"The two rape survivors who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee split sharply Tuesday over President Trump’s pick to be the military’s second-highest officer, amid accusations that he sexually assaulted an Army colonel when she was under his command."
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"Both Hyten and Spletstoser said they would support releasing the 1,400-page investigation report. Spletstoser told reporters that it would reveal that at least one member of Hyten’s detail “did have questions” about his boss’s actions, and that Hyten took a private polygraph exam that came back inconclusive.The committee has not said when it will vote on Hyten’s nomination. The Senate is not expected to confirm him until after the August recess."

"Two Sarasota men were arrested Tuesday and accused of human sex trafficking, the Sarasota Police Department reports."

"The men were arrested. A search of their vehicle found other drugs and a handgun.

The victim is in her 20s. It is unclear whether there are more victims.

“It’s hard to say whether this is more than an isolated event,” said Officer Sean Carter at a Wednesday news conference. “This is still an ongoing investigation and more evidence could develop as we proceed.”"

"The victim is not facing criminal charges and has been referred to Selah Freedom, a national organization dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking.

“This is happening in our own backyard to girls who you would never anticipate it happening to,” said Elizabeth Fischer Good, the co-founder and CEO of Selah Freedom in Sarasota."

"“I cannot speak highly enough of the law enforcement involved in this case,” Fisher Good said. “It shows that partnerships in the community can come together to end sex trafficking.”"

"Gen. John E. Hyten’s chances of being confirmed as the military’s second-highest officer may come down to one thing this week: whether senators believe an Army colonel’s charges that he sexually assaulted her while she was under his command — accusations he denies.Col. Kathryn Splet­stoser has accused Hyten, who is currently responsible for the country’s nuclear arsenal as the head of U.S. Strategic Command, of making unwanted sexual contact with her on several occasions in 2017 while the two were traveling for work.
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Both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee maintain that her account is plausible, but some members have also said they are wary of taking her uncorroborated word over the categorical denials of a decorated four-star Air Force generalendorsed by high-ranking colleagues."

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"COLUMBUS, Ohio — More former football players and other ex-athletes are suing Ohio State over allegations that they were sexual assaulted by a university doctor during exams decades ago."

"Like at least six other pending federal lawsuits , the case filed Monday says school officials knew about concerns but failed to stop Richard Strauss. The 30 plaintiffs include men from 12 sports and a non-athlete allegedly fondled by Strauss at the student health center."

"FOUR MEN ARE BEHIND BARS AFTER AN UNDERCOVER OPERATION INTO ONGOING SEX TRAFFICKING IN EAST TENNESSEE."

"UPEN PATEL, OF SWEETWATER, WAS CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF TRAFFICKING A MINOR FOR A COMMERCIAL ACT, AND BOOKED ON $1 MILLION BOND.  ORLANDO MORENO-MARTINEZ, OF KNOXVILLE, WAS CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING A MINOR FOR A COMMERCIAL ACT, AND BOOKED ON A $500,000 BOND. DONALD W. TURNER, OF KNOXVILLE, WAS CHARGED WITH PROMOTING PROSTITUTION, AND BOOKED ON A $6,000 BOND. AARON D. FOMBY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, WAS CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING A MINOR FOR A COMMERCIAL ACT, AND BOOKED ON A $500,000 BOND."

"THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING, AND THE TBI SAYS MORE ARRESTS AND CHARGES ARE POSSIBLE. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TBI'S (TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION) WORK TO FIGHT THESE TYPES OF CRIME AT WWW.ITHASTOSTOP.COM."

"The district attorney’s office in Las Vegas announced Monday that it would not prosecute an allegation of sexual assault made against the soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.“Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the district attorney’s office in Clark County, Nev., which contains Las Vegas, said in a statement."

"The woman who accused Ronaldo of assaulting her, Kathryn Mayorga, went to the police shortly after the incident but declined to tell investigators either the identity of her attacker or the site of the assault. The district attorney said Monday that her reluctance had made it difficult for the Las Vegas police to “conduct any meaningful investigation” at the time, and the case was closed. The next year, the district attorney’s statement noted, Mayorga reached a civil settlement with Ronaldo."

