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COMSTOCK FOR DELEGATE BLOG

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
In Case You Missed It: "Human Trafficking In Our Backyard"

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In Case You Missed It:

"Human Trafficking In Our Backyard"





In This Issue
Human Trafficking: In The News
Contact Me

Richmond Office:
General Assembly Building
Room 407
Richmond, VA 23218

District Office:
PO Box 6156
McLean, VA 22106
703-772-7168
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Dear Friends,

In case you missed our Human Trafficking Community Forum last Friday with Detective Bill Woolf (pictured above), Congressman Wolf and Delegate Hugo at the McLean Community Center, I wanted to take this opportunity in light of recent national news, as well as news right here in our neighborhoods, to highlight some of the reports on this issue.

Thanks to all those who are working to battle this crime as well as those working to increase awareness and prevent this threat. A special thanks to Detective Bill Woolf, Congressman Frank Wolf, Delegate Tim Hugo, Sara Pomeroy, all of our panelists and those working with us to battle this scourge.

As always, please don't hesitate to contact my office on matters of concern to you. I can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 703-772-7168.

Human Trafficking In The Local News

May 8, 2013:

Gregg MacDonald

"Sex Trafficking addressed at McLean forum"

"Comstock told those at the forum one such tale, where the boyfriend of a local high school girl wanted her to have sex with other people, but the girl, not feeling right about it, wound up telling her mother. 'That led police to a sex trafficking ring right here in a local high school,' she said."

May 7, 2013:

Alex McVeigh

"McLean Forum Highlights Sex Trafficking"

The McLean Connection

"Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34) and Del. Tim Hugo (R-40) joined Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) and others at the McLean Community Center Friday, May 3, to discuss the facts of human trafficking. The U.S. State Department estimated that human trafficking is the third largest source of profits for international organized crime, behind firearms and narcotics."

May 7, 2013:

Opinion- Local Editorial

"Northern Virginia Becoming Sex Trafficking Hotspot"

The Washington Examiner

"Less than a week after Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Virginia Republican Delegates Tim Hugo and Barbara Comstock spoke in McLean about the growing problem of human trafficking in Northern Virginia, three young women were rescued from a Cleveland, Ohio, home where they had been held captive for 10 years. Two of the victims were aged 14 and 16 when they went missing while walking home from school and a job at Burger King."

May 3, 2013:

Jeff Goldberg

"Human Trafficking Forum Held In McLean In Wake Of McLean Discovery"

ABC 7 News

"The forum was held in the aftermath of the discovery of two women at a McLean home who authorities believe were trafficked for sex. The house, located on Orris Street, is registered as owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

May 3, 2013:

Bob Barnard

"VA Leaders Hold Town Hall Meeting On Human Trafficking"

Fox 5 DC

"Experts [are] telling us the commercial sex trade in northern Virginia should make all parents sit up and listen.They say if your daughter goes to school or spends time on Facebook, she is vulnerable to sex traffickers."

May 3, 2013:

Adam Kredo

"The Slave Next Door"

Washington Free Beacon

"People come in through our airports, they're trafficked in our hotels. Young girls are solicited in malls and dragged into this heinous crime," Comstock said. "These girls have been drugged, brought into human trafficking, and abused in just horrible ways."

May 3, 2013:

Kathy Stewart

"New Law Addresses Sex Trafficking In Virginia"

WTOP Radio

"Delegate Tim Hugo sponsored a bill that will become law on July 1, making soliciting a minor for sex a felony. His colleague Del. Barbara Comstock, R-McLean, co-sponsored the legislation, which is intended to make it harder for people to be involved in the sex trafficking trade."

April 6, 2012:
Michael Lee Pope
The Connection Newspapers
"Court records reveal a violent underworld in Northern Virginia, one in which young women are raped and sold into a life of slavery as gang members greet each other with a "Crip handshake." The court file is a paper trail of rape, armed robbery, drug running, arms trading and racketeering. It's a story that unfolds across Northern Virginia, from the halls of Fairfax County high schools to a Travel Lodge in Old Town."
CONCLUSION:
The case highlighted in this April 2012 story prompted Detective Bill Woolf of the Fairfax County Police Department to ask for a change in the law regarding prostitution and gang violence. We passed my bill HB 546 to crack down on those engaged in human trafficking and to add penalties and tools for prosecutors. HB 546 addresses the growth of gangs such as MS-13 operating prostitution rings in our area who are now engaged in this heinous crime. These criminal traffickers have victimized women and girls in our area, exploiting them as part of their crime operations.
My colleagues and I will continue to work on this important issue in the General Assembly. Click here and visit www.delegatecomstock.com/issues for more information about recent legislation that was passed in the General Assembly to combat human sex trafficking in our area.
Sincerely,

Barbara Comstock




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