Kudos to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal who last week arrested two dozen men for using social media to lure underage girls and boys for sex. Thankfully, the children targeted turned out to be undercover officers, part of an operation put together by our AG called “Open House”.
Attorney General Grewal said that most of the defendants were arrested when they arrived at a location in Toms River, where they allegedly expected to find their victim home alone. What they found instead, were law enforcement officers ready to arrest them..
"It is a frightening reality that sexual predators are lurking on social media, ready to strike if they find a child who is vulnerable," AG Grewal said. "To counter that threat, we are working collaboratively and aggressively across all levels of law enforcement to apprehend these sex offenders. We want child predators to know that we are on social media too - and the child they target may be the undercover officer who puts them in handcuffs. That is the message of Operation Open House."
The arrests were made over a five-day period from September 5th through September 9th. All 24 were arrested and charged with second-degree luring, and other crimes, including second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor and third-degree attempted debauching the morals of a child. Five of those arrested face third-degree charges of attempted sharing obscene materials with a child for allegedly sending photos of their genitals to undercover detectives.
Those who deal in the trafficking of women and children for America’s booming sex industry use the same on-line methods that those arrested last week used. This isn’t a victimless crime. Many of the victims have been brought to America to be sold into this modern slavery. A United Nations study estimated that the criminal cartels who control the trafficking of human beings and illegal narcotics into the United States collect $6.6 billion annually.
And who is being trafficked? Here, meet some of the victims…
The United Nations has issued reports showing human trafficking is the fastest growing organized criminal activity on earth. Secure borders help prevent human trafficking and the exploitation of children. Secure borders fight modern day slavery.
Porous borders are not only a boon to modern day slavery – the trafficking and sale of human beings, especially children – they facilitate the trafficking of illegal narcotics, opioids, and illegal firearms to. There have been irresponsible calls to abolish ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) and to open the doors to a nightmarish wild west scenario. If ICE is gone, who will be around to prevent the living horror of modern slavery?
Some have adopted dangerously naïve views about border security. A lot of those on the Far-Left want to permit the border to grow more and more porous – allowing thousands more victims (mainly women and children) to be shipped and sold like cattle, welcoming more dangerous illegal drugs into our communities, and providing illegal firearms for organized criminal gangs. We must address this in no uncertain terms.
On Thursday, there will be a reception to discuss the Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Prevention Act. This is a bi-partisan initiative aimed at stopping the trafficking of children in the United States at the source… the Internet.
For most members of the New Jersey political establishment we bet it’s been pretty good – surrounded by family, nice food and drink, the sounds of laughter and friendship. But for the victims of human trafficking -- our modern slavery epidemic – it’s been just another season in hell, made more poignant by the fact that, for almost all of those trafficked, there are memories of when they enjoyed the summer holidays as much as anyone else.
Human Trafficking isthe fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second to drug dealing and tied with arms dealing. The FBI recently uncovered and arrested 42 child sex traffickers in New Jersey. The Star-Ledgerreported that the 42 were arrested on charges that included sex trafficking, child exploitation and prostitution. A total of 84 children were rescued during the operation. Human Trafficking is modern day slavery and it is happening TODAY -- in the HERE and NOW!
But some in New Jersey’s political establishment don't want to admit that it is happening, because too many are in hock to contributions from special interests who benefit from the massive profits generated by everything from goods made with indentured labor to Internet porn. Instead of addressing this modern crime against humanity, many console themselves by virtue signaling about the slavery ended by the Civil War -- in 1865. This allows them to (1) ignore modern slavery, (2) keep taking the money, and (3) feel good about themselves.
Imagine if the British government had taken this line in 1807 and -- instead of abolishing the slave trade -- they had merely congratulated themselves on the end of their enslavement by the Romans, centuries before? No, they were focused on the affliction of slavery in what wastheirmodern times – and they dealt with it, sending out the Royal Navy to sink every slave ship and blast every slave trader from the seven seas.
