Wednesday, August 12, 2009

New Jersey Trafficking Ring Dismantled

I'm originally from New Jersey. This is such an amazing story - it angers me and makes me sick all at the same time. I hope you take the time to read through it all.

Dear Supporters,

We wanted to share the news with you that this week in New Jersey law enforcement dismantled a large human trafficking ring which spanned multiple cities throughout the state, involved multiple traffickers, and victimized scores of women and girls for years. "This is a shocking case of human trafficking," said New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram. "We charge that Allen Brown enslaved vulnerable young women in a living hell of addiction and prostitution, controlling them with narcotics, threats, and beatings. We will prosecute him to the full extent of the law."

We share this case with you all, and we ask for your support for our anti-trafficking efforts in New Jersey. Polaris Project's New Jersey office is currently the only non-profit organization in New Jersey exclusively dedicated to combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery and also providing services to victims of trafficking. Polaris Project New Jersey provides comprehensive programs to all victims of trafficking. These programs include:

• Sex Trafficking Victim Outreach and Identification
• Labor Trafficking Victim Outreach and Identification
• Local Hotlines
• Comprehensive Case Management
• Collaboration with Law Enforcement

The State Department has estimated that each year 14,500-17,500 immigrants are trafficked into the U.S. In the same timeframe, within our national borders, an additional estimated 300,000 children are at high-risk for sex trafficking. It is a sobering reality to also learn that the average age of entry into sex trafficking in the U.S. is 12-14 years old. Human trafficking is present all throughout the United States, and also has a major presence in the state of New Jersey. Past years have demonstrated numerous important federal human trafficking prosecutions in New Jersey, such as: US v. Trakhtenberg, US v. Medrano, US v. Jimenez-Calderon, and US v. Matthew Tompkins. New Jersey also has one of the highest concentrations of strip clubs and Go-Go bars in the United States at more than 400. These are high-risk locations for sex trafficking, notably of Eastern European and Russian women.

Your support is essential to allowing Polaris Project to fight human trafficking in NJ and provide critical services to victims. Please donate now and take a stand as we move closer each day to a world without slavery.

Sincerely,
Ambassador Mark P. Lagon
Executive Director and CEO

Polaris Project P.O. Box 77892 Washington, DC 20013

Proverbs 31:8-9

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