Tag: trafficking

CULTURE

As Ghislaine Maxwell’s Sex Trafficking Trial Begins – What To Know

Originally published by The 19th The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and alleged accomplice of wealthy investor and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, begins in New York on Monday. Maxwell, 59, faces six charges related to her involvement helping Epstein “recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims” for at least a decade, according to the indictment against her. If convicted, she could face more than 40 years in prison. The trial of the well-connected British socialite has gotten a lot of media attention given the circles in which she and Epstein traveled. They were both photographed socializing at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort; Maxwell attended the wedding of former President Bill Clinton’s daughter. Here is what we know about Maxwell,...
1 real-world way to prevent sexual exploitation – 4 myths debunked – Sex trafficking isn’t what you think
SOCIETY

1 real-world way to prevent sexual exploitation – 4 myths debunked – Sex trafficking isn’t what you think

Corinne Schwarz, Oklahoma State University The idea that sex trafficking is an urgent social problem is woven into American media stories, from reports of Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged trafficking of teenage girls to debunked QAnon conspiracy theories about a sexual slavery ring run through online retailer Wayfair. The common perception of sex trafficking involves a young, passive woman captured by an aggressive trafficker. The woman is hidden and waiting to be rescued by law enforcement. She is probably white, because, as the legal scholar Jayashri Srikantiah writes, the “iconic victim” of trafficking usually is depicted this way. This is essentially the plot of the “Taken” movies, in which teenage Americans are kidnapped abroad and sold into sexual slavery. Such concerns f...
Study Finds Evidence Of Sex Trafficking In Trade Schools
IN OTHER NEWS

Study Finds Evidence Of Sex Trafficking In Trade Schools

Researchers identified at least 18 schools across five states that state certification boards suspected of forcing their students into the sex industry. Mariel Padilla Originally published by The 19th Researchers identified at least 18 state-authorized schools across five states suspected of engaging in sex trafficking operations, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation (SHSF). And now a congressional committee is demanding that something be done. The report’s authors, Ellie Bruecker and Abigail Seldin, wrote that state certification boards suspected these vocational schools of facilitating environments that could be too easily used by traffickers to train their victims for more lucrative work — but Bruecker estimated that the problem is much...
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Leader to an Elmira Dark Web Opioid Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Federal Prison

According to an announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, a 31-year-old man from Elmira who, with a co-conspirator, headed an opioid dark web trafficking ring was sentenced to 17 years and six months in federal prison. The sentence was issued after the man was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of more than 100 grams of a fentanyl analogue. Authorities believe that at least two people died after consuming opioids sold by the man’s ring, while another overdosed on several occasions but survived after being treated. From 2015 to May 2017, Maximillian Sams, 31, and his partner, Robert Ian Thatcher, led an opioid manufacturing and distribution ring from Elmira, New York. Sams and Thatcher used the dark web to ...
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Romanian Police Officer Accused of Darknet Drug Trafficking

A 37-year-old Romanian police officer was arrested after he attempted to pick up a drug package he had ordered over the dark web from Belgium. The police officer is accused of importing ‘high-risk’ drugs into Romania from the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. The officer was arrested together with his girlfriend, with whom he allegedly engaged in cultivating cannabis which they sold on a wholesale basis. According to a statement by the Department for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the 37-year-old Deputy Agent who was the head of Răducăneni police station, Christian Danu, and his girlfriend, Diana Lacramioara Muntean, allegedly engaged in the consumption and trafficking of drugs acquired through the darknet. Danu, in particular, is accused of trafficking MDMA, ecs...
CELEBRITIES

Netflix Series Star Arrested for Dark Web Drug Trafficking

Law enforcement from Oakland County has announced the arrest of a 21-year-old Michigan resident on the grounds of drug trafficking. Ryan James Zettel was featured in the 2018 Netflix series, Dope, where he claimed to be a drug trafficker operating through the dark web. The graduate of Troy Athens High School appeared on season 2, episode 3 of the Netflix series where he revealed his criminal activities. The show, classified as a Netflix crime documentary, uncovers how drug dealers operate but keeps their identity secret by covering their faces and disguising their voices. Netflix describes the show as one that examines the war on drugs and is filmed from the perspective of dealers, users, and the police. According to authorities, this particular episode focused on drug operations in Detr...