Rep. Michael S. Day files bill to protect victims of human trafficking - News - The Winchester Star - Winchester, MA

Rep. Michael S. Day files bill to protect victims of human trafficking - News - The Winchester Star - Winchester, MA:

Mass. panel issues report on human trafficking | Boston Herald

BOSTON — Massachusetts should provide more safe houses and other services for victims of human trafficking as part of a comprehensive plan to disrupt the sex trade, according to a new report. - 

See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/mass_panel_issues_report_on_human_trafficking

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Human trafficking operation busted in Providence - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

http://www.abc6.com/story/19388382/human-trafficking-operation-busted-in-providence

Source: ABC6

Aug 28, 2012 7:26 AM EDT


http://www.abc6.com/story/19388382/human-trafficking-operation-busted-in-providence?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7659160

 

By Alexandra Cowley

acowley@abc6.com

Four women were held against their will in a Providence apartment for months, victims of human trafficking. 

A Massachusetts man is at the ACI, charged with kidnapping and raping the women, as well as sex trafficking.

Police say it's a horrific situation that went on for months. The victims were too afraid to call for help.

According to police, four women and their children were being held against their will inside one of the units of an apartment building in Providence. They were sexually assaulted and pimped out for weeks until, finally, the mother of one of the girls called police.

Up the stairs and inside unit 8, police say four women from Massachusetts were sexually assaulted, forced into prostitution, and held against their will for months by 27-year-old Javann Hall.

Providence Police Inspector Marc Cameron describes one of the victims' stories. "She stated that she met Hall as he recruited her to make money for him as a pimp/prostitute enterprise," explained Cameron.

None of the victims made any money, and no one in the building ABC6 News spoke to had any idea what had gone on. That's likely because the women were scared silent.

Police say the women were constantly threatened with harm to themselves and their children if they went to the police, or attempted to contact any friends, or escape. The women were between the ages of 18 and 22.

Two children lived inside the apartment belonging to two of the women.

Police say 3 of them initially agreed to the prostitution. They knew Hall through prior relationships or acquaintances, but were later held against their will. One of the women never had a choice. She was kidnapped at gunpoint, but at some point found a way to contact her mother. It was that girl's mom who made the 911 call Friday night, sending officers to 745 Cranston Street.

Detective Michael Correia says the women broke down as soon as they knew Hall was in police custody and they were safe.

"You have to have a little empathy. These are young, vulnerable girls, probably low self-esteem, financially dependent, they're victims," said Correia.

Detective Correia went on to say none of the women or children had physical injuries. Instead, the damage was emotional.

As soon as the Inspector laid out the details of what the girls went through at Hall's arraignment Monday morning, the judge had had enough.

Inspector Cameron said, "the victim told police that Mr. Hall had forced her to have sex with him and that she told him, "no" on several occasions."

Providence police are investigating why Hall, of Dorchester, brought the Massachusetts women to Providence to operate the prostitution scheme. They are also searching for any more of Hall's victims as well as his customers. 

Hall is charged with four counts of kidnapping, four counts pandering, three counts of 1st degree sexual assault, three counts of simple assault, and three counts trafficking for commercial sexual activity. Hall is being held at the ACI without bail until his next court appearance on September 10th.

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Quincy sex slave case factor in push for human trafficking law - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger

The Patriot Ledger

Posted Aug 29, 2011 @ 02:08 PM

Last update Aug 29, 2011 @ 02:54 PM

Boston - Attorney General Martha Coakley is highlighting Massachusetts’ poor rating by an anti-human trafficking group which has criticized the state for being one of only four in the country without laws to prosecute labor and sexual servitude.

The Polaris Project ranked states based on the presence or absence of 10 categories of state laws that it believes are critical to a comprehensive anti-trafficking legal framework.

Massachusetts and eight other states – Alaska, Colorado, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming – received the lowest rating.

“This report highlights the fact that Massachusetts is well behind the rest of the nation in our laws to combat human trafficking. The passage of a human trafficking law would give us the tools to go after those who are exploiting children and other victims right in our own communities,” Coakley said in a statement released Monday.

