Entries in Human Trafficking (1)
Chong Kim Fights Sex Trafficking in Vegas
Posted by
Joanna M. Doane
in Featured Survivors, Human Trafficking
Vegas Tops Sex Trafficking List
State Dept. Report: Vegas Human, Sex Trafficking Highest In U.S.
LAS VEGAS -- Results from a two-year investigation by the U.S. State Department show Las Vegas as the epicenter of North American prostitution and human trafficking. As one victim of these crimes comes forward, police intend to use the information to combat the sale of women and children for sex.
"My blood was spilled on a damp, cold floor," Chong Kim, a former prostitute, said. "They bruised my body and made me their whore.
"Kim said she was forced into prostitution during the mid-'90s.
"It was a one room cell," Kim said, "and each of the woman and children were categorized where they were going to be shipped."
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She is currently a criminology major at University of Nevada, Las, Vegas. She said that when she was 19, her then-boyfriend tricked her into prostitution.
"He said he wanted me to visit his family in a different state," she said. "That's how I got sent to a different state.
"Kim said her imprisonment and forced prostitution lasted for three years. She is now an advocate to help other victims of prostitution and human trafficking in the Valley. She is now joining efforts with a local panel to help stop these crimes against women and children.
"This ain't no Richard Gere running out there," said Brenda Powell, another advocate against forced prostitution. "(They are not) trying to pick up nobody and take them all away.
"Panel members hope the formation of an organization to combat these crimes -- called the Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking -- will help target these type of criminals and get them put behind bars.
According to the research, the sex industry generates between $1 billion and $6 billion a year in Las Vegas.
Copyright 2006 by KVVU.com
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