Modern technology is rapidly expanding the means by which human beings are ensnared and trapped into modern slavery and then trafficked as though they were meat. The modern "slave ship" is embodied by certain websites and social media -- its "ocean" is the Internet. The media recently reported about the rescue by the FBI of a "3-month-old girl and her 5-year-old sister" who were being trafficked by a child predator "who was offering to sell the children for sex" using the Internet. Isn't it time to adopt the technology to blast these scumbags from the Internet?
Child trafficking is a $32 billion-a-year industry and is on the rise in all 50 states, according to the U.S. government. 4.5 Millionof trafficked persons have been sexually exploited and nearly 300,000 Americans under 18 have been lured into the commercial sex trade. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported that in 2016, human trafficking in the United States increased by 35.7% -- in one year! But we have the technology to stop it. So why aren't we adopting it?
We have the legislation. It's called the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act (S-540/ A-878). And it offers a constitutional way to prevent predators from using the Internet to sexually exploit children. It is supported by Thorn, an anti-human trafficking group that uses technology to defeat child sex traffickers.
So why are some members of New Jersey’s political establishment undermining this legislation by making excuses for the actions of Senator Bob Menendez and his friend, a wealthy man who was convicted of ripping-off taxpayers? And why are others reluctant to support the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act on the state and federal level?
Last week, the New Jersey Democrat State Committee rounded up 88 women operatives to aid Senator Bob Menendez’ comeback bid. The 88 Democrats brushed aside federal allegations made by prosecutors that there was evidence to suggest that the Senator and his “friend” had been involved in trafficking, including “uncharged allegations of underage prostitution that kicked off the federal probe.” This is serious stuff and something each of those 88 Democrats should have answers for.
Prosecutors twice say there was “corroborating evidence” to support the initial sex crime allegations, for which Senator Menendez and his convicted friend, Dr. Solomon Melgen, face no charges. In the first instance, they write:
"The defendants present their case as exceptional because the allegations of underage prostitution are 'such easily disprovable allegations about something that would hardly be a federal crime even had it been true.' Id. As an initial matter, it is most certainly a federal crime to leave the country for the purpose of engaging in a commercial sex act with a minor, and the defendants’ suggestion to the contrary is unsettling. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952, 1591(a)(1), & 2421. Furthermore, the defendants’ dismissive treatment of these allegations is troubling. Allegations of human trafficking and underage prostitution must be taken seriously and cannot be dismissed merely because the alleged perpetrator is a United States Senator. Given the nature and seriousness of the allegations, in addition to the corroborating evidence, it would have been irresponsible not to investigate."
Then, recounting the initial stages of the investigation and apparently corroborating evidence, prosecutors write:
"As would be done in the normal course, the Government took responsible steps to investigate these serious criminal allegations, which were not so 'easily disprovable,' as the defendants suggest. Some eyewitnesses described a party attended by defendant Melgen in Casa de Campo—where defendant Melgen has a home and where defendant Menendez often visited—involving prostitutes. See Ex. 2 at 2; Ex. 3 at 1-2.. Furthermore, defendant Melgen has flown numerous young women from the United States and from other countries on his private jet to the Dominican Republic. Many of these young women receive substantial financial support from defendant Melgen. For example, defendant Melgen flew two young women—whom he met while they were performing at a South Florida 'Gentlemen’s' Club, see Ex. 4 at 1-2—on his private jet to his villa in Casa de Campo the day after paying one young woman $1,000 and the other young woman $2,000. See Ex. 5. Indeed, one of defendant Melgen’s pilots described 'young girls' who 'look[ed] like escorts' traveling at various times on defendant Melgen’s private jet. Ex. 6 at 9:7-16. Some young women who received substantial sums of money from defendant Melgen were in the same place as defendant Menendez at the same time. Moreover, when the allegations were first reported, defendant Menendez defended himself with public statements that are easily disprovable. Specifically, he repeated several times that he had only flown on defendant Melgen’s private jet on three occasions. That representation is demonstrably false. Confronted with corroborating evidence of such serious crimes, it would have been an inexcusable abdication of responsibility not to investigate these allegations."
While Menendez denies these allegations, did the 88 Democrat women operatives ever stop to ask him about them?
