Trinity Mount Ministries

Showing posts with label Kansas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas. Show all posts

Friday, December 14, 2018

Kansas named one hub for human trafficking in the U.S.


By: McKenzi Davis
The federal government has named Kansas a hub for human trafficking in the U.S., and now Kansas organizations are partnering together to decrease these crimes.
According to victim service grantees that work with the Kansas Attorney General's Office, over 470 individuals identified themselves as victims of human trafficking in 2017, just in Kansas. Human trafficking is the use of force to obtain some type of labor through sexual acts.
State officials say the numbers are rising, so local organizations are working harder to protect women.
The YWCA is one of the organizations fighting to help women who have been victims of human trafficking. Just this year, they say they have helped more than 70 victims. The Attorney General's Office said trafficking is happening in places you least expect it.
"So many people are unaware," said Northeast Kansas YWCA CEO, Kathleen Marker. "And they need to be sensitive to what they are seeing because it can be right under their nose and not know that this is happening."

The Kansas Attorney General's Director of Human Trafficking Education, Jennifer Montgomery, said people are being trafficked through businesses like restaurants, truck stops and even through construction jobs. The federal government named Kansas as one of the hubs for human trafficking because it is in the middle of the United States. This is making the YWCA and with other Kansas organization work harder for the victims.
"Having partnerships between victim service agencies, government agencies and those sorts of things are important," said Montgomery. "The government itself can't fix the problem. Law enforcement can't fix it on their own. It's really a team effort."
The Attorney General's Office said it's training truck drivers to recognize human trafficking victims. They have required commercial drivers to take a test on spotting trafficking signs.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Kansas Man Convicted of Producing Child Pornography

JUSTICE NEWS


Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

A Lindsborg, Kansas man who traveled to the Philippines and had sex with minor females there pleaded guilty to three counts of production of child pornography. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas made the announcement.
Anthony Shultz, 55, helicopter pilot, was charged by complaint in July 2016 and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Eric F. Melgren of the District of Kansas. Sentencing is scheduled for December 6, 2018.
According to admissions made in conjunction with the guilty plea, Shultz engaged in sex acts with minor females in the Philippines.  He videotaped his sexual encounters with two minors and transported the videos to his home in Kansas.  One of the girls was only 12 years old at the time; the other was 15 years old.  In one of the videos, Shultz is seen giving the 15-year-old money after having sex with her.  Shultz also produced child pornography of an 8-year-old girl in the Philippines by communicating on Skype with the child’s mother and directing the mother to expose the child’s genitals and live-stream it on web camera.  
The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Lauren E. Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart of the District of Kansas prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc(link sends e-mail).


Friday, April 6, 2018

Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Southeast Asia

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 6, 2018

Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Southeast Asia

A 71-year-old Kansas native who was residing in Panama pleaded guilty today to use of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas.

Jebediah Dishman, of Fredonia, Kansas, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with use of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. of the Southern District of Texas.  Sentencing is set for July 6.

Dishman was arrested in Houston on Nov. 8, 2016, on a criminal complaint.  On Feb. 1, 2017, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas indicted him on one count each of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign country, production of child pornography, sex trafficking of children, and obtaining custody and control of a minor for the purpose of producing sexually explicit visual depictions of the minor.

According to admissions made in conjunction with a plea agreement, in September 2014, Dishman began an approximately six-month trip to several countries in Southeast Asia.  During his trip to Indonesia, another tourist observed Dishman engaging in suspicious interactions with minors, masturbating while watching minors, and using a tablet to take photographs of a three-year-old German child.  The tourist confronted Dishman, seized his tablet, and turned it over to local authorities.  U.S. authorities later reviewed the tablet pursuant to a search warrant and discovered sexually explicit images of minors, including of the German child, as well as Internet searches indicating an interest in the sex trafficking of minors in Southeast Asia.

The FBI is investigating this case with the cooperation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.  Trial Attorneys James E. Burke IV and William M. Grady of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson of the Central District of Illinois, previously on detail at CEOS, also served as a vital member of the prosecution team at earlier stages of the litigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Trinity Mount Ministries

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Lucas Warriors raise awareness for missing 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) A group who calls themselves the Lucas Warriors gathered outside Intrust Bank Arena today and it wasn't to watch basketball.

The Lucas Warriors is a group here in Kansas who hopes to find Lucas Hernandez.

On Saturday, members stood outside Intrust Bank Arena with signs in hand in hopes of bringing Lucas home.

The Lucas Warriors talked to both Kansans and out of state fans about Lucas Hernandez and spreading the word about his disappearance.

"I love to tell his story. I think he's such a precious little boy. I think everybody just needs to know his story," says Julie LaForce.

Even if for some it wasn't easy.

"I know myself personally, I'm extremely quiet and kind of shy, so to be out here in the middle of thousands of people is a hard thing for me to do. But at this point, I would do anything to bring Lucas home," says Sheila Medlam.

The group say they have received training from Texas Equusearch to help find Lucas. They also say they're working with Lucas' dad Jonathan and his family to get help from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

As fans asked them "Who's Lucas?" the warrior group was glad they could bring awareness to his disappearance.

"What brings a better crowd than college basketball? Especially since we have Kansas, KU playing here. He needs to go national. He can't be forgotten. I'm not going to let him slip through the cracks. None of us are."

Original Article

Trinity Mount Ministries

Monday, October 15, 2012

Preventing teen prostitution a focus of convention:



Preventing teen prostitution a focus of convention:

WICHITAKansas -- Hundreds of police, prosecutors, and social workers are looking for ways to prevent teens from being prostituted by pimps at a conference at Century II.

The annual Governor's Conference for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect runs through Wednesday.

One of the topics they're focusing on this year is human trafficking.
Runaway teenage girls can often find themselves forced into a life of drugs and prostitution.

"Anytime we have one child involved in this is way too many," said Lt. Jeff Weible, a detective who works for the exploited and missing children's unit of the Wichitapolice.

In 2010 under Steve Six, the state Attorney General's office created an advisory board to study the issue with the goal of bringing authorities and social workers together to get teens the help they need.





"They have housing needs, they have mental and emotional health needs, there's also a case that needs to be prosecuted and as a social worker, I can't do all that," said Dr. Karen Countryman-Roswurn.

Experts say girls coming from homes broken by domestic abuse are more likely to be victims of teen trafficking. The majority of girls used by pimps are runaways.

With more training and a better understanding of the warning signs, authorities hope to do more to prevent trafficking.

More than 600 people are expected to attend the three-day conference at Century II.
Among the topics featured at the conference are foster care, internet safety, and law enforcement protocol.
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