"Suspects in Lowell teen rape, trafficking case held" by Evan Allen, Globe Staff December 04, 2014
LOWELL — When the girl first met Michael Feliz at a Family Dollar in Lowell, she told him she was only 13 years old. He allegedly brought her to an apartment where he gave her drugs and alcohol, and, a few days later, raped her and began selling her to his friends. The alleged abuse did not stop until after the girl showed up to school with cocaine and heroin in her system.
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Victims of sex trafficking are often groomed, coerced, and threatened by their assailants, so they feel as if they cannot leave even if they are not being physically detained, according to Isa M. Woldeguiorguis, Executive Director of The Center for Hope and Healing in Lowell, a nonprofit sexual violence advocacy group.
“There’s this overwhelming feeling of shame, guilt, and fear, and threats of harm that keep it all in place,” said Woldeguiorguis. “Number one, overriding everything, is always fear.”
Then I'm feeling raped by this government and its mouthpiece media every day.
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"Punishing sex-trafficking accomplices presents quandary" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff December 01, 2014
The young woman was trembling as she stood before the judge to plead for mercy. She was guilty of helping her boyfriend sexually exploit a teenager, she acknowledged, but she was also one of his victims.
“I honestly wish I had the courage and strength to stand up to David,” Madonna Say acknowledged during her October sentencing hearing in US District Court, sounding far younger than her 23 years.
“I was very weak, and couldn’t face my fears,” Say admitted, describing domestic abuse and coercion by her boyfriend, David Minasian, and her fear of what would happen if she tried to escape.
The admissions provide a snapshot of a conflict that judges and lawyers in the federal courts are confronting: As law enforcement officials increasingly target pimps in sex-trafficking and exploitation cases, how should they punish accomplices, who very often are victims themselves?
“This is a difficult decision, in a difficult case, but difficult decisions had to be made,” Assistant US Attorney Leah Foley told US District Judge William G. Young, making a case for a lenient sentence for Say.
But the mother of Say’s 15-year-old victim was not feeling merciful. “There’s not one fiber in me that makes me feel like you are any less of a predator,” the girl’s mother said, asking the judge to hold Say accountable.
Say stared straight ahead as the woman spoke. The courtroom was quiet.
Sex-trafficking offenders — the legal term for pimps — are being more frequently indicted in federal court where mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years or more can guarantee tougher punishments for convictions than in the state court system.
In the past two years alone, federal prosecutors in Boston have charged at least 15 defendants in six cases in federal court, compared with no indictments brought in the several previous years.
Last month, Michael Gemma, 31, of Boston was sentenced to 20 years in prison for transporting a 16-year-old across state lines for sex for a fee. And in September, Darrell Graham, 52, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for sexually exploiting a woman when she was 19.
Law enforcement and women’s rights groups say the tougher penalties are an appropriate response to pimps who prey on vulnerable young women, sometimes children with histories of abuse or drug addiction who run away from home, looking for someone to care for them.
But at times, the law enforcement efforts that are meant to target the pimps also sweep up the women who assist them in their crimes, women who often are also victims themselves.
In October, federal authorities in Rhode Island charged Raechyl Spooner, 20, with assisting a sex trafficking ring. She had also been sold for sex.
Earlier this year, federal authorities in Boston charged a 26-year-old Jamaica Plain woman with assisting a sex-trafficking network; she faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, though her defense lawyer has argued that she was also abused by the pimp.
He had roped her into prostitution, and they had a child together, giving him more control over her, the lawyer argued.
Jessica Singer, program attorney for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, said her agency works to raise awareness within the legal system that many women who work in sex-trafficking networks were lured into the trade as teenage victims themselves, and essentially became enslaved to their pimps.
“They are engaged in a codependent relationship; they’re in a situation where they’re vulnerable to trauma, being hit, being beaten, being coerced into doing these things,” she said.
“It’s an inability to feel like you can get away; it’s very, very real,” added Lisa Goldblatt Grace, director of My Life My Choice, a nonprofit in Boston that provides services to exploitation victims.
Grace did not comment on Say’s case specifically, but spoke generally about similar cases: “There can be a very challenging, brainwashed state. She is very much a victim, but the problem is she’s crossed the line and is now being seen as complicit in the crime.”
The case involving Say began in early 2013, when the 15-year-old runaway who Say was later accused of exploiting encountered a man on the streets of Chelsea. That man, identified in court as Minasian, offered her a place to sleep, but then plied her with alcohol and heroin, took her to Florida, and sold her for sex, according to an account she later gave her mother. The Globe is not naming the mother to protect the identity of her daughter.