Coakley, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey of Quincy and other prosecutors are pushing for passage of a bill that would make human trafficking a crime in Massachusetts and create harsher penalties for pimps who sell adults and adolescents for labor and sex.

The House unanimously approved the bill in June and it is now in the state Senate.

Human trafficking hit home in May when a 28-year-old Boston man was charged with kidnapping a 15-year-old girl at an MBTA stop and forcing her to have sex with men at motel rooms, including the Best Western Adams Inn in Quincy.

Norman Barnes is still being held without bail and is due back in Quincy District Court on Sept. 6. Norfolk County prosecutors charged him with kidnapping and child enticement, which carry maximum penalties of 10 and five years, respectively. Those charges are the best tools currently available in Massachusetts in human-trafficking cases, prosecutors say.

Victim advocates said the bill at the State House would fix an “upside down” system in which victims of the crime are viewed as delinquents or prostitutes who are subject to penalties themselves.

A “safe harbor” provision in the bill would remove from the juvenile justice system anyone 18 or younger involved in commercial sexual exploitation and offer the same support services extended to child abuse victims.

“What can happen now is there isn’t clear communication, so kids fall through the cracks. They are seen as delinquent or invisible,” Lisa Goldblatt Grace, program director for My Life, My Choice, a nonprofit that provides services to adolescent girls involved in sexual exploitation in the Boston area and as far south as Plymouth, said earlier this summer.

Copyright 2011 The Patriot Ledger. Some rights reserved

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Mass. Senate passes anti-human trafficking bill - Fall River, MA - The Herald News

By Colleen Quinn

State House News Service

Posted Jun 30, 2011 @ 06:39 PM

BOSTON —

The Senate unanimously passed an anti-human trafficking bill Thursday, approving legislation that differs significantly from a House proposal and putting Massachusetts closer to offering new tools to deal with horrific sex and labor trafficking cases.

The Senate bill increased the mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking from 15 to 20 years, added new criminal penalties for organ trafficking, and imposed fines up to $1 million on businesses found engaging in human trafficking.

Sen. Mark Montigny, the lead sponsor of the bill, said he was pleased to see the bill advance “after years of frustration and pessimism.” He said he was confident it would finally become law.

Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat, has filed the bill for the past six years. It has passed in the Senate before, but never made it through both branches. Senators said it’s likely headed for a six-member conference committee, which would be charged with producing a single bill.

“I really think for the first time both branches are determined to get this done,” Montigny said. “I feel very strongly we won’t have a break down in conference.”

In June, the House unanimously passed an anti-human trafficking bill that would give prosecutors new tools to target prostitution and forced labor networks. Attorney General Martha Coakley has also pushed lawmakers to pass human trafficking legislation.

During debate in the Senate Thursday, Montigny said he was “sad” for the victims of human trafficking that it took so long to pass. He said it is time for Massachusetts residents to realize human trafficking occurs in this state so more people can be vigilant about stopping it.

“We need to convince people in every neighborhood of this commonwealth that this is going on,” Montigny said. “Some of the most horrendous cases have been in wealthy suburbs.”

The Senate adopted an amendment instituting a $1,000 fine for so-called “Johns” convicted of a first-time offense. Senators said they hope the stiff fines will convince individuals involved in soliciting prostitutes that they contribute to human trafficking.

Both the House and Senate bills include so-called "safe harbor" provisions that would allow juveniles under 18 to avoid prosecution in certain cases if a judge determines they were victimized by trafficking.

The Senate bill also provides state-funded social services to victims of sexual exploitation or forced labor.

If signed by Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts will join 47 other states with trafficking laws already on the books. The governor of Hawaii recently signed a trafficking law.

Source: heraldnews.com

Mass. Senate passes anti-human trafficking bill - Fall River, MA - The Herald News

Mass. AG presses anti-human trafficking initiative - Boston.com

Mass. AG presses anti-human trafficking initiative

May 15, 2011

BOSTON—Attorney General Martha Coakley is pressing lawmakers on an initiative to crack down on human trafficking in Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, Coakley joins Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley at a Statehouse press conference to highlight the measure.