So who are they? Well here is the list of the 88…
Afsheen Shamsi, Steering Committee Member, NJDSC South Asian American Caucus
Alison Arne, Atlantic County Chair, Action Together New Jersey
Amie Maria, Cumberland/Salem County Co-Chair, Action Together New Jersey
Amy DeGise, Chair, Hudson County Democratic Organization
Analilia Mejia, Executive Director, New Jersey Working Families Alliance
Andrea Smith, Cape May County Co-Chair, Action Together New Jersey
Angela Bardoe, Cumberland/Salem County Co-Chair, Action Together New Jersey
Angela McKnight, Assemblymember
Angelica Jimenez, Assemblymember
Annette Quijano, Assemblymember
Anita Esteve, Morris County Co-Chair, Action Together New Jersey
Ann Twomey, President, Health Professionals and Allied Employees
Anna Maria Tejada, Past President, Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
Anna Wong, Northeast Regional Director, Action Together New Jersey
Arlene Quinones Perez, Chair, Hunterdon County Democratic Committee
Last week, the New Jersey Democrat State Committee rounded up 88 women operatives and put them in harness to aid Bob Menendez’ comeback bid. Yep, after his brush with political mortality last year, the Democrat is banking on faux outrage by the barking Machiavellians of a feminist fringe to obscure his brutal treatment of women.
Federal documents in 2015 revisited “uncharged allegations of underage prostitution that kicked off the federal probe.”
According to U.S. News & World Report (August 24, 2015) prosecutors did not “explicitly say the underage prostitution investigation came up empty.” On the contrary, the probe is described as having turned up “corroborating evidence.” The federal prosecutors’ filing states:
“While those allegations have not resulted in any criminal charges, there can be no question that the Government has an obligation to take such allegations regarding potential harm to minors very seriously, regardless of who the alleged perpetrators may be.”
“Presented with specific, corroborated allegations that defendants Menendez and Melgen had sex with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, the Government responsibly and dutifully investigated those serious allegations… The indictment here, of course, charges only corruption and does not include any allegations of soliciting underage prostitution.”
Prosecutors twice say there was “corroborating evidence” to support the initial sex crime allegations, for which Senator Menendez and his convicted friend, Dr. Solomon Melgen, face no charges. In the first instance, they write:
"The defendants present their case as exceptional because the allegations of underage prostitution are 'such easily disprovable allegations about something that would hardly be a federal crime even had it been true.' Id. As an initial matter, it is most certainly a federal crime to leave the country for the purpose of engaging in a commercial sex act with a minor, and the defendants’ suggestion to the contrary is unsettling. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952, 1591(a)(1), & 2421. Furthermore, the defendants’ dismissive treatment of these allegations is troubling. Allegations of human trafficking and underage prostitution must be taken seriously and cannot be dismissed merely because the alleged perpetrator is a United States Senator. Given the nature and seriousness of the allegations, in addition to the corroborating evidence, it would have been irresponsible not to investigate."
Then, recounting the initial stages of the investigation and apparently corroborating evidence, prosecutors write:
"As would be done in the normal course, the Government took responsible steps to investigate these serious criminal allegations, which were not so 'easily disprovable,' as the defendants suggest. Some eyewitnesses described a party attended by defendant Melgen in Casa de Campo—where defendant Melgen has a home and where defendant Menendez often visited—involving prostitutes. See Ex. 2 at 2; Ex. 3 at 1-2.. Furthermore, defendant Melgen has flown numerous young women from the United States and from other countries on his private jet to the Dominican Republic. Many of these young women receive substantial financial support from defendant Melgen. For example, defendant Melgen flew two young women—whom he met while they were performing at a South Florida 'Gentlemen’s' Club, see Ex. 4 at 1-2—on his private jet to his villa in Casa de Campo the day after paying one young woman $1,000 and the other young woman $2,000. See Ex. 5. Indeed, one of defendant Melgen’s pilots described 'young girls' who 'look[ed] like escorts' traveling at various times on defendant Melgen’s private jet. Ex. 6 at 9:7-16. Some young women who received substantial sums of money from defendant Melgen were in the same place as defendant Menendez at the same time. Moreover, when the allegations were first reported, defendant Menendez defended himself with public statements that are easily disprovable. Specifically, he repeated several times that he had only flown on defendant Melgen’s private jet on three occasions. That representation is demonstrably false. Confronted with corroborating evidence of such serious crimes, it would have been an inexcusable abdication of responsibility not to investigate these allegations."
