SAN DIEGO — The district attorneys of San Diego and Riverside counties joined a state senator Monday to urge passage of bills to treat human trafficking crimes committed by gang members with the same severity as other gang offenses, and to streamline prosecution of human trafficking.
The measures — both authored by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego — are subject to a final vote by the state Legislature this week.
Senate Bill 473 would add human trafficking to the list of 33 crimes that define a criminal street gang under the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act. The anti-gang laws include strict penalties, but the statute has not been updated to include gang involvement in human trafficking, according to Block.
Inclusion would add enhanced penalties, affect probation and parole conditions, augment law enforcement tools and affect the way cases are handled by all stakeholders in the system.
San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said SB 473 “takes direct aim at gang members who would victimize young women in communities across the state of California by adding human trafficking as offenses that can be used to establish a pattern of criminal gang activity.”
“In short, it will help prosecutors build our cases against gang members, who, until now, have been slipping though a loophole in the law,” she said.
Senate Bill 939 would streamline prosecutions and reduce court costs and the trauma experienced by victim witnesses who testify in human trafficking cases that cross multiple jurisdictions. The measure would permit the consolidation of serial human trafficking, pimping and pandering charges into a single trial if all the involved jurisdictions agree.
Victims of such crimes are frequently taken to multiple cities and counties for labor and commercial sex exploitation. Prosecution involves trials in each of the multiple cities and counties where the crimes occurred, with victims testifying in each of the trials.
Current law already allows for the consolidation of other serial sexual offenses occurring in multiple jurisdictions.
“Human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in California, and SB 939 will be a tremendous asset to prosecutors statewide and make it easier and more efficient to prosecute these types of cases,” said Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach. “At the same time, the bill will also provide human trafficking victims more protections under the law.”
Block said human trafficking is highly lucrative and stemming the crimes will involve the use of multiple tools on multiple fronts.
“Gangs and other perpetrators are using victims as their ATM machines,” Block said. “In San Diego, the human sex trafficking trade brings in $97 million in revenue, more money than drug trafficking, according to a new Urban Institute study. We need to fight this on all fronts.”
Fox 5 News POSTED 3:44 PM, AUGUST 11, 2014, BY SANDRA PHILLIPS
San Diego, CA — Two men have been arrested on suspicion of serving as pimps and other charges in connection with an internet-based commercial sex enterprise in San Diego, authorities said Tuesday.
The arrests of San Diego residents Dale Vinzant, 68, and Christian Koalani, 66, were the result of a year-long investigation by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, San Diego police Capt. Brian Ahearn said in a news release.
The pair are accused of being involved in a “criminal organization that enabled persons engaged in prostitution acts and their customers to negotiate the exchange of sex for money at the click of a button and under the cloak of a fee-based, members only website,” Ahearn said.
The online prostitution ring is believed to be the first of its kind ever uncovered in San Diego, according to police.
“This is groundbreaking,” Ahearn told reporters during an afternoon briefing.
Vinzant allegedly owned and operated a website called San Diego Adult Service Provider, which police described as an “internet-based meeting place where people engaged in the illicit sex trade and their customers could link up, negotiate a sex transaction, and, once the act took place, allowed the sex purchasers to write and post a review.”
This website enabled Koalani, the owner of American Escort Company, to post, advertise and ultimately profit from the sex acts provided by the young women he recruited and directed, according to Ahearn.
It was unclear how many might have been victimized, though investigators believe some 50,000 people — both clients and victims — had used the website over a period of years, Ahearn said.
Koalani, a Pacific Beach resident, is the author of “Story of An American Escort,” a novel based on his experiences in the underground sex trade, according to police. When he met Vinzant about 10 years ago, Koalani was running a pimping scheme via his Facebook page and proposed moving it to the latter man’s website for their mutual benefit, the captain alleged.
The suspects set up the illicit business under a veil of secrecy in an attempt “to wall off law enforcement,” only allowing potential customers access following a thorough vetting process, Ahearn alleged.
