Alabama Man and Wife Each Get 119-year Sentence for Child Sex Abuse

Kent Faulk
AL.com

Toni Jo Minot, left, and Lyndon Minot

A registered sex offender from Chilton County last week got the same prison sentence his wife had gotten weeks earlier for the same crime - 119 years in prison for sodomy and sexual abuse of a 9-year-old boy.

Lyndon Minot, 56, was sentenced on Oct. 26 by Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge David Hobdy to the maximum allowed – 99 years for sodomy and 20 years for sexual abuse, according to court records.

Minot had been convicted Sept. 18 on the charges.

Minot's wife, Toni Jo Minot, 40, of Verbena, was also sentenced by Hobdy on Sept. 30 to 119 years in prison. She had been convicted by a Bessemer Cutoff jury on Aug. 19.

It is not clear how Toni Jo Minot committed sodomy, and I don't really want to think about it, but we can assume she did, hence the sentence. She is appealing the verdict.

The Minots, who had maintained their innocence, will not be eligible for parole because the victim was under 12 when the crimes happened.

The victim in both cases was the same 9-year old boy. The incidents the Minots were convicted of occurred in the Bessemer Cutoff of Jefferson County in 2008 and 2009.

Lyndon Minot has been a registered sex offender since he pleaded guilty in 1999 to first-degree sexual abuse, court records show. The victim in that case was an 8-year-old boy, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Community Information Center.

Assistant District Attorney Leslie Schiffman, after Ms. Minot's sentencing, had called  the Minots' marriage "a marriage made in hell."

Georgia GOP Consultant Forced Boys to Perform Sex Acts in Church

David Edwards
Rawstory.com 

Jim Collins (WSAV/screen grab)

A Republican political consultant from Georgia was sued this week for allegedly forcing boys to perform sex acts and videotaping it.

WSAV reported that attorneys for Matt Stanley filed a lawsuit against Jim Collins for abuse that occurred between from 1996 and 2002 while attending First Baptist Church Vidalia, where Collins was a youth volunteer.

Collins is accused of instructing boys to perform “individual sexual acts, both privately and in a group setting.” The lawsuit alleges that he recorded the boys performing the acts at least once while at church. The “highly inappropriate, sexualized physical contact with many of the boys” continued while Collins was chaperoning out-of-town trips, the lawsuit says.

Stanley said that he was abused “more than a hundred times” from the age of 11 until he was 18 years old.

At a press conference on Monday, attorney Jameson Carroll praised Stanley for coming forward to file the lawsuit.

“Matt could have sued under a pseudonym, he could have sued and asked this case be filed under seal but he didn’t, and I think it’s very brave,” Carroll noted.

The case was filed under Georgia’s updated Georgia Hidden Predator Act, which gives accusers a longer period of time to file complaints.

1st Baptist Church, Vidalia, GA

Although the lawsuit names 50 other organizations which were “negligent” by not protecting the boys, Georgia’s laws do not allow churches or businesses to be sued.

OK, churches I can see, maybe, but businesses? You can't sue a business? How crazy is that?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Collins is currently employed at CSG International, a software and consulting firm. A bio provided by his previous employer, iSquared Communications, calls Collins “a top political advisor and strategist for new Senate Majority Leader Tommy Williams.” It also indicates that he “managed the campaigns for several of the Capitol’s new South Georgia incumbents.”

In a statement, the leadership of First Baptist Church said that it was “deeply saddened” by the allegations against Collins.

However, the statement insisted that “First Baptist Church, Vidalia did absolutely nothing wrong.”

Great! That's taking responsibility. How could hundreds of depraved acts occurring in your building not be, at least, somewhat your responsibility?

“Mr. Stanley failed to come forward to Church leadership, or anyone else, with any allegations until nearly a decade after the alleged abuse ended,” the statement continued. “Despite Mr. Stanley’s decision not to report the alleged abuse to the police, the Church has cooperated fully with the authorities as they have investigated claims against Mr. Collins.

