HSI Phoenix helps identify and locate sex-trafficked minors

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PHOENIX, Ariz. — HSI Phoenix and other law enforcement agencies identified and located five minor sex trafficking victims as part of Operation Cross Country, a nationwide enforcement campaign. During the operation, authorities arrested one alleged trafficker and 31 additional subjects for allegedly attempting to have sexual contact with minors.

“These dedicated professionals who worked on this operation demonstrate honor, service and integrity,” said HSI Arizona Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown. “Many have dedicated their careers to keeping our communities safe, holding accountable those who exploit our most vulnerable, and seeking justice for victims of unthinkable crimes. HSI is proud to partner with federal, state, local and international law enforcement in furthering investigations into people who are knowingly and willingly exploiting children for their perverse desires.”

The nationwide initiative, in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, focused on identifying and locating sex trafficking victims. It also focuses on investigating criminal enterprises and people involved in child sex and human trafficking. Law enforcement agencies conducted targeted operations to identify and apprehend offenders, dismantle criminal networks and prevent further harm to victims. Identified suspects will be subject to additional investigation for potential charges.

The FBI’s Greater Phoenix Area Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which conducted the operation, comprises officers from the Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe police departments. The task force received help from HSI special agents and Scottsdale and Surprise police.

Though Operation Cross Country is an annual national initiative, the Greater Phoenix Area Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force works with the Phoenix Police Department’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit throughout the year. With its leadership, the Phoenix Police HEAT Unit and the task force routinely collaborate on human trafficking operations with other law enforcement agencies across the greater Phoenix area.

HSI, a leader in the global fight against human trafficking and child exploitation, encourages the public to help identify and recover victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

HSI special agents utilize their broad range of authority and international footprint to identify, investigate and disrupt domestic and transnational criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking. Further, HSI special agents work closely with the HSI’s Victim Assistance Program to ensure that human trafficking and child exploitation victims are afforded their rights and have access to the services to which they are entitled by law.

You may report crimes, suspicious activity and suspected human trafficking to the HSI Tipline at 866-347-2423. You may also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-THE-LOST to report suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 to connect human trafficking victims and survivors with critical support and services.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

10 rescued from suspected human smuggling operation in SW Houston, 2 in custody

 

HOUSTON - Police are now investigating a case of suspected human smuggling in southwest Houston.

According to the Houston Police Department, officers responded to the 9000 block of McAvoy. 

Authorities said a total of 10 people were rescued from a house where they were being held. 

Police said indications are this is human smuggling. 

Two suspects are in custody, according to police. 

HPD Vice and ICE are investigating. 

USDOJ: Vermont Man Charged with Obtaining U.S. Citizenship by Failing to Disclose Violent Crimes Committed During the Bosnian Conflict

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, July 26, 2013

Vermont Man Charged with Obtaining U.S. Citizenship by Failing to Disclose Violent Crimes Committed During the Bosnian Conflict

Edin Sakoè, 54, of Burlington, Vt., was arrested today on charges that he obtained his naturalized citizenship through fraud by failing to disclose his prior acts of persecution and crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Tristram J. Coffin of the District of Vermont, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge in Boston Bruce M. Foucart and Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Albany, N.Y., Field Office.

According to the indictment filed in Burlington, Sakoè committed naturalization fraud by providing false and fraudulent information about his commission of crimes and his participation in the persecution of Bosnian Serbs during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that, in July 1992, Sakoè kidnapped and raped a Bosnian Serb woman and aided and abetted the murder of her elderly mother and aunt.  Sakoè also allegedly aided and abetted the burning of the victims’ family home.  According to the indictment, Sakoè allegedly failed to disclose his participation in these activities during his immigration and naturalization process.
 
Sakoè was charged in a two-count indictment filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court in the District of Vermont.  The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison as well as automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being investigated jointly by HSI Burlington and the FBI’s Albany Division.  ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center assisted in this investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and its counterpart at the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section at hrsptips@usdoj.gov or toll-free at 1-800-813-5863 or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or to complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Matthew C. Singer of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles of the District of Vermont.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Brett Fletcher of Trinity Mount Ministries

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Special Agent - Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Transporting Child Pornography:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, November 9, 2012

Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Miami Office Special Agent in Charge Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Transporting Child Pornography

WASHINGTON – A former Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Miami Office was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison for transporting child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI Miami Field Office and Sheriff Al Lamberti of the Broward County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office.

Anthony Mangione, 52, of Parkland, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in West Palm Beach, Fla.  In addition to his prison term, Mangione was sentenced to serve 20 years of supervised release.
On July 16, 2012, Mangione pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.  He was indicted on Sept. 27, 2011, by a grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
According to court documents, between March 2010 and September 2010, Mangione used a computer and other means to transport visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Specifically, according to court documents, Mangione established several AOL email accounts to transport numerous images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including transmitting several images to an individual in Delaware.
During the period of time in which he transported child pornography, Mangione served as the Special Agent in Charge for the ICE Miami Office.  Mangione was placed on administrative leave by ICE in April 2011 and has since retired. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Alexandra R. Gelber and Trial Attorney Michael W. Grant of CEOS.  The investigation was conducted by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General.

12-1345

Criminal Division

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ICE - Baltimore man sentenced for child pornography:

Baltimore man sentenced to federal prison for child pornography possession