"A federal judge on Thursday denied bail to wealthy investor Jeffrey Epstein, citing the potential danger to “new victims” from his apparently “uncontrollable” sexual fixation on young girls, and the risk that Epstein would flee to avoid prosecution for child sex trafficking charges."

"The decision by Judge Richard Berman means that the 66-year-old Epstein will remain in jail pending trial in the case, where he faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted."

"“This newly discovered evidence also suggests that Mr. Epstein poses ‘ongoing and forward-looking danger,’” the judge wrote. “Mr. Epstein’s dangerousness is considerable and includes sex crimes with minor girls and tampering with potential witnesses.”"

"Berman’s decision denying bail additionally noted that Epstein recently made payments to potential witnesses against him, that there have been allegations that Epstein failed to comply with requirements for registered sex offenders, and that agents of his intimidated witnesses in a prior investigation."

"Since Epstein’s arrest, prosecutors have wanted to keep him locked up without bail, calling him a serious flight risk and a danger to the public.

They also have said that in recent months Epstein, who is worth as much as $500 million, had made payments to “co-conspirators who might provide information against him.”"

"​When Baiq Nuril Maknun recalls how her boss would call her and talk in detail about how he would have sex with women and what he in turn wanted do to her, she says she still feels sick.
"It disgusts me. I want to vomit," she said."

"It got so bad that Nuril recorded one of the explicit phone calls as evidence of the sexual harassment she said she endured on more than 50 occasions, starting in 2012."

"The recording, she says, was forwarded by a colleague to the local Department of Education. Shortly after, Nuril was fired from her job and her boss sued her for defamation.​ Nuril -- who says she put up with the sexual harassment for more than a year -- spent two months in jail during the initial investigation in 2017."

"While the arrest and trial of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking is good news, we must not let ourselves be deceived: Most sex traffickers aren’t millionaires who abuse girls in their mansions in Manhattan and Palm Beach. Sex trafficking usually happens right under our noses, and traffickers are often those we least suspect.Consider, for instance, this incident from last month: Joaquin Garcia, founder and pastor of Mexico’s largest megachurch, was arrested in the United States on charges of sex trafficking, child rape and child pornography. His church has over one million members in 50 countries – but a year-long police investigation found that Garcia was coercing girls as young as 16 into sex.
The profiles of sex traffickers are diverse. A two-year-long investigation in Florida resulted in the arrest last month of a firefighter and registered nurse, a restaurant owner, and others."

"Sex traffickers are often in positions of authority and have gained the trust of their communities. In January, a California soccer coach and father was charged with trafficking after a teenage girl called police on Christmas, saying she was being forced into sex against her will.
In May, a former Washington high school football coach was indicted for sex trafficking and child pornography, and a former Florida teacher was sentenced to prison for child sex trafficking after purchasing sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Traffickers usually don’t kidnap their victims or physically trap them. Often, the entrapment is psychological. They coerce victims – who can be male or female – into prostitution by promising food, shelter or clothing."

"Traffickers are not just men; in fact, a large number of traffickers are women. Last month, a woman was charged with selling an 11-year-old for sex on the Vegas strip. In January, a female Texas junior high teacher was arrested for trying to sell an underage girl for sex. A 33-year-old woman was arrested in February for trafficking a mentally handicapped teen, including driving the 12-year-old to hotels to have sex with men for money."

"Traffickers can also be parents. In February, an 8-year-old girl testified that her father had sold her for sex in exchange for drugs. In a criminal complaint retrieved by the Albuquerque Journal, “I keep saying I don’t want to, but he ... forces me to.” Many times, these traffickers are not outed until years later. Children often only come out with their stories as adults. A Louisiana woman recently came out with her story of being sold for sex by her father at age 4. An Indianapolis man only began sharing his story when he became a father of three; he described being trafficked out of hotel rooms at the Indianapolis 500 before he was even a teenager."

"Sex trafficking can happen in any neighborhood, even the "safest" ones. It doesn’t discriminate. All of our children are at risk. And there’s no specific trafficker profile. It can be your child’s teacher, your boss, a local pastor, a nurse, and so on.
We have to come together, community by community and city by city, to set a zero-tolerance standard for this kind of behavior among our neighbors and leaders alike. Until we do so, there will continue to be a supply of trafficking victims for those demanding them."

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