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By Peter Edwards Staff Reporter Wed., Feb. 6, 2019 After a series of human trafficking arrests involving the same online classifieds site, a Toronto sex worker says she worries a crackdown on internet sex ads could make her more vulnerable. Toronto police have charged eight GTA residents with dozens of charges in four separate cases this year involving the website LeoList.com. In one, police say a 17-year-old schoolgirl was taken to a series of GTA motels by a man with a gun and forced to sell her body to strangers. The latest bust was announced last week, after police say a man physically assaulted a 28-year-old woman several times, including one attack that left her with broken ribs. In all four cases, alleged pimps forced women to place sex ads on LeoList.com and took all of their earnings. In one, an alleged pimp even threatened a sex worker’s pet, police said. Article Continued Below None of that violence surprises Dave Perry, a Toronto … [Read more...] about Toronto human trafficking arrests shine spotlight on popular classifieds site. Sex worker advocates fear another crackdown
Human trafficking fbi
Backpage.com shut down by FBI following allegations of sexual trafficking
Backpage.com, a popular classified website operating in the United States was seized and shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday, April 6, following allegations of sexual trafficking facilitation against the platform. FBI agents confirmed that raids were carried out in the residence of Michael Lacey, the founder of Backpage. "Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action," says the banner that popped up on the site posted by the FBI, US Postal Inspection Service and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Backpage.com under the scanner for many years Backpage.com has been under the scanner of FBI for the past few years. The investigation agency has been monitoring the website's adult ads page after several allegations were made that it was acting as a platform to "facilitate" sex trafficking. The website's adult ads page allows users to post about escort services, and investigators revealed that many of the … [Read more...] about Backpage.com shut down by FBI following allegations of sexual trafficking
FBI shuts down sex classifieds giant Backpage
Visitors to the site and its Canadian version backpage.ca were shown a notice by various federal agencies declaring they had seized the domain. The notice said: "backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center." It added that additional information would be forthcoming at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT). Backpage.com is accused by its critics of being the biggest website for prostitution in the world, with its classifieds used to promote paid-for sex with minors and the victims of human trafficking. The US Congress passed a bill last month aimed at countering sex trafficking that allows victims of such exploitation to seek justice against website owners who knowingly promote or facilitate the practice. Supporters hailed the passage of the Stop … [Read more...] about FBI shuts down sex classifieds giant Backpage
FBI probes Quiboloy’s Hawaii church for human trafficking — report
FBI probes Quiboloy’s Hawaii church for human trafficking — report Gaea Katreena Cabico (philstar.com) - April 3, 2018 - 4:15pm MANILA, Philippines — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the church of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Hawaii for possible human trafficking. Hawaii News Now, a local news outlet, reported that the FBI is focused on Felina Salinas, business manager of Quiboloy’s sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ the Name Above Every Name in Waifahu, Hawaii. Salinas was among those aboard the plane leased by Quiboloy when federal agents found $350,000 in cash and gun parts inside last February. She was arrested after claiming the cash was hers. Quiboloy, on the other hand, was briefly detained. A source of Hawaii News Now said that the FBI sent an agent shortly after the arrest of Salinas. READ: Pastor Quiboloy’s camp denies he was detained in Hawaii The … [Read more...] about FBI probes Quiboloy’s Hawaii church for human trafficking — report
News Quiboloy church not engaged in human trafficking: lawyer
MANILA - The lawyer of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy denied Tuesday allegations that the church is involved in human trafficking in Hawaii. Lawyer Israelito Torreon, counsel of Quiboloy, said they have not received any notification about an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation about the alleged trafficking links of a chapter of Quiboloy's church in Waipahu. "I verified the information with Pastor Quiboloy and we have not received a notice on any investigation," he told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview Tuesday. He said the linking of the church to human trafficking came as a shock and is not true at all. He said someone must be trying to destroy the congregation. "That is shocking. Somebody must be orchestrating all of these. I hope that person will be enlightened by the Lord Almighty to stop this because that's really not true. The congregation of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is a religious congregation. It is not engaged in human trafficking," he … [Read more...] about News Quiboloy church not engaged in human trafficking: lawyer