Throughout the afternoon, the girls worked diligently to create something beautiful, to create something they had ownership over, and to choose to believe in beauty again.
Our girls are choosing beauty. Our girls are choosing life. Our girls are choosing to live, and that is the most beautiful sight of all.

Thank you for all you do to make this beauty possible, and for your continued help, support, and prayers!

From all of us at Courage Worldwide

After nearly five years of living on the lam, accused pedophile Eric Justin Toth, a 31-year-old former school teacher sought for his alleged production and possession of child pornography in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, was running out of places to hide in the United States.

Mr. Toth, who is described by the FBI as an intelligent and charming individual who mastered the art of blending in wherever he hid, was chased through seven states across the US before finally giving law authorities the shake in 2009. The FBI eventually put Toth on their list of Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives last year.

So when the runaway pedophile was finally collared this week by Nicaraguan police, who discovered him living under an assumed identity in the remote tobacco-growing region of Nicaragua’s north-central highlands, it was hailed as a major victory for the country’s law enforcement. After all, Nicaraguan Police Chief Aminta Granera noted, Toth replaced Osama bin Laden on the FBI’s wanted list.

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Bakersfield police said Jerome Henderson, 22, approached the girl and took her to a local hotel where he forced her to participate in sex acts. He then tried to take her to Sacramento, but the girl alerted police.

She was uninjured, police said.

Officers were able to identify two other victims of human trafficking by Henderson. The suspect was located in Sacramento and taken into custody on an arrest warrant issued by the Kern County District Attorney’s office.

Police said Henderson was transferred to Kern County on Thursday. He’s booked on suspicion of human trafficking of a minor and attempted pandering of a minor.

Additional charges are pending.

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Jamir Imari Tatum, 20, was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento by U.S. District Judge Morrison C.England Jr. Tatum will be subject to 10 years of supervised release following his prison term and will be required to register as a sex offender, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, in January 2012, Tatum met the 14-year-old victim outside her house. He took her to a motel in Sacramento and took several photographs of her engaged in sexuality explicit conduct. On Feb. 21, 2012, law enforcement agents were notified that the victim had run away with Tatum.

Investigators identified online prostitution advertisements linked to Tatum’s phone that showed the sexually explicit pictures Tatum had taken of the victim. Officers made an undercover prostitution date with the victim. Officials said text messages recovered from Tatum’s phone showed him attempting to make money from “dates” with the victim,

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Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deputy Minister, Mr Mahadhi Maalim told the National Assembly that the government is aware of the vice but it is not easy to track down the perpetrators. He said the government will work with other countries to control the problem.

Mr Maalim was responding to a basic question by Ms Kidawa Saleh (Special Seats-CCM) who sought explanation from the government how serious is human trafficking in the country. Ms Kidawa also wanted to know the number of girls and boys who have been trafficked to Arabian countries in the 2010/2011 and 2011/12 financial years.

In response to the questions, Mr Mahadhi said the vice is being conducted in secrecy and thus it is therefore hard to know the precise number of people being trafficked. Between 2010/11 and 2011/12, Mr Mahadhi said, there were no reports concerning trafficking of girls and boys under 18 years.

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FULTON, MO — 12.3 Million. That’s the number of victims of human trafficking worldwide.

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. Victims are usually sexually exploited by force, coercion or fraud.

Many people are trapped by traffickers with the promise of a good job in another country, a false marriage proposal, being sold into the sex trade by others or being kidnapped, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Nine years ago, 20-year-old Sula Skiles was a Lincoln University student with a promising future in modeling. Little did she know she would become a victim and eventual survivor of human trafficking.

Skiles signed with a modeling agency in California, where she attended several events and parties with other models. It was there she met the billionaire that promised her a modeling job overseas.

“I was this young, ambitious, naive model given this opportunity to go to another country for this modeling job…everything checked out that it would be legit. I looked online, researched everything, I was just really excited but I was only given a one-way ticket, and that should have been a red flag for me,” Skiles, now a motivational speaker, minister and sex trafficking abolitionist, said.

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On Sept. 30, 2012, Biloxi police made a call in response to an Internet ad for an escort and conducted a sting which resulted in the arrest of a Korean female and her Korean driver (Kim), both of whom had overstayed their visas and were in the U.S. illegally. Subsequent investigation by Homeland Security Investigations revealed a Korean prostitution ring run out of Atlantic City New Jersey which led to the indictment.

Kim will be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter J. Gex III on June 26 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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“Indifference is not an option.” “God wants to use rescued people to rescue people.” “Bring this darkness into the light.” “Raise your voice for freedom.” These are all phrases we heard along with more than 45,000 college students who packed the Georgia Dome for the Passion 2012 Conference in Atlanta last year, as prominent Christian leaders used their platform to highlight the horrors of modern-day slavery. It was here that we first developed a distinct awareness of the 27 million people in bondage to different forms of slavery worldwide.

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Courage Worldwide rescues children who have been sold for sex by providing healing and restoration in the lives of child victims of sex trafficking through Courage Houses. These homes provide a safe, loving family environment, comprehensive therapeutic and education services, and a Unique Life Plan for each resident. Helping to raise funds to build more Courage Houses around the world, Courage Worldwide has created an inspiring compilation album Come Back Home produced by Phillip LaRue and Ben Phillips.

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