Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors - Women's Funding Network

— Most of the people arrested are from Central and South Florida, and detectives said they
were shocked when among those arrested was a 15-year-old runaway who brought her baby
with her.
— Reported on April 18, 2011, by Bianca Prieto of Orlando Sentinel
• April 12, 2011- Tampa
— Reported on April 12, 2011, by Don Germaise of ABC Action News.
— A woman who was forced to work as a prostitute says she was a sex slave for five years
before escaping.
— Marie was a teenager working at a strip club in Miami when she was recruited by a man she
thought of as an admirer. He turned out to be a pimp.
— Teenagers are frequently a target in the sex slavery trade. "We have rescued 43 children
from the ages of 13 to 17 in Tampa Bay since 2009," said FBI Agent Dave Couvertier.
• January 10, 2011- Jacksonville
— Reported on January 10, 2011, by First Coast News.
— Ian Sean Gordon, 29, was arrested in 2009 and entered a guilty plea to the charge of
trafficking a 15-year-old girl.
— According to documents cited by U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill, the girl and some friends
ran away in February from a juvenile rehabilitation center in Jacksonville.
— The documents indicate she stayed with a Melvin Friedman on Jasper Avenue, where she
was introduced to crack cocaine and prostitution.
— Gordon provided her with the essentials and drugs as she performed sex acts in various
hotels throughout the city, O'Neill said.
— The girl did eventually escape, and returned to her mother, who then took her to the police to
report Gordon.
— Six other individuals have been arrested in connection with the same victim, and they are
awaiting trial.
• January 6, 2011- Fort Lauderdale
— Reported on January 6, 2011, by Larry Welborn of The Orange County Register
— A former Costa Mesa resident who spent 29 years as a fugitive after he was convicted in
Orange County of child molestation in the 1970s was found guilty in Florida late Wednesday
of federal charges of bringing a child across state lines for sexual purposes.
— George Joseph England, now 66, was convicted of five charges involved with purchasing a
child in Vietnam in the 1960s, bringing her to Orange County and later Florida while passing
her off as his adopted daughter.
• January 3, 2011- Miami
— Reported on January 3, 2011, by Joseph Picard of International Business Times
— The Miami Super Bowl drew about 10,000 prostitutes, many of them child prostitutes, or
former child prostitutes - "modern-day slaves," as Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, calls them - brought to town by their
traffickers from all over the country.
— Advocates - national groups like Shared Hope International and the Rebecca Project, as well
as local groups like Traffick9/11 - are now gearing up to combat the traffickers who will be
coming to Arlington, Texas -- and Dallas, Ft. Worth and Mansfield -- this February for Super
Bowl XLV. Federal, state and local law enforcement are joining in the effort.
— Advocates have partnered for a national I'm Not Buying It Super Bowl campaign to raise
awareness of the problem, and alert local officials, law enforcement and citizenry.
• December 14, 2010- Tampa
— Reported on December 14, 2010, by MyFoxTampaBay.com
— Two fugitives recently featured on "America's Most Wanted" for a Georgia murder have been
captured in Tampa, U.S. Marshals said Tuesday.
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