This is not the least bit unusual in child sex abuse cases. You should know that!

Despite the lack of any criminal prosecution against the accused, the Church forced him to resign from any volunteer position with the Church and forbade him from having any contact with any youth member of the Church.”

So, the question is, why? If you don't believe Mr Stanley, why force Collins to resign? Are you all about 'appearance'? Are you more concerned about the collection plate than the alleged innocence of a long-term volunteer?

Hundreds of Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths Hushed up in Texas

This is simply unacceptable!

AFP Photo/Dmitry Kostyukov

Over the last five years Texas’ Child Protective Services underreported 655 deaths of children from abuse or neglect by their parents, said the Austin American-Statesman. Caseworkers used loopholes to omit cases of indirect maltreatment.

In an investigative report published on Sunday, Austin American-Statesman claims that practically half of the underreported deaths happened in problem families, which had frequently been investigated for child abuse.

Over a quarter of families (144 of them) where a child died had been investigated by the CPS at least 3 times. In one case, the CPS had contacted a family more than 20 times, but still the child in this family died.

Having analyzed nearly 300 child homicides and suspected homicides, the newspaper reported that most of the children’s deaths were the result of beatings or strangulation. One child homicide case out of five remains unsolved, while some cases are “unaccountably dragged out for years,” the investigative report claims.

Sometimes a family simply falls off CPS radar, and this can have deadly consequences. According to the American-Statesman investigative report, 15 children died between 2009 and 2014, after the state agency lost track of their families.

Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Family and Protective Services, stated the agency has always complied with state and federal laws and is not trying to hide any information.

The child fatalities missing from official statistics took place between 2010 and 2014. This was possible because of a law adopted in 2009, obliging Family and Protective Services’ caseworkers to publicly report any maltreatment that led to a child death. But the law has a loophole: it doesn’t require reporting a child’s death when abuse did not contribute to death directly.

John H. Winters Human Services Center includes the headquarters for
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Photo wikipedia.org)

This get-out was used by dozens of child welfare workers to evade culpability and keep the crimes under the radar.

In the course of the six-month investigation, the newspaper discovered that over 50 CPS employees had falsified official records, obstructed law enforcement investigations, flouted court orders or had simply lied to prosecutors. 

Four former CPS employees are currently facing criminal charges for alleged misconduct.

Texas’ Child Protective Services employ over 3,400 foster care workers and investigators, and maintains that these employees represent just a small fraction of the personnel.

Details of the scandal were published at the weekend on the eve of a new legislative session of Texan lawmakers, which starts on Tuesday. It will be headed by the newly elected Governor Greg Abbott. The state’s lawmakers have already called for the Department of Family Services to be heavily scrutinized.

“I want to know who these kids are. Every one of these kids has a name and has a story and would have had a life ahead of them,” said Democratic Senator Carlos Uresti, one of the authors of the 2009 law that obliged caseworkers at the Family and Protective Services to publicize detailed reports on maltreatment cases that preceded the death of children.

Texas flag - Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP

The Austin American-Statesman’s new investigation raises concerns over the authenticity of similar statistics published less than a month ago by the Associated Press. In December, AP reported that at least 786 children – many of them younger than four – in the US had died of abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or carers, even as child protection agencies were investigating these cases over the period of six years.

READ MORE: Over 750 American kids ‘beaten, starved or left alone’ over 6-yr period

The AP report found there is no general statistic for child abuse deaths in the US.

“The data collection system on child deaths is so flawed that no one can even say with accuracy how many children overall die from abuse or neglect every year,” AP revealed.

“The federal government estimates an average of about 1,650 deaths annually in recent years; many believe the actual number is twice as high,” AP said, stressing that among many states that struggled to provide child abuse numbers, “Secrecy often prevailed.”

Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse Charges in New Mexico

Plea Agreement Requires 10-Year Prison Sentence

U.S. Attorney’s Office 
District of New Mexico
FBI, NND

ALBUQUERQUE—Aaron Hubbard, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fort Defiance, Ariz., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact of a minor child. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hubbard will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. Hubbard will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

Hubbard was arrested on Feb. 25, 2015, on an indictment alleging that he sexually abused the child victim from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012, in the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

McKinley Co., New Mexico

During today’s change of plea hearing, Hubbard entered a guilty plea to an abusive sexual contact with a child charge. In entering his guilty plea, Hubbard admitted sexually molesting a Navajo child who was less than 12 years old from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012. Hubbard committed the crime within the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Hubbard has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

"Why Can't You Just Get Over It?"

What Every Survivor of Sexual Trauma Needs to Know

Jennifer Rollin 
Mental Health Therapist, Social Worker, Body Image Activist and Wellness Enthusiast
Huff Post

"I feel like what happened was my fault. Like I did something to deserve it," is a statement that I have heard frequently in my work as a therapist who specializes in helping survivors of trauma. I have spoken with numerous survivors whose families and friends asked them, "Why can't you just get over it?"

Awareness of the impact that trauma can have on an individual is spreading, however there is still a lot of misinformation and stigma that many survivors experience. Although everyone copes with trauma and the healing process differently, the following are some universal truths that I wish every survivor of sexual trauma could hear.

1. What happened to you was not your fault.

I know you may have heard this before, but that it might be difficult for you to believe. You may think to yourself, "If only I hadn't gone to that party, this wouldn't have happened" or "I didn't tell anyone what was happening, so I must have wanted it."

First off, I want you to know that this is a common reaction to sexual trauma. Your mind wants to make sense of a situation that ultimately was out of your control. Therefore, many people wrongly believe that they must have been responsible for what happened to them.

When someone is sexually abused, the only person who is to blame is the perpetrator. You did the best that you could, with the coping skills that you had at the time. No matter what party you went to, if you had a drink, if you didn't fight the person off, if you were dating the person, if you were aroused and regardless of any other circumstance -- it was not your fault. You were not responsible for this and you certainly did not deserve it.

Think about what you would tell a friend who shared with you the same experience. It is unlikely that you would tell your friend that what happened to them was their fault. You deserve to give yourself the same compassion that you would give to a friend or loved one who went through a trauma. If you are struggling with intense feelings of shame and guilt following trauma, it could be helpful to consider reaching out to a therapist-preferably one who specializes in trauma.

2. Your responses are normal reactions to an abnormal experience.

Some people who experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress feel that they are "going crazy." When someone experiences trauma his or her body naturally goes into "fight or flight" mode. This reaction to a stressor in the environment, developed as it was evolutionarily advantageous and protected our ancestors from imminent danger.

According to The National Institute of Mental Health,"This fight-or-flight response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. But in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this reaction is changed or damaged. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they're no longer in danger."

Not everyone who experiences trauma will go on to develop PTSD. However, if you are experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress or have received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, it is important to note that you are not "crazy."

First off, I find it offensive to label any individual as "crazy." Secondly, you experienced something that no one should have to go through. Your body and mind may be trying desperately to make sense of what happened. No matter what symptoms you may be experiencing as a result of your trauma, you are certainly not alone in experiencing them.

3. Healing and recovery is possible.

There are numerous individuals whose lives serve as examples that healing and recovery following sexual trauma is possible. Erin Merryn is one woman who is an amazing example of resilience following sexual trauma. Erin is a mother, wife, author, activist, and Glamour Magazine 2012 Woman of the Year, who has been featured in numerous media outlets. She is also a survivor of childhood sexual assault and went on to create"Erin's Law," which "requires that all public schools in each state implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program." In her book entitled, Living for Today: From Incest and Molestation to Fearlessness and Forgiveness, Merryn stated,

As I faced each tragedy in my life, I learned to reach into the depth of my soul for strength and determination. Through this healing process, I discovered perseverance and resilience. I could not go into the past and use White-Out to erase any events; instead, I had to find a way to use my pain to help me heal and grow. I had to stare darkness in the face and accept that I could not change the past, but I could build a better future.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, it's not your fault. You are not alone. Help is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE and online.rainn.org, y en español: rainn.org/es.

