May: 01, 2011

Proposed law would treat children trafficked for sex as victims instead of offenders

Lawmakers in Minnesota are reviewing a proposed law that would treat children trafficked for sex as victims instead of criminal offenders. The purpose of the bill is to help children caught up in the illicit sex trade get out and find treatment and safety. Currently, some cities in Minnesota already treat children involved in sex crimes as victims. The proposed law would bring uniformity to municipalities across the state.

Mar: 01, 2011

Study on sex crimes based on questionable methodology – Part 2

Last week we spoke about a study on the growth of juvenile prostitution that was released by the Women’s Funding Network. The sex crime study was presented during a Congressional hearing regarding the closure of Craigslist’s adult section. The study claimed that juvenile prostitution in Minnesota, California and Michigan grew exponentially during the study’s six month time period; however, the methodology used to conduct the study is now being challenged various research experts.

Mar: 01, 2011

Study on sex crimes based on questionable methodology – Part 1

A study on the growth of juvenile prostitution that was used at a Congressional hearing to inform members of the subcommittee of the House Judiciary in September may be flawed. The study released by the Women’s Funding Network tracked the growth of juvenile prostitution and found the sex crime had risen exponentially in three diverse states. Those states were Minnesota, New York and Michigan. Further research has been conducted on the study and according to various university researchers the data behind the study is flawed. Over the next two posts we will discuss the study and the research that examined the study’s data.

Mar: 01, 2011

DNA exonerations create another form of guilt

There are two small groups of people in the world and the idea of guilt affects them in very different ways. One is a group of men convicted of rape but were later exonerated from the sex crime because of DNA evidence. Another is the group of women who were raped but in the end identified the wrong person as their aggressor. For the men, a false conviction has forever robbed them of time, and for the women their unintentional misidentification creates the guilt of putting an innocent person behind bars.

Nov: 01, 2010

Sex Offenders Sit in Legal Purgatory While Their Constitutional Rights Are Threatened

Sex offenders in Florida who have completed their prison terms often find themselves stuck in a legal limbo as they wait for the court system to determine whether they need additional civil treatment to control their culpable behavior. Court officials and civil rights advocates not only believe that individuals who have served their time for a sex crime may end up serving time beyond what was sentenced, their constitutional rights are also being threatened by the process.

Nov: 01, 2010

Investigation of Somali Human Trafficking Ring Goes Beyond Sex Crimes – Part 2

In our last post we discussed the indictment and arrest of individuals involved in a human trafficking and underage prostitution ring based in Minneapolis that stretched to Tennessee and Ohio. In this post, we will discuss the additional financial crime charges that authorities are investigating and the how the sex crime charges led to the financial crime investigation of the Minneapolis based Somali gangs.

Nov: 01, 2010

Investigation of Somali Human Trafficking Ring Goes Beyond Sex Crimes – Part 1

Last Monday morning an indictment for 29 Somali men and woman involved in sex trafficking operations in Minneapolis, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio was made public. Twelve individuals in the Twin Cities area were arrested for their involvement in the prostitution ring that trafficked underage prostitutes. The gangs involved in the human trafficking ring are not only being investigated for sex crimes. The gangs are also being investigated for financial crimes as well.

Category: Sex Crimes