While Menendez denies these allegations, did the 88 Democrat women operatives ever stop to ask him about them? Did they satisfy their own consciences (if indeed, they possess anything like a conscience) that no woman or girls were sexually abused or enslaved during the period covered by the filings?
Did anyone of them have anything to say when the New York Post filed this story…
Fred Snowflack is a wise old owl.A career journalist of the old school, card carrier of the Society of Professional Journalists, an exceptional editor, and the type of old-fashioned liberal that every small community once benefitted from -- be it town or neighborhood.His traditional liberalism, long out of fashion today, was tuned to Professor Karl Polanyi's warning that... "Robbed of the protective covering of cultural institutions, human beings would perish from the effects of social exposure; they would die as the victims of acute social dislocation through vice, perversion, crime, and starvation.Nature would be reduced to its elements, neighborhoods and landscapes defiled, rivers polluted, military safety jeopardized, the power to produce food and raw materials destroyed."
We are fortunate that Mr. Snowflack still has a venue for his writing.The balanced opinions he once offered in the pages of Gannett publications like the Daily Record are now available on InsiderNJ.com.Yesterday's column by Snowflack, was evidence (if any was needed) that he has lost none of his abilities to get to the heart of something and touch it with a needle.Writing about the Women's March rally in Morristown over the weekend, he offered this insight:
" Are we seeing a Democratic version of the Tea Party?
Perhaps.
That thought crossed my mind last weekend as I covered the Women’s March in Morristown and read about similar marches all over the country.
I came across one quote in particular from a Bergen County woman who attended the march in Manhattan. She said that until the election of Donald Trump as president, she and her circle of friends spent much of their TV time watching “reality shows.” Now, they watch news programs, or if you prefer, “real reality shows.”
This is important for politics now and going forward.
Follow politics for a while and you quickly realize that a key to winning elections is not convincing those who disagree with you to come over to your side. That’s unlikely to happen, especially in these very polarizing times.
The key is to somehow get those who agree with you to actually vote.
This is critical at a time when voter turnout is considered good if it reaches 50 percent. The more “non-voters” you can energize, the better it is for you.
The key to winning elections is to motivate people who generally don't vote, but who would consider voting for your party.
That's contrary to the mantra coming from some GOP types -- like defeated gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno.They claim that only a "moderate" can win statewide.This is, of course, simply an opinion and an opinion that ignores the fact that the only Republican who has won statewide in the last twenty years has been Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment, and opposed to Same-Sex Marriage.
This unreason is widespread and it gets even worse.Indeed, in the case of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO), the claim is made that only a "moderate" can win in a congressional district that voted for Donald Trump.
In these very partisan times, merely having an "R" next to your name -- leave out supporting Donald Trump or Chris Christie -- is enough to preclude any significant support from voters who self-identify as Pro-Choice on Abortion, Pro-Gun Control, and Pro-LGBT.If these are your first tier issues, what floats your boat, you are not voting Republican in 2018.Period.
Despite this, there is a full court press to mint Republican candidates who intentionally suppress key parts of the GOP base.Like the BCRO's Pro-Abortion John McCann.In elections that increasingly depend on identifying and turning out anyone who will even consider voting Republican, this is a disastrous trend.
Of course, these left-of-center Republicans tend to be popular with the dregs of the GOP's Whitman-era glitterati --cocktail-party liberals and crony capitalists who still think they run the NJGOP -- and who are increasingly uncomfortable in the knowledge that they make up just a thimbleful of actual Republican voters.
Unfortunately for them, most voters are not looking to transfer more wealth and power to the one-percent, while infantilizing various "groups" deemed worthy of protection.