UGA Law School Alumnus Funds Nation’s First Child Sexual Abuse Victim Clinic

UGA Campus, Sanford Stadium

Contact: Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge 
UGA Today

Athens, Ga. - The University of Georgia School of Law will be the first in the nation to have an experiential learning opportunity dedicated solely to the assistance of victims of child sexual abuse.

The Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic will open January 2016. Initial funding for the clinic has been donated by Georgia Law alumnus Marlan B. Wilbanks, who received his Juris Doctor in 1986. It is expected that many of the clinic's first clients will be those now eligible to bring civil charges against their abusers as a result of the passage of House Bill 17, the "Hidden Predator Act," by the Georgia legislature.

"The act of sexually abusing a child is 

the attempted murder of a soul".

"The act of sexually abusing a child is the attempted murder of a soul. I can see no more important task than protecting those in our society who too often have no voice," said Wilbanks, a longtime advocate for child protection issues. "The underlying goal of this clinic will be to educate, prepare and sensitize the next generation of lawyers as to the ways victims can be protected. On behalf of the children and families who would otherwise not be able to avail themselves of legal assistance, I applaud the University of Georgia School of Law for its willingness to be the first law school in the nation to draw a line in the sand against child sexual abuse."

So do I; UGA and Mr Wilbanks, you are my heroes today. God bless you.

Marlan B. Wilbanks

Wilbanks, who was recognized by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund as the 2014 Lawyer of the Year, is the second Georgia Law alumnus involved in the DaVita Healthcare Partners false claims settlement agreement earlier this year who has chosen to make a significant investment in training for future attorneys.

Professor Marci A. Hamilton of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, a nationally recognized expert on the subject of child protections and author of "Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children" on the need for child sexual abuse statute of limitations reform, confirmed both the uniqueness and need for such a program. "This will be the first law school clinic that responds to statute of limitations reform for child sex abuse and offers assistance to victims," Hamilton said. "When reforms such as those recently enacted in Georgia are advanced, victims typically come forward who need advice and injunctive relief but whose case would not otherwise be picked up by an attorney in private practice. The University of Georgia School of Law is doing a great public service by assisting these victims and making it more likely that the public will learn the identities of even more hidden predators." 

Georgia's Hidden Predator Act created a two-year window of relief from the statute of limitations for bringing civil charges in the case of child sexual abuse. Regardless of when the abuse occurred, victims can bring suit against their abusers until the window closes on July 1, 2017. After that time, the law requires suits to be brought forward before the victim reaches 23 years of age or within two years of the time the victim makes the connection that sexual abuse caused current problems such as substance abuse or relationship difficulties.

This law has to be changed, and hopefully the Wilbanks Clinic will work towards that. I honestly think that most victims of child sex abuse aren't even aware they are victims until 20 or 30 years after it happened.

"The passage of the Hidden Predator Act signaled a desire by our state's elected leaders to open the doors of justice to the victims of child sexual abuse," Georgia Law Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge said. "We are honored to expand our public service footprint and help those in society who too often remain voiceless. In addition, this opportunity gives our students the chance to serve as advocates for those in our state without access to adequate legal resources. The generosity of Marlan Wilbanks will not only fund the initial phase of this transformative clinic, it will change the lives of the families touched by these crimes and shape the paths of bright aspiring attorneys."

A nationwide search was launched last week to identify a director for the new clinic. 