“It was very covert,” he said. “Not a lot of people knew about it — only those, really, who were members.”
Once on the website, however, clients and the women they were seeking to hire often were frank in their negotiations, according to Ahearn, who said investigators “saw language that was very specific, language that was very graphic.”
Authorities were alerted to the prostitution operation by a woman in her 20s who provided information about it after being contacted by police on an unrelated matter, Ahearn said. He declined to disclose details on the nature of her connection to San Diego Adult Service Provider.
The website has been shut down, with anyone trying to access it now directed to another one that provides information about human trafficking- related crimes and how to recognize and report them.
Police believe the online prostitution service boasted about 900 members at the time of the suspects’ arrests two weeks ago on suspicion of pimping, pandering, conspiracy, solicitation of prostitution and money laundering, Ahearn said.
To access the illegal services, members paid fees of roughly $15 a month or $100 per year, according to police.
With insight gained from the unique case, local authorities “will be actively involved in pursuing other similar types of business models that might be doing similar things,” Ahearn said.
“Both Vinzant and Koalani … lured vulnerable women into engaging in acts of prostitution with offers of drugs and money in exchange for their offering themselves to clients as part of a large-scale sex for money enterprise,” Ahearn said.
The San Diego Police Department secured the necessary arrest and search warrants in the case through the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, in collaboration with the California State Department of Justice, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.
The service of the warrants resulted not only in the arrests of both men but also the collection of evidence such as computers, other electronic media and assets tied to the business, according to Ahearn.
Koalani was arrested June 2 at his Pacific Beach residence and booked into jail on suspicion of pimping, pandering and conspiracy charges. His bail was set at $500,000.
Vinzant was arrested June 3 in the Mission Bay area. He was booked into jail on suspicion of pimping, pandering, solicitation of prostitution and money laundering charges. His bail was set at $150,000.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office agreed with the arrest charges against both men, and has filed the charges, according to Ahearn.
Koalani was due in court Tuesday for a readiness conference and again Thursday for a preliminary hearing.
Vinzant’s next court dates are a readiness conference on July 22 and a preliminary hearing on Aug. 11.
The San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force was formed in January 2015 to “disrupt and dismantle human trafficking and child exploitation organizations through a comprehensive, collaborative and regional law enforcement and prosecution response,” according to Ahearn.
***Updated at 4:25 p.m. Pacific Time; Originally posted at 12:31 p.m. Pacific Time, June 14; 2016***
Bilateral Safely Corridor Coalition (BSCC) and Project Concern International (PCI) would like to cordially invite you to our next Unity Coalition Against Trafficking Meeting at
The San Diego Foundation Liberty Station
2508 Historic Decatur Rd., Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92106
June 14th, 2016
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Guest Speaker Maria Campuzano
on
What she thinks Hotels need to know
Please join us to discuss updates, from BSCC and PCI, and Outreach , We look forward to having you there!
The sex industry is very lucrative, but is closely linked to human trafficking.
To reduce the demand for human trafficking, legislation should shift the criminal burden onto those who purchase sexual services, rather than those who sell it, argues Linnéa Engstrom.
Linnéa Engstrom is a Swedish Green party MEP and a member of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament.
The overlapping of trafficking in human beings with migration, the arrival of refugees and smuggling put people vulnerable to human trafficking in serious danger. It also jeopardizes progress we have already made.
Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation is a form of violence against women and it must be approached and prosecuted appropriately. As victims of crime, people already involved in the sex industry need better rights protection. The victims must be protected and afforded full support and retribution. A reduction of the demand for trafficking in human beings and sexual services can be achieved through legislation shifting the criminal burden onto those who purchase sexual services of trafficked persons, and away from those who sell it.
As a member of the Swedish Greens, I emphasize data confirming the deterrent effect that the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services has had in Sweden, my native country and constituency, as a member of the European Parliament. The Swedish model, criminalizing those who buy sexual services, has an obvious and profound normative effect. It has true potential to change social attitudes in order to reduce the demand for the services of victims of human trafficking. Those who claim otherwise often state that it complicates the lives of those working in the sex industry. This may well be the case in the short term, as some of the prostitution moves underground. But the gains in the long run are easy to detect.