Working class Republican voters and working class Democrat voters are really not that different.They care about being able to have the means to life.They want jobs, the opportunity to start a small business; to be free from the worry of foreclosure; an education system that balances costs with results; a safety net that hasn't all been spent before they need it, and a justice system that looks on them a free citizens and that keeps safe the places where they live, work, and shop.
Theneeds of working people are pretty straight forward.If it were an ice cream shop it would be plain vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.Of course, the oligarchs of the Democrat Party can't provide that -- so they advertise a dozen flavors other than vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry -- while the "My Party Too" Whitman Republicans have placed out a sign that says, "Closed for business, we've run out of ideas."
Why this is so was the subject of a study conducted by Princeton University.Take the time to listen to this video.It could be an eye-opener:
Instead of trying to stand-out and apart from the "usual" Republican through the tired and ultimately unconvincing trope of "a different kind of Republican" when it comes to abortion and LGBT rights, the next generation of Republican candidates could act boldly and stand out as pledged to ending modern slavery.If you need to know how bad it is, just read the newspapers.Just last week, the Star-Ledger ran this...
"Authorities say a teenage girl found walking along Interstate 295 in Mercer County last week was a victim of human trafficking and had escaped from a motel, where she was forced into prostitution...
An investigation led to the arrests of Ashley Gardener, 29, and her partner, Breon Mickens, 26, both of Trenton.
Mickens and Gardener had transported the teenager to multiple hotels against her will and forced her to engage in prostitution, police said.
Gardener allegedly forced the victim to engage in sexual activity with multiple men and allegedly collected the money paid by the clients. She also placed sexually suggestive ads on Backpage.com with photos of herself and the victim, police said.
The ads offered adult entertainment and listed a phone number police say belonged to Gardener."
Or you can listen to Ashton Kutcher's testimony before Congress...
According to the U.S. Justice Department, as many as 300,000 Americans under 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year. The Internet is the vehicle for 76 percent of the transactions for sex with underage girls.
The average victim is between 11 and 14 years old. These victims come from all walks of life -- from every race, social, and economic background.
The problem is made worse by America's fluid borders. According to the United Nations (UNICEF), 2 million children are trafficked in the global prostitution trade. The U.S. State Department reports that from 600,000 to 800,000 people (mainly women and children) are bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for slave labor and prostitution.
Human Trafficking has surpassed the sale of illegal arms and is set to surpass the illegal sale of drugs. The FBI reports that human trafficking is on the rise in all 50 states and represents a multi-billion dollar criminal industry.
New Jersey is a "hub for human trafficking," according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.In September, 14 people were arrested in a child-porn and human trafficking operation in Monmouth County. In October , the FBI announced that it had uncovered and arrested 42 child sex traffickers in New Jersey. The Star-Ledger reported that the 42 were arrested on charges that included sex trafficking, child exploitation and prostitution. A total of 84 children were rescued during the operation. At the beginning of December, 79 suspects were arrested on a host of charges that included sexual assault, using the Internet to send inappropriate images to children, and child pornography.
And with schools requiring young students to have access to the Internet, it is no longer about the parent. The government-run education system supplants the parents and requires the child to be connected to the Internet. For many children, it's like requiring them to walk to and from school on a dangerous, traffic-filled highway.
There was legislation in Trenton to addresses this growing criminal enterprise aimed at our children. It was a bill championed by Republican State Senator Steve Oroho, and it attracted substantial bi-partisan support.Despite having enough legislators committed to passing this legislation -- either as co-sponsors or supporters -- the Democrats who run both chambers of the Legislature killed it.
They listened to objections from the porn industry, who have adopted a "no questions asked" attitude on where their profits come from. Porn is legal and the corporations who profit from it and their allies are the enablers of human trafficking.
This state legislation has companion bills in nearly every state and in the United States Congress.Republicans could be its champion.Instead of taking on the self-defeating label of "Pro-Choice on Abortion Republican", Republicans could be the face of the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act and offer a constitutional way to prevent predators from using the Internet to sexually exploit children.Republicans could be leaders in championing the technology to defeat child sex traffickers.
Yes, we know it is outside the Whitman-era, "My Party Too" box.But think about it.
For the victims of human trafficking who will spend this Christmas in the nightmare of sexual slavery, time is running out. Please, help them.