Coakley has filed a bill that would establish the state-level crimes of human trafficking in labor and sex and create an Attorney General-led task force to study the illegal trade. The bill also increases the penalties for so-called "Johns" to address the demand side of human trafficking. Massachusetts is one of four states without a state crime of human trafficking on the books.

Conley backs separate legislation designed to shift the focus from prosecuting teens involved in the sex trade to giving them the services they need to escape prostitution.

Mass. AG presses anti-human trafficking initiative - Boston.com
Source: boston.com

AG seeks updated wiretap laws in fight against gangs - The Boston Globe

By John R. Ellement

Globe Staff / April 19, 2011

Attorney General Martha Coakley called yesterday for updating wiretap laws so law enforcement can attack the “disorganized crime’’ behind street gangs, human trafficking, and shoplifting rings, all untouchable under current state wiretap laws.

Coakley spoke in reaction to comments by two Supreme Judicial Court justices, who declared that wiretap laws enacted in the late 1960s wrongly limit the reach of police and prosecutors.

“The SJC couldn’t have been blunter,’’ Coakley said. “Things have changed. The whole face of crime has changed totally, and technology has changed.’’

Justices Ralph Gants and Judith Cowin said in a decision on April 8 that current state law limits the use of electronic eavesdropping to criminal groups that fit a narrow definition of organized crime.

“The legislative inclusion of five words, ‘in connection with organized crime,’ means that electronic surveillance is unavailable to investigate and prosecute the hundreds of shootings and killings committed by street gangs in Massachusetts, which are among the most difficult crimes to solve and prosecute using more traditional means of investigation,’’ Gants wrote.

He added: “These violent crimes are among the most difficult to solve, because the witnesses to these crimes are so reluctant to come forward to provide information and testimony for fear of violence, retaliation, and social ostracism.’’

Coakley said Gants and Cowin understand both the law and the need to give law enforcement the proper tools to combat violence, especially in urban centers.

She added, “if we are going to be able to combat what I call disorganized crime, a kind of crime association or organization that lack structure . . . we should update the statute.’’

Coakley said that when the law was put into place in the 1960s there were major concerns about governmental intrusion, leading the Bay State’s lawmakers to put high legal thresholds in place before wiretaps could be used.

At the same time, she said, the law was written so Massachusetts police could target the Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra, because they had a corporate structure that included disciplining members who violated the rules.

Today’s criminals form alliances that remain in place only long enough to commit a shooting, pull off a bank robbery, buy and sell drugs, or to force teenagers into modern-day slavery, Coakley said.

“It’s not what we think of as the organized crime we faced in 1968,’’ she said.

Coakley, backed by the state’s district attorneys, proposed updating wiretap laws in 2009, but has yet to see the idea advance on Beacon Hill.

She said her plan should quell concerns among civil libertarians because no wiretap could be used unless approved by a judge.

Coakley has also urged the passage of state money laundering laws, especially if gambling is legalized in Massachusetts.

“I’m hoping that common sense’’ will prevail, she said. “There are just too many reasons, too many changes, in both technology and the way criminals work for us not to acknowledge that, and change our current tools.’’

Source: Boston.com.

AG seeks updated wiretap laws in fight against gangs - The Boston Globe

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Interview: Attorney General Coakley Fights for Massachusetts' First Trafficking Law | Change.org News

by Amanda Kloer · February 28, 2011

Massachusetts is one of the few states in the U.S. without a single state law making human trafficking a crime. But after years of watching proposed laws fizzle and die in the state legislature, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is championing a bill that would provide critical services to victims and help local law enforcement put traffickers behind bars. Change.org caught up with Attorney General Coakley and interviewed her about human trafficking in Massachusetts and the Change.org campaign supporting her bill that over 1,000 members have signed.

Kloer: Why is human trafficking in Massachusetts an important issue to you?

Attorney General Coakley: As Chief of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Child Abuse Unit and then as Middlesex District Attorney, I have seen the damage sexual abuse can have on its victims. I also have seen the ways in which perpetrators groom and manipulate their young victims for further abuse. This process puts children at high risk for continued abuse through commercial sexual exploitation and entry into “the life”. In my work as Attorney General enforcing our civil rights and wage and hour laws, I also have seen the wide array of people from different backgrounds who are at risk of being exploited for someone else’s monetary gain. This is unacceptable in the 21^st Century. We must work to end this exploitation, protect victims, and hold those who engage in this type of behavior accountable.

