Tag: human trafficking
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EDITORIAL: Capitol’s Dems ignored sex-trafficked kids
A compelling commentary on the human trafficking of children, published in last Sunday’s Gazette Perspective section, was an urgent call to action for a much-needed ballot proposal that would raise the penalty for this horrific crime in our state. The commentary also served as a potent reminder of why Colorado’s Constitution has guaranteed the right…
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Perspective: Colorado’s kids are not for sale
Colorado is in the top ten, but on a list that should horrify every Coloradan. Current Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data records place our state 10th in the nation for reported commercial sex trafficking victims age 19 or younger. Between August 2021 and August 2026, 256 young victims were reported in Colorado. Thirteen of…
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CSI study reviews impacts of Colorado’s mandatory sex‑trafficking sentencing measure
A new report by the think-tank Common Sense Institute examines what could happen if Colorado voters approve Initiative No. 108, which establishes mandatory life sentences for offenders convicted of sexual trafficking of a minor. The measure is backed by Protect Kids Colorado, which describes itself as a “broad coalition of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens…
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‘An absolute joke’: Sexual assault charges dropped in Colorado Springs sex trafficking case
A Colorado Springs mother of a disabled woman allegedly manipulated into prostitution that almost killed her may not get the justice she was seeking. Going by C.M. to protect her daughter’s identity, the mother sought a trial for the man she believes is responsible for sexually assaulting and trafficking her daughter, who has intellectual and…
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Federal judge partially allows second World Cup trafficking lawsuit to move forward
A federal judge allowed some claims to move forward last month against companies operating out of Colorado that allegedly participated in a human trafficking venture involving Filipino laborers who constructed facilities for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. There are three lawsuits pending in Colorado, each brought by a group of workers under the federal…
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Federal judge refuses to authorize immediate appeal in World Cup trafficking lawsuit
A federal judge declined to authorize an immediate appeal last week of a prior decision allowing companies operating out of Colorado to be sued for allegedly participating in a human trafficking venture involving Filipino laborers who constructed facilities for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Occasionally, trial judges’ decisions are subject to mid-case, or “interlocutory,”…
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EDITORIAL: Legal prostitution? A new legislative low
Colorado Democrats have introduced a bill to decriminalize “commercial sexual activity” — i.e., prostitution. And Senate Bill 26-097 isn’t just legalization. It provides no limits on prostitution, solicitation, businesses, patronizing or public displays. That goes far beyond even Nevada, where prostitution is legal but extensively regulated and limited to licensed brothels, with licensed employees. And…
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Pretend progress hurts human trafficking victims | Rachel Stovall
Colorado’s SB26-097 is being marketed as compassion. It tells us it will help victims of prostitution. It claims to reduce harm. Great marketing but also the reason this bill is dangerous. Legal commercial sex markets around the world like Nevada have demonstrated that when a state normalizes commercial sex, demand increases. When demand increases, illegal…
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PERSPECTIVE: Colorado’s human trafficking is getting worse
I have seen evil in the world, and it does not go away because we as a society would prefer it to. It needs to be fought energetically. Human trafficking sounds like a Hollywood crime carried out by mafiosi and transnational cartels, but the reality is up close, life-destroying and pernicious. After 33 years as a prosecutor in Denver, I have…
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The fight against online child exploitation
I remember staying up into the early hours of the morning, waiting anxiously for my husband to come back from undercover work in Southeast Asia. He was working with law enforcement as an informant investigating the sex trafficking of children. He spent hours identifying minors in brothels, talking with traffickers, and walking dangerous red-light districts…