UGA School of Law
Consistently regarded as one of the nation's top public law schools, Georgia Law was established in 1859. Its accomplished faculty includes authors of some of the country's leading legal scholarship. The school offers three degrees-the Juris Doctor, the Master of Laws and the Master in the Study of Law-and is home to the Dean Rusk International Law Center. Georgia Law is proud of its long tradition of providing first-rate legal training for future leaders who will serve state and nation in both the public and private sectors. For more information, see www.law.uga.edu.

Some 1,000 US Police Officers Lost Badges Over ‘Sexual Misconduct'

More than a third for child sex abuse

The last thing police need is more bad press, but it's going to happen as long as they sexually abuse children.

© Mark Makela / AFP

Around 1,000 policemen across the US had their licenses revoked and lost their jobs over the last six years on account of numerous sexual offenses that included rape and possession of child pornography, an AP investigation based on official data revealed.

The probe involved examining records from 41 states to see how many police officers’ licenses were revoked in 2009-2014 and for which offenses. Police desertification data was not provided by nine states and the District of Columbia. The investigation included examining the records of state and local police, sheriff's deputies, prison guards and school resource officers. However no federal officers were included in the investigation.

The probe revealed that 550 officers were decertified for various sexual assaults, including rape. Some were dismissed for sodomy or sexual shakedowns, where victims were forced to perform sexual acts to avoid arrest.

NYPD officer who sexually assaulted teacher beats rape conviction
(AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)

A further 440 officers lost their jobs for other sex-related offenses, such as possessing child pornography, being a peeping Tom, sending sexually charged messages to underage teens or having sex while on duty.

About one-third of the officers lost their jobs for committing sexual offenses with juveniles.

Those who fall prey to police are often young, poor, drug abusing individuals who don't report their cases to the authorities. Victims included motorists, schoolchildren who were patted down in searches for illegal drugs, or women forced to perform sexual favors to avoid legal troubles. Prison inmates were also forced to have sex with guards.

The real number of sexual offenses could however be much higher, as AP only looked into registered cases where an officer lost their badge because of an offense. Lawyers and police chiefs acknowledged that some departments let the sexual assaults slide to limit their liability, allowing their staff to quietly resign or transfer to other duty stations or departments.

Oklahoma cop faces 32 charges of sex crimes committed on duty
Reuters / Larry Papke 

Furthermore the probe notes that not all decertified officers faced criminal charges as some policemen surrendered their badges voluntarily to avoid a potential scandal.

“It's happening probably in every law enforcement agency across the country,” said Chief Bernadette DiPino of the Sarasota Police Department in Florida, who helped study the problem for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. “It's so underreported and people are scared that if they call and complain about a police officer, they think every other police officer is going to be then out to get them.”

It's not just in the US; it's in Canada and probably every country in the world. Power corrupts and corruption, like sin, is progressive.

AP points out that their findings, together with other research and interviews with experts, suggest that sexual misconduct is one of the main problems facing police departments across the US. Citing news articles and research undertaken by Phil Stinson of Bowling Green State University who looked at the period 2005 to 2011, the agency reports that his findings discovered 6,724 arrests involving more than 5,500 officers.

Out of almost 7,000 arrests, sex-related cases were the third-most common. Police violence and profit-motivated crimes topped the list. According to another study, the Cato Institute's investigation discovered that in 2009 and 2010 sex misconduct was the second most reported offense against officers, after the use of excessive force.

Haiti Officials Looking into New Abuse Allegations Against U.S. Orphanage Founder

A Haitian national flag flies at half-mast on the front lawn of the former
National Palace in this 2013 file photo. (AP)

David McFadden, 
The Associated Press 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haitian investigators are looking into new allegations of child sex abuse against a U.S. man who founded an orphanage for boys in Haiti's capital decades ago.

Police with an arrest warrant searched unsuccessfully Friday for Michael Geilenfeld at a modest private residence in a mountainside community above Port-au-Prince and the nearby Wings of Hope home for about 30 physically and mentally disabled children and young adults. On its website, the facility says it is a "critical part" of Geilenfeld's charitable organization.

