1.15.09 TRAFFICKING NEWS

Nelson Mandela said “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Fight trafficking every day by educating yourself and those around you. -liz

More Than 1,200 Alleged Incidents of Human Trafficking Reported in the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC- In the first 21 months of operation, the Human Trafficking Reporting System (HTRS) recorded information on more than 1,200 alleged incidents of human trafficking, the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. The HTRS contains data collected by 38 federally funded human trafficking task forces on alleged incidents of human trafficking that occurred between January 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), and its reauthorizations in 2003, 2005, and 2008, define a human trafficking victim as a person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. Any person under age 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion was present. Most (83 percent) of the reported human trafficking incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking. Labor trafficking accounted for 12 percent of incidents, and other or unknown forms of human trafficking made up the remaining five percent. About a third (32 percent) of the 1,229 alleged human trafficking incidents involved sex trafficking of children.

For the full story please see news.prnewswire.com Link

 

Pediatrician charged with 9 new felonies

 HAMILTON, OH- A Butler County grand jury has handed down nine new felony charges against a Hamilton pediatrician for the alleged sex abuse of two former juvenile male patients. Dr. Mark E. Blankenburg is already facing 27 felony charges for child-sex and drug dealing stemming from a grand jury indictment in December. The indictment involved one male victim who is now a young adult. The charges released Wednesday, Jan. 14, are four counts of gross sexual imposition, two counts of trafficking in drugs, one count of compelling prostitution, and two counts of corruption of a minor. The compelling prostitution count alleges the doctor offered compensation for sex with one of the victims in May 1994, according to Melissa Spurlock of the Butler County Prosecutor's office. According to the indictment, the sexual imposition crimes occurred in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996; the corruption of a minor charges occurred in 1994 and 1995; and the drug-trafficking charges occurred between July 1, 1996, and Dec. 31, 2005.

For the full story please see the oxfordpress.com Link