Kloer: Massachusetts is currently one of the few states without specific state laws that criminalize human trafficking. Why hasn't there been legislation on the books yet?

AG Coakley: It’s disappointing that Massachusetts is one of the last states to criminalize human trafficking, and that is why we are working so hard to fix that. Human trafficking is not just a federal issue, and we need strong state laws so that we can protect victims here on a local level. It will also help us work with our federal partners more effectively to achieve justice for victims of these horrific crimes.

Kloer: How will this new bill help prevent human trafficking in Massachusetts?

AG Coakley: We know the best way to address trafficking is by addressing all three aspects of the problem. We need to hold those who traffic or benefit from the exploitation of people for profit accountable, develop services and a response for the victims, and address the demand for these services that creates a marketplace in which traffickers can prosper. We’ve proposed two felonies to hold perpetrators responsible their activities. We’ve proposed increases in penalties for those who purchase men and women in the sex trade and create the demand from which pimps and traffickers profit. Those penalties include mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders and higher sentences when children are victims. Finally, we are proposing a task force to bring stakeholders together to share information and develop multidisciplinary responses to the issue and support for victims.

Kloer: If passed, this proposed bill would become one of the strongest state anti-trafficking laws in the country. How were the different components of the law developed?

AG Coakley: We are grateful for the significant interest and support this legislation has received from legislators, advocates, and public safety professionals. This bill has strong support in our legislature, starting with the lead sponsors of the bill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Eugene O’Flaherty and Senator Mark Montigny. In addition, we have received the support of a wide array of stakeholders including all 11 District Attorneys, local and state law enforcement agencies, labor unions, and victim advocates. It is because of the cooperation of all of these stakeholders that we have been able to put together such a strong bill. It is also why I am confident that we will get this bill passed so that we can join the 45 other states who have anti-human trafficking laws.

Kloer: Over 1,000 Change.org members have sent letters to the Massachusetts legislature in support of an anti-trafficking law. What message would you give to them and other grassroots supporters of the bill?

AG Coakley: First, a sincere thank you. You are helping bring about important change to protect victims of exploitation in Massachusetts. Second, I can promise that we’re not going to stop working until we get this bill passed so that we can better protect victims of these heinous crimes.

Attorney General Coakley left Change.org members and Massachusetts residents this final message,

"We are truly thankful for the work and support folks have already provided, but we still need your help. We ask everyone to continue to stay involved, contact your legislators, and work with us to get this important bill passed. Your support will truly make a difference, and we are not going to stop working until we get this done. Thank you once again."

Support Attorney General Coakley's efforts to fight human trafficking in Massachusetts by asking the state legislature to pass the proposed bill and make human trafficking a crime.

Photo credit: Martha Coakley

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic

Source: change.org

Interview: Attorney General Coakley Fights for Massachusetts' First Trafficking Law | Change.org News

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Human Trafficking in Massachusetts: Not Yet A Crime. | Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review

February 11, 2011 

Modern-day slavery is a pervasive issue that involves fundamental human rights violations with dynamics of economic plight and devastating effects on oppressed victims. The famously progressive state of Massachusetts has truly led other states in equality and non-discrimination issues, especially with respect to same sex marriage. But when it comes to protecting human trafficking victims by subjecting the perpetrators to criminal punishment, Massachusetts falls far behind, as one of only 5 states in the country that doesn’t yet have a law criminalizing human trafficking.

A bill to make human trafficking into a state crime, supported by Attorney General Coakley and other law enforcement officials, was introduced in late January.  The United Nations estimates $32 billion in international criminal profits are derived each year from the sheer exploitation of human trafficking. Coakley recognized that “[i]t has been under the radar, but it’s time to shine a spotlight on this crime.” Amicus will continue to follow the developments in Massachusetts’ long-overdue fight against modern day slavery.

For more information on the dynamics of human trafficking both internationally and in the United States, see http://www.humantrafficking.org/ or read Siddharth Kara’s Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.

