Child sex trafficking: Learn what you can do to stop it.

Kudos to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal who last week arrested two dozen men for using social media to lure underage girls and boys for sex. Thankfully, the children targeted turned out to be undercover officers, part of an operation put together by our AG called “Open House”. 

Attorney General Grewal said that most of the defendants were arrested when they arrived at a location in Toms River, where they allegedly expected to find their victim home alone. What they found instead, were law enforcement officers ready to arrest them..

"It is a frightening reality that sexual predators are lurking on social media, ready to strike if they find a child who is vulnerable," AG Grewal said. "To counter that threat, we are working collaboratively and aggressively across all levels of law enforcement to apprehend these sex offenders. We want child predators to know that we are on social media too - and the child they target may be the undercover officer who puts them in handcuffs. That is the message of Operation Open House."

The arrests were made over a five-day period from September 5th through September 9th.   All 24 were arrested and charged with second-degree luring, and other crimes, including second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor and third-degree attempted debauching the morals of a child. Five of those arrested face third-degree charges of attempted sharing obscene materials with a child for allegedly sending photos of their genitals to undercover detectives.

Those who deal in the trafficking of women and children for America’s booming sex industry use the same on-line methods that those arrested last week used. This isn’t a victimless crime.  Many of the victims have been brought to America to be sold into this modern slavery.  A United Nations study estimated that the criminal cartels who control the trafficking of human beings and illegal narcotics into the United States collect $6.6 billion annually. 

And who is being trafficked?  Here, meet some of the victims…

The United Nations has issued reports showing human trafficking is the fastest growing organized criminal activity on earth.  Secure borders help prevent human trafficking and the exploitation of children.  Secure borders fight modern day slavery.

Porous borders are not only a boon to modern day slavery – the trafficking and sale of human beings, especially children – they facilitate the trafficking of illegal narcotics, opioids, and illegal firearms to. There have been irresponsible calls to abolish ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) and to open the doors to a nightmarish wild west scenario.  If ICE is gone, who will be around to prevent the living horror of modern slavery? 

Some have adopted dangerously naïve views about border security.  A lot of those on the Far-Left want to permit the border to grow more and more porous – allowing thousands more victims (mainly women and children) to be shipped and sold like cattle, welcoming more dangerous illegal drugs into our communities, and providing illegal firearms for organized criminal gangs.  We must address this in no uncertain terms.

On Thursday, there will be a reception to discuss the Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Prevention Act.  This is a bi-partisan initiative aimed at stopping the trafficking of children in the United States at the source… the Internet.

We hope you can attend.