than 50 beds, to address the needs of the estimated 100,000 victims each year. This is simply unacceptable. After hearing from former victims, seasoned cops, and hard-hitting prosecutors about the horrors of domestic minor sex trafficking, I knew something needed to be done. That is why I, along with Rep. [Chris] Smith [(R-NJ)] and working with Sen. Ron Wyden’s [(D-OR)] office, introduced H.R. 5575, the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010. This bill takes a multi-disciplinary, cooperative approach to shutting down child sex trafficking in the United States and offers rehabilitation for its survivors. Through a series of block grants, the bill would provide shelter and care for victims, including specialized counseling, clothing, and other daily needs in order to keep victims from returning to the street. It creates a comprehensive, victim-centered approach to addressing the sex trafficking of minors. It also aims to ensure adequate resources for law enforcement and prosecutors to rescue victims and put pimps behind bars. Importantly, the legislation will strengthen deterrence and prevention programs aimed at potential buyers. H.R. 5575 provides funding to implement improvements to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which tracks information about missing and exploited children with the goal of identifying those children who are at high risk for sex trafficking and providing a more protective response. It will focus exclusively on minor victims and increase the share of funding available for shelters. Lack of appropriate shelters often force law enforcement to send victims to juvenile detention facilities where there is no access to appropriate services or release them, knowing that they will likely end up back in the hands of their pimps.”
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) said, “Earlier this month, I met with the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance. Included in this group is Houston Constable Ron Hickman – a law enforcement leader in confronting the epidemic of trafficking in Texas. He and his officers told me that one of the biggest issues they face in combating trafficking is how to care for the victims. More specifically, they told me that there is better care available to the international victims they rescue than there is for our own citizens. Consider what is available to an international trafficking victim in Houston right now. International victims are eligible to apply for a U-visa or a T-visa, which allows them to remain lawfully in the United States. Immigrant service groups help them apply for free legal, medical, mental, housing, and educational services. Internationally trafficked children can receive care in a residential facility, or in a long-term foster home. Basically, we provide a wealth of care to internationally trafficked victims, as we should. But now consider the resources that are available to a victim of domestic trafficking in Houston. At the moment law enforcement agents come across victims of domestic trafficking, they are required to take them into custody. Once in custody, domestic minor victims can only gain access to services by being labeled as delinquents and charged with a class B misdemeanor of prostitution, obtaining a permanent criminal record. That’s right – to gain access to short term services, they have to be arrested first. Furthermore, the short term services do not even begin to address the severe physical and psychological trauma that these girls have survived. Without access to this specialized care, it has been shown that trafficking victims simply return to their traffickers and continue the cycle of abuse. What we need in Houston and throughout the nation is specialized, long term, residential treatment facilities to care for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Any legislation that addresses this issue must include this victim-centered component. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 5575, introduced by my friends Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Congressman Chris Smith, which pays close attention to the care and support of victims.”
Detailing the efforts of the Department of Justice to address sex trafficking, Francey Hakes, national coordinator for child exploitation, prevention, and interdiction, said, “In June 2003, to address the growing problem of commercial sex trafficking of children within the United States, the FBI joined the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to launch the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI). Each of ILNI’s 38 task forces and working groups throughout the U.S. include federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working in tandem with U.S. Attorney’s offices. Additionally, the program brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers from all around the country to NCMEC for joint training opportunities. Task Force operations usually begin as local actions, targeting such places as truck stops, casinos, street ‘tracks,’ and Internet websites, based on intelligence gathered by officers working in their respective jurisdictions. Initial arrests are often for violations of local and state laws relating to prostitution or solicitation. Information gleaned from those arrested often uncovers organized efforts to prostitute women and children across many states. FBI agents further develop this information in partnership with other federal prosecutors and federal charges are filed where appropriate. For its part, the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Unit also coordinates a national sting operation to combat domestic sex trafficking of children entitled Operation Cross Country multiple times throughout the year. Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI) task forces in 38 cities have participated in the operation by targeting venues such as the street tracks, truck stops, motels, and casinos where children are typically prostituted. Every case initiated through the ILNI is reviewed for possible federal violations, and where applicable, cases are presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution. To date, the ILNI has resulted in nearly 600 convictions at the state and federal level, and the location and recovery of over 1,100 children. Investigative efforts have increasingly resulted in substantial sentences for those convicted, including four life sentences and numerous others ranging from 25-45 years.”
Citing the role of the Internet in domestic sex trafficking, Ernie Allen, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), said, “Offenders don’t just parade these children on city streets any more. Today, a ‘customer’ can shop online for a child from the privacy of his home or hotel room. Online classified ads make it possible to pimp these kids to prospective customers with little risk. In 2008 NCMEC joined with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in an agreement with Craigslist, signed onto by 39 other attorneys general. Craigslist agreed to require credit card verification in its ‘erotic services’ section, charge those who post ads in ‘erotic services,’ require them to submit a working phone number, and aid law enforcement investigations of illegal prostitution/trafficking of children…Yet, the problem has continued to grow. It is essential to broaden the focus to the entire online classifieds industry. It is also imperative that online classified advertising sites flag and report suspicious ads to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Let me illustrate the importance of reporting. In July 2010, a Maryland mother found a photo of her runaway daughter in a sex ad on multiple online classifieds sites. She contacted NCMEC. Working with the Maryland State Police and the FBI, the juvenile was recovered and is getting help. The pimp was arrested. The child in the ad looked young. Yet, no company reported it. There are many other examples. We need the help and vigilance of the general public and of these companies…Of course, if we crack down on child sex trafficking on one area of the Internet, some of it will migrate to other areas. We must follow the money and follow the pimps. Like the pursuit of other kinds of criminal behavior, law enforcement will follow it wherever it goes. The goal is to make it riskier, less profitable, and more difficult – to destroy the business model for those who sell children for sex.”
William Clinton Powell, director of customer service and law enforcement relations at Craigslist, Inc., commented on his company’s efforts to combat domestic sex trafficking. He said, “Until very recently, Craigslist included an adult services category. It was added to Craigslist in 2001, at the request of Craigslist users tired of seeing adult services ads mixed into the personals categories…Working collaboratively with attorneys general, law enforcement, prominent NGOs, and other concerned parties, Craigslist has developed industry-leading best practices for adult services ads, including the following: educating and encouraging users to report suspected trafficking and exploitation; prominently featuring law enforcement contacts and reporting hotlines; creating specialized victim search interfaces for law enforcement agencies; actively participating in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline program; leading all awareness efforts for the National Trafficking Hotline; implementing a wide variety of technical screening and filtering measures; manually reviewing every adult service ad (both text and image) prior to posting; requiring phone verification for every adult service ad; implementing the PICS content labeling system; and meeting regularly with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement. To our knowledge, no other venue had adopted these best practices, and, in fact, very few venues have adopted more than one of these measures. Indeed, Craigslist has been one of the few bright spots and success stories in the critical fight against trafficking and child exploitation. We’ve been told as much by experts on the front lines, many of whom we have met with in person, gathering helpful suggestions we have incorporated in our approach. Even our critics grudgingly admit that we made giant strides, and that Craigslist has been virtually alone among the many advertising venues carrying adult ads in vigorously combating exploitation and trafficking.”
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA); Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ); Linda Smith, former Member of Congress and founder and president of Shared Hope International; Tina Frundt, founder and executive director of Courtney’s House; Nicholas Sensley, chief of Police, Truckee, California; Suzanna Tiapula, director of the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, a program of the National District Attorneys Association; Deborah Richardson, chief program officer at the Women’s Funding Network; and Elizabeth McDougall, partner at Perkins Coie LLP, also testified.