For too many children, their road into modern slavery began on the Internet.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, as many as 300,000 Americans under 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year.The Internet is the vehicle for 76 percent of the transactions for sex with underage girls.
The average victim is between 11 and 14 years old.These victims come from all walks of life -- from every race, social, and economic background.
The problem is made worse by America's fluid borders.According to the United Nations (UNICEF), 2 million children are trafficked in the global prostitution trade. The U.S. State Department reports that from 600,000 to 800,000 people (mainly women and children) are bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for slave labor and prostitution.
Human Trafficking has surpassed the sale of illegal arms and is set to surpass the illegal sale of drugs.The FBI reports that human trafficking is on the rise in all 50 states and represents a multi-billion dollar criminal industry.
New Jersey is a "hub for human trafficking," according to assistant New Jersey Attorney General Tracy M. Thompson. "We are easily accessible via Interstate 95, and the proximity to major tourist destinations like Atlantic City and New York City makes us more vulnerable and susceptible," she said. "Our diversity is what makes it so great to be part of this state, but traffickers prey on (people of) their own ethnicity. It makes is so hard for law enforcement to penetrate these activities."
In September, 14 people were arrested in a child-porn and human trafficking operation in Monmouth County.In October, the FBI announced that it had uncovered and arrested 42 child sex traffickers in New Jersey.The Star-Ledger reported that the 42 were arrested on charges that included sex trafficking, child exploitation and prostitution.A total of 84 children were rescued during the operation.At the beginning of December, 79 suspects were arrested on a host of charges that included sexual assault, using the Internet to send inappropriate images to children, and child pornography.
So why are the manufacturers of products and services that provide access to the Internet refusing to take responsibility for what they sell?
Every other producer of a product or service is held to account for what they sell.You can't sell an automobile to an 11-year-old, hand her the keys, and let her drive off the lot.
And with schools requiring young students to have access to the Internet, it is no longer about the parent.The government-run education system supplants the parents and requires the child to be connected to the Internet.For many children, it's like requiring them to walk to and from school on a dangerous, traffic-filled highway.
There is legislation that changes this and makes the corporations responsible for the products and services they sell.It is a bill championed by Republican State Senator Steve Oroho, and it has attracted substantial bi-partisan support.
The bill is called the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act (S-2928).And it offers a constitutional way to prevent predators from using the Internet to sexually exploit children.It requires that those who sell products and services that allow children to access the Internet make their products safe from human traffickers engaged in the modern slave trade.It is supported by Thorn, an anti-human trafficking group that uses technology to defeat child sex traffickers.
Despite having enough legislators committed to passing this legislation -- either as co-sponsors or supporters, the Democrats who run both chambers of the Legislature have held up passage.They are listening to objections from the porn industry, who have adopted a "no questions asked" attitude on where their profits come from.Porn is legal and the corporations who profit from it and their allies are the enablers of human trafficking.
The enablers of human trafficking know that S-2928 has enough votes to pass the Legislature and be signed into law by Republican Governor Chris Christie.They want to run out the clock until Democrat Phil Murphy takes office on January 16, 2018.Then the legislative books will be closed and the process will need to start all over again, under a Governor who has not expressed support for S-2928.
The holidays are here.Christmas is coming.Right now, in cities and towns across America, anti-human trafficking activists are working to rescue children who were lured into a life of slavery through the Internet.They are hoping to reunite them with their families in time for Christmas.
Think of how you would feel at this time of year if your child was in the hands of human traffickers.Wouldn't you want her back?Wouldn't you want to hold her?Wouldn't you want to break the nexus that makes such slavery possible?
We have a month to break the power of human trafficking and their enablers.
The human traffickers are counting on them to keep things the way they are.Can we count on you?
Your contribution to the Center for Garden State Families will be used to make sure that every legislator who sides with human trafficking and puts profits ahead of enslaved children is held to account.They will be forced to face the choice of standing with the slavers or with the victims of slavery.We trust that when faced with such a choice, they will do the right thing.
Can you please make your urgent contribution today?
Sussex County Watchdog