The American is already the subject of another criminal case in Haiti that accused him of sexually abusing boys in his care. He spent 237 days in detention before being released in April by a Haitian judge who dismissed the charges in a brief trial that was not attended by the accusers, now adults. But the justice minister granted a re-examination of the case and it is now in court again on appeal.

Geilenfeld had also filed a separate civil case in the U.S. in which a jury in late July ordered a Maine activist to pay $14.5 million in damages to him and North Carolina-based Hearts with Haiti after finding he defamed them by leading an email blitz accusing the American man of sexually abusing Haitian children. The activist, Paul Kendrick, has requested a new trial.

Wings of Hope front gates

In the trial of his U.S. civil case in Maine, Geilenfeld testified that he believed the accusations of sexual abuse lingered against him in impoverished Haiti because he was a gay man in what he described as a homophobic country.

Geilenfeld, an Iowa native and former Catholic brother, founded the St. Joseph Home for Boys in Haiti's capital in the 1980s. At the defamation court case in Maine, which saw seven Haitian men testify they were molested as youngsters by the U.S. man, Geilenfeld said he was inspired by Mother Teresa's missionary work to do good works in Haiti. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

During the Friday search at the Wings of Hope facility in Fermathe, a government official who accompanied police showed reporters an arrest warrant for Geilenfeld signed Thursday by General Prosecutor Jean Abner Emile. Geilenfeld returned to Haiti after the U.S. jury in the civil case returned its verdict in late July.

Haitian authorities questioned staff members about Geilenfeld's whereabouts. Communications director Renee Dietrich told them she had spoken to him several days ago but didn't know where he was. She also showed them unanswered calls she made to him on her cellphone.

Dietrich declined to speak to Associated Press journalists who witnessed the Friday police searches, referring all queries to Geilenfeld's U.S. lawyer, Peter DeTroy. He did not respond to an email seeking comment and has previously said he has no involvement with legal matters in Haiti.

Alain Lemithe, Geilenfeld's Haitian lawyer, said he was confident his client would prevail in Haiti's appeals court in the coming weeks and said the timing of new allegations appeared to be "very suspicious."

Haitian investigators were accompanied Friday by Valerie Dirksen, a real estate agent from the Atlanta metropolitan area who asserts Geilenfeld is a serial abuser of children. She sponsors two young Haitian men who grew up in Geilenfeld's care and she insists there are many alleged victims who passed through the orphanage.

According to Dirksen, the new arrest warrant for Geilenfeld was issued after a magistrate judge visited the St. Joseph Home for Boys and found three youngsters residing there with him, a violation of an earlier mandate by Haiti's child welfare authority.

"I will stay here in Haiti until he is arrested," she said outside the Wings of Hope home.

15 Girls Rescued, 29 People Arrested for Sex Trafficking in 13 Cities, 8 States

© Reuters
Federal authorities arrested 29 people in 13 cities across eight states on sex trafficking charges, as part of a sweeping southern states operation called “Safe Haven,” according to US officials.

The undercover operation involved a loosely affiliated operation that coordinated the movement of Latino females throughout the southeast of the US, according to authorities. The traffickers within the operation were independent operators who coordinated the delivery of women for sexual purposes.

“Human sex trafficking is a cancer that we must cut out, and then aggressively fight with all of our resources,” US Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael Moore said in a released statement.

Moore said some trafficking victims are “kidnapped and forced in sexual servitude through violence,” while others “are lured with the promise of a better life, and then held hostage by predators who literally financially imprison.”

“No matter the circumstances that brought these women in sexual servitude, they are victims,” Moore added.

Investigators said 15 people believed to be victims were rescued during raids on brothels and homes in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. 

Underage teen girls worth more

The indictment described a network to recruit young women, including underage teens, to work as prostitutes because men are willing to pay more to have sex with them.