There is significantly less prostitution in Sweden than in the neighboring countries. In fact, hardly any country in the world has fewer problems with human trafficking than Sweden, according to the Swedish police. Four years after the introduction of a sex-purchase law in Norway, based upon the Swedish model, the Norwegian government chose to evaluate its effects in 2014. The results are striking and positive, showing among other things that the demand for prostitutes has been significantly reduced.
Trafficking in human beings is of course a complex issue and there are many problems yet to be tackled. The sex industry is extremely lucrative, which is why there will always be powerful actors wanting to support it. Despite the prostitution ban, for instance, the number of convictions in Sweden has remained low. Only a handful of pimps are each year sentenced to prison. Most customers get away with fines, although their names are entered in the police registers. A recent report on trafficking in human beings in Europe signals under-reporting of the crime and indicates a poor record of identification of the victims of trafficking of all genders. The main problem seems to be the lack of political will.
But with the legislation in place in Sweden, our police officers have learnt to understand that prostitution is not a normal business. The attitude has spread to the population at large. There is no doubt that a ban on the purchase of sexual services brings about fundamental, albeit slow, change in societal attitudes.
A report to be voted in the European Parliament on Thursday at the Strasbourg plenary calls on the European Commission to further fully examine links between demand for sexual services and trafficking in human beings. I fully support this as a good start. But it is not enough. We have to move towards punishing the purchasers of sex in order to achieve a normative effect. Otherwise we can forget about tackling the crime of trafficking in human beings.
A regulated sex trade can have a positive impact on reducing the effects of human trafficking.
Legalizing and regulating prostitution can contribute to the fight against people trafficking, but more measures are needed, according to a new study. EurActiv Germany reports.
The estimated number of cases is high and one thing is clear: in the last year, the number of people made victims of people trafficking increased in the European Union. Forced labor and prostitution are the main driving forces of the trade. A European Commission study, using Eurostat data from 2012, shows that 96% of trafficked people are sexually exploited and the vast majority are female.
The idea of decriminalizing prostitution has long been mooted as a possible measure to combat the illegal sex trade. The legal status of prostitution across Europe varies and the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on the issue in February 2014. Croatia remains one of the only EU member states where prostitution is completely illegal. In Germany and Netherlands it is legal and regulated.
NATO’s role in the Aegean will be to deal a blow to refugee traffickers, Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Nikos Xydakis, told EurActiv on Thursday (18 February). EurActiv Greece reports.
Whether legalizing and regulating prostitution could act as a model for countries wishing to tackle people trafficking has been the subject of a new study carried out by researchers from Lancaster University and the University of Duisburg-Essen. The study used Amsterdam and Dortmund as its two case studies. Dutch and German authorities allow prostitution to be operated as a business, but it is subjected to a high level of monitoring and regulation.
“In Dortmund, brothels must be registered at the trade office and usually the operator needs a permit,” said Birgit Apitzsch, a co-author of the study. The police also make regular checks to ensure that trafficking is not still happening.
In Amsterdam, brothel owners are responsible for ensuring that the women working on their premises do so voluntarily. Self-employed sex workers must register with the chamber of commerce. “Local authorities and the police in both cities can rely on a trusting relationship with prostitutes and they are always available if needed for counselling,” said another of the study’s co-authors, Markus Tünte. “This is important in order to identify victims of trafficking and to help them,” he added.
Experts believe that certain forms of prostitution, such as that found on the street or involving underage people, are particularly affected by traffickers. The study concluded that regulating the trade has contributed to a drop-off in the activities of people traffickers and recommended further measures to continue the fight.
Brothels should be federally regulated and counselling centers should be better funded, urged the study’s authors.
Germany also wants to push through Justice Minister Heiko Maas’ bill against sexual exploitation, which would see clients of forced-prostitution punished with up to five years in prison.
