evil goes undetected in our midst

 

From The Sunday Times

August 30, 2009

Bojan Pancevski

HOW did he manage to get away with it for so long? The people of Antioch, California, will be asking themselves this as details emerge of the horrific alleged crimes of Phillip Garrido that have been unfolding in their midst. 

It is the same question still being asked in Amstetten in Austria more than a year after it emerged that Josef Fritzl had raped and incarcerated his daughter and fathered seven children with her, all in the cellar of his home on a busy road in the town centre. And perhaps in Gloucester, where Fred and Rosemary West murdered at least 12 young women at their house in the 1970s and 1980s.

In Garrido’s case, some commentators have attempted to put the community’s lack of suspicion down to a modern sense of alienation from society or, alternatively, to California’s traditional tolerance of unorthodox behaviour. In a culture whose perception is satiated by the excesses of reality television, goes the argument, the reality of one’s own backyard blurs into insignificance.

The phenomenon is not rooted in any one culture: crimes ranging from those of the Wests in the UK to those of the paedophile Marc Dutroux in Belgium and similar cases in Japan, Russia and Brazil testify to that.

What many of these cases have in common is the apparent failure of law enforcement agencies to exercise basic scrutiny. The California police — who are calling Garrido’s pathetic makeshift prison a “compo... More click here:  How evil goes undetected in our midst - Times Online

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Sex trafficking doesn’t really happen in America, think again

Five of the six have been caught, there is information at the end of the article about the sixth and who to call if you have info.

Six Charged in Largest Domestic Human Sex Trafficking Case in Houston

Crime Blotter  August 29, 2009

HOUSTON—Five men and one woman have been charged in a 16-count indictment with conspiracy and sex trafficking of children and forcing and coercing adults to engage in commercial sex acts, United States Attorney Tim Johnson, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice´s Criminal Division Lannie A. Breuer, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Special Agent-in-Charge Richard C. Powers of the FBI´s Houston Field Office, and Houston Chief of Police Harold Hurtt announced today. This case represents the single largest domestic sex trafficking case in the history of the Southern District of Texas.

"It is a horrible reflection on our society when adults prey on the vulnerabilities of children and reduce them to indentured sex slaves," Johnson said. "Whenever and wherever offenses of such a depraved nature occur, our law enforcement community will respond with the sum of our collective prosecutorial resources."

"The protection of the innocent and the most vulnerable among us is one of the most important obligations of law enforcement," said Breuer. "Sex trafficking, especially the trafficking of children, is unconscionable and federal law enforcement is working closely with state and local authorities to fight this most reprehensible sort of exploitation."

Five of the six defendants were arrested late Monday, Aug. 24 and early Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in a coordinated effort between federal and local law enforcement with warrants that issued following the return of a sealed indictment by a Houston grand jury on Aug, 4, 2009. The indictment, which was unsealed today, charges John Butler, 47, William Hornbeak, 34, Jamine Lake, 27, Andre McDaniels, 39, Kristen Land, 28, all of Houston, and Ronnie Presley, 35, formerly of Houston and currently residing in Tulsa, Okla., with conspiracy to traffic women and children for the purposes of commercialized sex; sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; transportation of minors; transportation; and coercion and enticement. Upon conviction, each count of sex trafficking and transportation of minors carries a maximum of life in prison. Each count of transportation carries up to 10 years in prison, while coercion and enticement carries up to 20 years in prison, while conspiracy carries up to five years in prison. All charges carry up to a $250,000 fine.

Butler, Hornbeak, Lake, McDaniels and Land were arrested in Houston. At least one defendant—McDaniels—is expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley at 2:00 p.m. today. The United States will ask the court to continue to hold McDaniels and the other defendants in federal custody without bond pending trial.

A warrant remains outstanding for the arrest of Presley.

Anyone having information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact their local office of the FBI or the FBI Houston Field office at (713) 693-5000.

American Chronicle | Six Charged in Largest Domestic Human Sex Trafficking Case in Houston

A man who 'gets' it

I would like to ask you to read what is here, but to go ahead and click the more link at the bottom of this and read the entire article.  I am glad that I had the pleasure of reading this...my title says it all as far as how I feel about this!

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 - 17:07 | Ilya Shambat

 After a woman who, fearing for her safety, called herself “Claire,” revealed the disgusting details of a gang rape that was allegedly perpetrated against her by an Australian football team, 100,000 people responded in support of the man who, according to her testimony, orchestrated the gang rape against her.

Charmyne Palavi, who also went on TV to reveal the reality of the football gang rape scene, was denounced on the Internet as a “lying head case,” and hateful messages were written toward her both by women and by men.

“Claire,” Charmyne, and everyone else who has experienced this and similar crimes: This is for you.

In an Internet discussion, an Australian man referred to Muslim men who gang rape young women in Sydney as “imported Muslim scum.” While that is indeed a fitting description of those people, I pose a question. Why is not the same epithet – minus the imported Muslim part - being applied to Australians who do the exact same thing to Australian women and teenage girls?
The people who are behind the “lying head... MORE

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