One underage girl was enticed from her home in Mexico by a trafficker who convinced her to run away with him, promising her a better life, the indictment says. Instead, he trained her as a prostitute and sent her with delivery drivers to various cities, where she sometimes performed 25 sex acts a day during the week and 30 sex acts a day on weekends, the indictment says, according to ABC News.

The girl turned 18 in May 2011, and from 2006 until January of 2013 she worked as a prostitute in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and elsewhere.

That makes her 13 when she started!

The indictment, filed in federal court in Macon, charged 38 people with sex-trafficking crimes, 29 of whom were arrested on Thursday in eight southern states. Six people were charged with conspiracy to participate in the sex trafficking of a minor, and 38 people were charged with conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce for prostitution. Nine suspects remain at large.

People charged with conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor could face life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Suspects charged with conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce for prostitution could face up to five years and a $250,000 fine.

“Safe Haven” began in July 2014 in the rural southern Georgia town of Moultrie and was led by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents (ICE). The joint task force of personnel from ICE and Homeland Security Investigations involved 38 separate missions, and used covert aerial surveillance to track suspects and identify multiple locations.

"To the criminals behind these illegal enterprises, these women are just pieces of meat used to pull a quick profit and then discarded or passed on to the next trafficker down the line," said Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan, who heads ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division in Atlanta.

Congratulations you guys. Great work! You are my heroes this week. God bless you!

And thank You Lord, for answered prayer!

Child Porn - An Equal Opportunity Perversion - It's Everywhere

Even New Zealand and Australia

The man admitted 30 charges under the Films, Videos, and Publications
Classification Act. File photo

A Dunedin, New Zealand process worker distributed almost 2500 child sexual abuse images to a group of paedophiles in the four years from April 2011, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.

Raymond Garry Westeneng, 50, told police he had to possess then distribute the objectionable publications to gain credibility within the group of paedophiles so he could increase his own collection for his viewing pleasure.

Westeneng admitted 30 charges under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act - 28 of possessing child-specific child pornography images, and two representative charges of distributing such images and possessing them for the purpose of distribution.

He was convicted and remanded in custody, by consent, for sentence in December.

The summary from prosecutor Acting Sergeant Adrian Cheyne said Westeneng accessed internet chatrooms about twice a week during the past four years.

He would focus on chat forums with names including "incest chat" and engage in typed discussions with others about the sexual abuse of children and the sharing of publications relating to child sexual exploitation.

After making contact with other paedophiles, Westeneng would receive instructions or provide instructions to move the group out of the chatroom and on to sharing platforms.

He would upload files, distributing objectionable publications into the file-sharing website and would view other users' material. If the publications interested him, he would download them to his computer.

It was estimated the defendant distributed, on average, 12 publications a week, amounting to more than 2496 objectionable publications over the four years, Acting Sgt Cheyne said.

On January 28 last year, a police officer from the United States was conducting covert inquiries into a chatroom. When the officer claimed to be the mother of a child, Westeneng said he would like to see the child being sexually violated by a male on live web camera. In return he would send hardcore child pictures.

Westeneng distributed a file containing 60 publications, 50 of the images and seven of the videos being objectionable publications involving children.

Police searched his home on April 17 and seized his computer. It was found to contain files predominantly involving girls who were naked or in sexually explicit positions.

There were 1400 pictures and two videos of children being exploited.

Meanwhile in Australia

There are complaints that Queensland's focus on biker gangs has deprived sexually abused children of effective law enforcement as child exploitation explodes.

Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission says child exploitation became “endemic”.

 Child exploitation has increased in Queensland, Mr Byrne said. (9NEWS)

Queensland child sex abusers “grew an alarming demand for increasingly depraved material, increasing the demand for vicitms,” he said.

“I think you can count the number of people who do the difficult job of finding these images on less than one hand.

“The great work that Taskforce Argos (the police child exploitation unit) does is simply swamped by the lack of resources.”