Source:  harvardcrcl.org

Human Trafficking in Massachusetts: Not Yet A Crime. | Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review

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Carr Center Douglass Prize Awarded to Kara | The Harvard Crimson

Group Works To End Human Sex Trafficking - News Story - WCVB Boston

POSTED: 7:05 am EDT November 5, 2010
UPDATED: 7:39 am EDT November 5, 2010

[Trafficki ng Monitor: Click on URL at end to view interview.]

BOSTON -- Sexually exploited children are being bought and sold for sex, online and on the streets, in Massachusetts; but experts say human trafficking is hard to prosecute and even harder to track.

Newscenter 5's Bianca Delagarza talked to one woman who escaped what's called "the life."

"I've been beaten a lot of times. I've been raped multiple times," said Tonee Hobson, who went from being a Dorchester runaway to a sexually-exploited child, just 14 years old when she was sold for sex by her pimp. "After awhile, you kind of get immune to it."

Now 20, the nightmare still haunts her.

"You just stand on the corner. If a car comes by it would flash the headlights twice, and then you would know they wanted your services," she said.

Audry Porter's story is similar to Hobson's. At 16, pimps, prostitution, then stripping and drug addiction. Now, she's a mentor.

"We're talking about the buying and selling of kids," said Lisa Goldblatt-Grace, who together with Porter co-founded the "My Life, My Choice," project, fighting to end the commercial sex trade business that is destroying children's lives in Massachusetts and beyond.

They said the Internet only makes it more dangerous.

"Through all the social network sites, they're able to recruit the girl in the back woods of Maine," said Porter.

Experts said the same underground routes used to run drugs and guns in the U.S., are being used to traffic children, sold for sex. A data base launched by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office found 300 child victims in that county alone.

"We need harsher, clearer, stricter state penalties against both the pimps and the johns. It is not OK to sell girls in our community," said Goldblatt-Grace.

Advocates want a state Safe Harbor law preventing exploited children from facing prostitution charges. Connecticut and New York already have such a law. Also, Massachusetts is one of just five states with no anti-human trafficking law. One bill was filed but has been stalled in committee.

"People who would break the law are always going to go where it's easier to get away with it," said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Coakley said she hopes Congress will take action, holding web sites that advertise sex for sale accountable.

"There's not a lot of fear that people will get caught. That provides absolutely zero deterrence. They are immune from federal or state liability," Coakley said.

Group Works To End Human Sex Trafficking - News Story - WCVB Boston

Source: WCVB Boston

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Apartments in Wellesley, Newton used as brothels, Justice Department says - Wellesley - Your Town - Boston.com

Posted April 1, 2010 06:07 PM

By Caitlin Castello, Town Correspondent

Apartments in Newton, Watertown, Wellesley, and Somerville were used as brothels in an interstate prostitution ring resulting in the arrest of five individuals from Massachusetts and New York, the Department of Justice announced.

Dong Kai Chen,41, of Quincy; Yu En Jin “Eric,” 26, of Quincy; Jing Liang Chen “Mike,” 30, of Quincy and Xiang Hua Zhang, 27, and Hong Wei “Ms. Chen,” 37, of Flushing, New York were charged with one count of conspiracy to transport and entice women to travel for the purpose of prostitution, one count on inducing travel to engage in prostitution, one count of sex trafficking by force or coercion and two counts of forced labor, harboring or concealing aliens and seven counts of interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

Women were lured by advertisements in newspapers across the country, according to the Department of Justice. The women usually arrived at South Station and then were transported to various apartments across


Massachusetts.In some cases, the women were in the United States illegally.

“Successful prosecutions of traffickers rely heavily on the cooperation of victims and law enforcement’s ability to gain their trust,” said US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, in a statement. “The District of Massachusetts is working with outstanding case agents, investigations and advocates who understand the complexity and sensitive issues facing victims of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking.

Don Kai Chen’s arraignment is set for April 12. Jing Liang Chen is expected to be arraigned on April 12. An arraignment date has not been set for the other three.

Apartments in Wellesley, Newton used as brothels, Justice Department says - Wellesley - Your Town - Boston.com

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