The Child Protection eNewsletter

U.S. adds seven nations to list of human traffickers… 

The Bush administration has added seven nations, including several key U.S. allies in the Middle East, to its human trafficking blacklist for failing to halt what it called the scourge of "modern-day slavery."  Read More Here  Countries on the list are subject to possible sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people, 80 percent of them female and more than half of them children, across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor.

Among U.S. friends getting a failing grade were Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, which along with Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Malaysia joined for the first time perennial offenders like Myanmar (Burma), Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria in the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."

Bahrain, the Persian Gulf home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, was cited for failing to crack down on human traffickers who are bringing in men, women and children for forced labor or commercial sex work, the report says.  "Bahrain made no discernible progress in preventing trafficking this year," it said, noting that laws aimed at protecting foreign workers, largely from South and Southeast Asia, are not enforced and that authorities are not seriously investigating alleged widespread abuse.

Oil-rich Kuwait "made modest progress in preventing trafficking in persons this year," the report said, but added that "Kuwaiti efforts to improve its protection of victims of human trafficking had little effect."

Oman was cited for not applying and enforcing existing laws against human trafficking as well failing to distribute pamphlets aimed at educating foreign workers about their rights, it said.

Qatar, long accused by the United States of ignoring the plight of child camel jockeys, was demoted to "Tier 3" for not enacting legislation to outlaw all forms of human trafficking and for producing only two convictions among numerous cases of alleged abuse of domestic servants, according to the report.

The complete list of "Tier 3" countries in this year's report is: Algeria, Bahrain, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.  Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela are regularly accused by Washington of failing to protect human rights and are often cited in State Department reports for their lack of respect for press and religious freedoms.  But Malaysia made its first appearance on "Tier 3" for its failure to protect and identify victims of trafficking, many of them Indonesian domestics.

Despite the additions, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "more and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is — a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world....We hope this report encourages responsible nations across the globe to stand together, to speak with one voice and to say that freedom and security are nonnegotiable demands of human dignity, and to say ... 'No one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave,'" she told reporters.  The full text of her remarks and the report itself are at  Read More Here

Sex offenders getting younger and more violent… 

Courts have seen the number of sex offense cases involving juvenile offenders rise dramatically in recent years, an Associated Press review of national statistics found, and treatment professionals say the offenders are getting younger and the crimes more violent.  Read More Here  Some psychologists blame the increase in numbers -- 40 percent over two decades -- on a society saturated with sex and violence and the fact that many of the accused were themselves victims of adult sexual predators.  Others say there aren't more children committing such crimes, simply more awareness, better reporting and a general hysteria about sex offenders.

"I don't think it's appropriate to suggest we have whole schools full of sexual predators ... but we're seeing more of it and more sexually aggressive acts," said Scott Poland, past president of the National Association of School Psychologists.  "How do these kids even know about this? It's permeated throughout our society."

The number of children under 18 accused of forcible rape, violent and nonviolent sex offenses rose from 24,100 in 1985 to 33,800 in 2004, the AP's analysis found.  Violent offenses include attempted rape and sexual assault, while nonviolent offenses including fondling, statutory rape and prostitution.  By comparison, rape and sexual assaults by adults decreased more than 56 percent from 1993 to 2004.  Comparable statistics were unavailable before 1993.

The AP analyzed state and federal crime statistics, as well as independent research on juvenile sex offenders.  Sources included the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Center for Juvenile Justice, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that specializes in statistical and policy research; and The Safer Society Foundation Inc., a Vermont nonprofit that works to prevent sexual abuse.

In other news… 

Texas Governor Rick Perry on Friday signed into law sweeping changes to a juvenile justice system plagued by allegations that staff members sexually abused inmates and that officials may have tried to cover it up.  Read More Here  State lawmakers voted to improve staff-to-inmate ratios in the Texas Youth Commission, create strong new investigative powers to look into claims of abuse and prohibit courts from sending youths to state lockups for misdemeanors.  The changes also include a family "Bill of Rights" on contact with inmates and filing grievances.  A new ombudsman office will act as an advocate for inmates.

A Georgia judge voided a 10-year felony sentence given to a 17-year-old teenage male who was convicted of having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl.  Read More Here  Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson voided Genarlow Wilson's sentence and dropped it to misdemeanor aggravated child molestation with a 12-month sentence, plus credit for time served.  Under the new ruling, he will not be required to register as a sex offender.  The Georgia Attorney General has filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

A Nevada mother and her boyfriend have pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault with a child in a case that was cracked by police after someone found a journal the couple wrote documenting the abuse, authorities said.  Read More Here  Jackie Williams, 37, and Michael Jones, 31, pleaded guilty to showing Williams' two daughters, ages 11 and 12, how to perform sex acts in a room at the Ponderosa Motel in Reno.  Williams and Jones face a maximum of 40 years in prison before they are eligible for parole on two counts of sexual assault with a child. They also will have to register as sex offenders.

A Roman Catholic school principal who criticized the Archdiocese of Chicago for its handling of sexual abuse allegations against the school's former parish priest has been fired.  Read More Here  "I spoke up for children and would do it all over again," Barbara Westrick said after learning the archdiocese would not renew her contract at Our Lady of the Westside School.  Archdiocese spokeswoman Colleen Dolan said the four-year principal was fired because of her performance, not because she complained about the archdiocese's handling of accusations against the Reverend Daniel McCormack.

The man accused of kidnapping and killing a suburban Kansas City teenager pleaded no contest as a 15-year-old to threatening his sister at knifepoint, according to court records.   Read More Here  Edwin R. Hall remained jailed on $5 million bond Friday, a day after being charged with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in 18-year-old Kelsey Smith's abduction from a Target parking lot.  Prosecutors said Friday that Smith was strangled with a ligature but would not say exactly what was used.  A judge ordered Hall removed from his home after he entered the plea to aggravated assault in May 1996, and he was placed in state custody, the court records state.  A second charge of making a criminal threat was dismissed.

A former San Diego Children's Hospital respiratory therapist called “a monster” by investigators pleaded guilty yesterday to molesting patients and taking their photographs to distribute as child pornography.  Read More Here  Wayne Albert Bleyle almost certainly will spend the rest of his life in prison, Deputy District Attorney Laura Gunn said.  “The first time he sees a parole board, he will be 95 years old,” Gunn said outside the courtroom.

*for access to member only sites like the New York Times, use the ID "JohnDoeID" and the password "whatever". On sites asking for an email address, feel free to use "info@childprotectionprogram.org"