Other young women made similar allegations against Minasian, then a 23-year-old from Malden. They said he would lure troubled young women with heroin, and then force them to sell themselves for the money to pay him back for the drugs.
When Minasian and the 15-year-old returned from Florida, Say — who was Minasian’s girlfriend, and seven months pregnant — aided with his sex crimes. Say took sexually explicit photos of the 15-year-old and posted them online as advertisements for “escort services.”
After Say and Minasian were arrested, Say quickly cooperated with authorities and agreed to testify against Minasian. She was initially charged with sexual trafficking, which carries a punishment of 10 years in prison, but after helping authorities build the case against Minasian, she faced a relatively minor charge that called for a sentence of no more than three years.
Foley, the prosecutor, told the judge at the recent court hearing that Say’s cooperation was crucial in the case against Minasian, whom she called a lifelong criminal. Acknowledging the weight of Say’s testimony, Minasian pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“It was critical to remove him from the streets, because of his predatory nature,” Foley told the judge.
When Young sentenced Minasian in October, he scolded him for victimizing a vulnerable teenager, and fostering her drug addiction.
But during the late-afternoon sentencing hearing in a South Boston courtroom, the victim’s mother stood before the court, accusing Say of the same crimes.
“How dare you do that to a little girl?” the mother asked Say, who was standing 10 feet away.
Say — whose mother died when she was 16 and whose father abandoned the family — stood in court with her lawyer, Bernard Grossberg. He described Say’s efforts to seek mental health treatment, to care for her young son, to get a job, and to rebound from what the lawyer called “battered woman’s syndrome.”
“I’m very ashamed to be here,” Say told the judge.
Young instructed Say to stand. Her sentence: time served, or roughly a month in prison, followed by a year of probation.
“You were part of something hideous,” the judge said. “You were a part of it. . . . Sadly as it is, because of how young you were, you were not strong enough to stand up to him.”
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Related: Commission hears concerns over release of sex offenders
"Two women attending Bridgewater State University were assaulted on the campus this fall by a man who is now facing charges, school officials said."
Also see: Lawsuit alleges college used strippers to lure students
MIT removes professor’s online lectures after harassment charge
Rolling Stone’s UVA story a disaster for all
Student from Mass. killed by train in Va.
"Four Nichols College students charged in hazing incident" by Kiera Blessing, Globe Correspondent December 04, 2014
Four Nichols College students are facing charges in connection with a November hazing incident that sent three other students to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, officials said.
Evan G. Thompson, 22, of Longmeadow; Gregory M. Poll, 20, of East Granby, Conn.; Benjamin D. Harrow, 22, of North Reading; and Collin R. Geagan, 21, of Watertown, have been summoned to Dudley District Court on one count each of hazing and four counts each of procuring alcohol for a person under 21, Tim Connolly, spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., said Thursday.
The four students — all members of the school’s baseball team — allegedly provided alcohol for an event involving the team on Nov. 7.
Police brought the case to the clerk magistrate at Dudley District Court on Nov. 13. The clerk found probable cause to charge the four men on Monday, Connolly said.
Thompson, Poll, Harrow, and Geagan are to report to court on Feb. 11.
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"Bay Path president says White House summit inspired educators" by Trisha Thadani, Globe Correspondent December 04, 2014
The president of Bay Path University , Carol Leary, said the White House education summit on Thursday challenged leaders to seek innovative ways to expand opportunities to attend college.
Leary was among several officials from Massachusetts colleges, and hundreds from around the country, who attended the White House College Opportunity Day of Action with President Obama, Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden.
The White House said in a statement that participants were challenged to build networks with other universities, invest in high school counselors, and increase the number of available science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields at their academic institutions.
“A college education is going to be a given in the new economy,” Leary said by phone during a break in the summit. “We as educators need to figure out how to make it more affordable and accessible.”
Bay Path University is a private, all-women college based in Longmeadow that offers bachelor and co-educational master’s programs, both on campus and online.
As the leader of a college that is focused on educating adult women, Leary said she was honored to be invited.
“The White House realizes the generational impact of educating an adult woman,” she said. “If you educate a woman who has children, she will become a contributing member of the society, and ensure her children will at least graduate high school.”
Other Massachusetts schools represented Thursday included: Clark University, Framingham State University, Harvard University, Mount Holyoke, UMass Amherst, and Williams College.
“Expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college, especially low-income and under-represented students, is vital to building a strong economy and a strong middle class,” the White House said in a statement. “President Obama believes that the United States should lead the world in college attainment, as it did a generation ago.”
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Related: Boston Schools $lu$h Fund
Time to relocate.
"Former Fessenden School students allege sex abuse; Four teachers accused; incidents from ‘60s, ‘70s cited" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff December 09, 2014
Several former students at the Fessenden School, a prestigious private school in Newton, are alleging they were sexually abused by four teachers during the late 1960s and 1970s, in a significant expansion of claims that came to light in 2011.
Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer who represents victims of child sexual abuse, said Monday he is preparing to file lawsuits on behalf of two former students against several teachers and their supervisors, and accused Fessenden of “stonewalling these victims for years.”
“It’s inconceivable the administration of this school could not have known” about the abuse, said Garabedian, who has represented hundreds of victims in the clergy sex abuse scandal. “It’s time for them to come forward and be accountable.”
Fessenden officials notified graduates in a 2011 letter that the school had received two claims of abuse, one involving former assistant headmaster Arthur Clarridge, and a second involving a friend of Clarridge’s. Clarridge resigned in 1977 after he was charged in connection with a child sex ring.
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Fessenden, which describes itself as the oldest all-boys, junior boarding school in the country, has about 500 students in pre-K to ninth-grade....
A number of private schools have faced abuse allegations in recent years, often dating back decades. The Landmark School in Beverly last year disclosed that several graduates had lodged sexual molestation complaints, and the Brooks School in North Andover disclosed that a former headmaster had an improper relationship with a student.
See: Look What I Found in the Globe's Beverly Handbag
School Secrets No Surprise
Not anymore.
Specialists say the spotlight on sexual abuse in the aftermath of the scandal at Penn State University has helped more victims come forward....
That is what inspired the phone call.
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"Undercover police arrest 7 allegedly trying to buy sex
Police arrested seven men Friday evening in Burlington, after they attempted to purchase sex from an undercover police officer who used a website to pose as a prostitute, according to a statement from the Burlington Police Department. An eighth person arrested, a woman, is accused of posting an advertisement on the same site, though the statement said the arrests were “intended to target customers.” Those arrested ranged from 23 to 56 years old. The statement said all eight people arrested were charged with sexual conduct for a fee, and were expected to be arraigned Monday in Woburn District Court."
Looks like entrapment to me.
"Man charged with soliciting sex from minor in police sting
An 18-year-old man from Derry, N.H., was arrested after an undercover detective, posing as a 14-year-old girl online, caught him attempting to solicit sex on Friday, said Lieutenant Kevin Fitzgerald, a spokesman for Salem, N.H., Police Department. Police charged Michael Dunn, 18, with endangering the welfare of a child, attempted felonious sexual assault, and prohibited computer use, Fitzgerald said. The detective works for the Internet Crimes Against Children unit. Dunn posted the $5,000 bail to be released before his arraignment, which was expected to be on Thursday at Salem District Court, Fitzgerald said."
Don't the cops have better things to do, and is it possible all the pervert sites are government controlled snares?
Related: Congressman seeks ban to stop federal employees from watching porn all day
Just being good stewards of government while having fun!
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
Curry College student allegedly sexually assaulted
"A recent Rolling Stone article that described a gang rape alleged to have occurred at a University of Virginia fraternity brought renewed attention to the issue of campus sexual assault. The magazine later said it could not stand by its reporting. But....
But what?
For decades, officials at Bob Jones University told sexual assault victims that they were to blame for their abuse, and to not report it to the police because doing so would damage their families, churches and the university, according to a long-awaited independent report released Thursday. Bob Jones, an evangelical Christian institution in Greenville, S.C., displayed a “blaming and disparaging” attitude toward abuse victims.
The criticism of Bob Jones differs from that prompted by the sexual-assault scandals that have erupted at colleges across the country, in that it is not primarily about assaults on or near campus, committed by students or staff members. Rather, two years ago, Bob Jones commissioned the investigation by Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, an evangelical group known as GRACE that is devoted to addressing sexual abuse in churches and related groups. But the university, unhappy with the investigation’s direction, fired GRACE early this year, drawing heavy outside attention to some university practices for the first time. After a few weeks of intense criticism, the university rehired GRACE."
Also see: Nasty Natixis
Related: Natixis trustees hire consultant Will Keyser as spokesman