The European Parliament is currently working on a resolution intended to combat the illegal sex trade as well. A few days ago, the institute’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) called for the fight against illegal trafficking to be prioritized, given its implications on the ongoing refugee crisis as well.
ENVI member Miroslav Mikolášik pointed out that although the vast majority of people affected by the trade are women and girls, men can also be victims of sexual exploitation.
Owners of closed Torrance bakery accused of human trafficking ordered to pay workers $15.2 million
The owners of L’Amande, a bakery restaurant in Torrance’s Rolling Hills Plaza, closed the business due to allegations of human trafficking and labor violations by employees. A judge has ruled they must pay former workers $15.2 million. August 2015 file photo. (Robert Casillas / Staff Photographer)
In a default judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Olguin issued his ruling May 2 against Analiza Moitinho de Almeida and her husband, Goncalo Moitinho de Almeida, a Rolling Hills Estates couple who operated the L’Amande French Bakery at Rolling Hills Plaza, along with a second site in Beverly Hills, court documents showed.
Last year, the couple abruptly shut down the bakeries, fired their employees, sold a $2.375 million apartment complex they owned in Long Beach and attempted to transfer the deed to their $1.4 million home on Aurora Drive in Rolling Hills Estates to a relative.
Attorneys for the employees alleged in court documents that the couple was trying to liquidate their assets after the employees filed the lawsuit against them, alleging they were treated like slaves under a federal program that legally brings foreign workers to the United States.
In court documents filed last year, the former workers claimed the Almeidas brought them to the United States from the Philippines on E-2 visas in 2012, promising them jobs as skilled and supervisory employees at their bakeries.
But when they arrived, the workers were forced to work 15-hour days, cleaning and painting at the Long Beach building and doing laundry and yard work at the couple’s house, where they slept on the floor.
The lawsuit alleged employees received $3 an hour working for months without a day off and were told they had to repay the Almeidas $11,000 each for their airfare and visas or they would be deported.
Last year, the state Labor Commissioner’s Office investigated the couple’s practices and ordered them to pay $250,000 in overtime wages to their workers.
By all accounts, they were popular among their customers.
After the employees’ lawsuit was filed, Analiza Moitinho de Almeida called the allegations “blatant lies,” and posted photos of her employees on her closed business’ windows. The photos, she said, depicted employees enjoying life in Southern California, sightseeing in Hollywood, Universal Studios and Disneyland, and sunbathing at the beach.
Analiza Moitinho de Almeida said she treated her employees like family, “shouldering many of their financial needs, including educational, medical, dental, disaster relief, clothing and housing needs, for decades.” She claimed to have bought them laptops and tablets, paid their rent and utilities, and offered no-interest loans.
“By closing the bakeries, my husband and I will be losing not only our investment, but our only source of income,” she wrote last year. “Although it was a little jewel in Torrance, it was not financially viable anymore. This is why we sold the building in Long Beach. We had to find some funding from somewhere for the never-ending fees that will still come our way. Surely, the courts will agree that we have the right to find ways to defend ourselves.”
The court did not agree, issuing a default judgment when the couple did not show up for oral arguments on May 2.
According to the judge’s ruling, the Moitinho de Almeidas must pay:
• More than $3.7 million in compensatory damages for human trafficking and $1.25 million for violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
• More than $3.7 million in punitive damages for human trafficking and $1.25 million for FEHA violations.
• More than $1 million in statutory damages for wage and hour law violations;
• $200,000 for statutory damages for violation of California’s whistleblower and retaliation law.
• More than $1.2 million for damages under the RICO Act.
• More than $2.8 million in attorneys’ fees.
In addition, the judge voided the couple’s transfer of their home.
Analiza Moitinho de Almeida did not respond to questions posed to her in an email about the case. Instead, she sent a link to a justiceforlamandebakery.com, which contains many posts critical of her employees and others who were expected to testify against her. The last post was in December.
