This week shows cover several important stories related to sex trafficking and social media exploitation.  We highlight the work of the Riverside County Human Trafficking Task Force and the San Bernardino County Human Trafficking Task Force.  We also explore the tragic case of 13-year-old Patricia Alatorre who was brutally raped and murdered after meeting up with an online predator.

This is a "must listen" for parents, grandparents or anyone who interacts with kids.  

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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The Super Bowl comes every year and every year there is much publicity around major sports events and their connection to prostitution and sex trafficking.  This week we are going to explore the truth of the matter.  Tampa Bay, Florida has done an excellent job of awareness and educating the public. But is it hype or reality?  And if someone suspects that a person may be a victim of trafficking, what indicators should we look for and how do we report it?

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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33 missing children, including some who were sexually exploited, found during operation in SoCal

45 missing children rescued, 179 arrested in Ohio operation   

Nearly 40 missing children rescued during Georgia sex trafficking bust   

These three news releases outline the work of law enforcement to identify, track down and rescue runaway and missing kids, many of which are part of the social services system in their state.  While there are many news stories across the US about defunding law enforcement it is encouraging and rewarding to hear of the efforts of law enforcement agencies across the US to track down and find kids who may be in danger of sex trafficking, sextortion or other forms of exploitation. Research indicates that about 60% of minors engaged in sex trafficking are from the social services system and it is believed that one out of 6 kids who run away will be victims of sex trafficking in the first 48 hours.     

Million Kids shares these stories and applauds the work of the FBI, US Marshall's office, Homeland Security, and local law enforcement to provide the funding, expertise and commitment to finding and rescuing the most endangered and providing them with the services they need to get to safety.  

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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The Dark Web is a somewhat unmonitored part of the world wide web.  While there are legitimate uses for the Dark Web, it is also a haven for  money launderers, hackers, drug and gun dealers and child pornographers. For several years law enforcement has develop specialized technology to penetrate these organized rings especially those sites that have activity involving child sex crimes. Last year, a subscription based child pornography site called "Welcome to Video" was found to have over one million paid subscribers to access CSAM (child sexual abuse materials).  This podcast reveals that during a time of isolation and social distancing, more pedophiles and predators are turning to the Dark Net and the number of participants in dark net online chat rooms is surging. This should challenge all of us, including Million Kids, to escalate our education programs for teens, parents, grandparents, schools, churches, and the public for prevention and intervention of social media exploitation.

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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This episode is about Pornhub - what they do, what is going on and why it matters.

Among other things, the Pornhub parent was slapped with $600M class action lawsuit over child porn (https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/pornhub). 

In addition, Mastercard and Visa ended their relationship with Pornhub after NY Times writer Nicolas Kristoff wrote in expose about the number of videos on Pornhub of minors or those who didn't give permission. As he wrote in his article (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/opinion/sunday/pornhub-rape-trafficking.html) about Pornhub: "It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for “girls under18” (no space) or “14yo” leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are."

Senators Josh Hawley (MIssouri),  Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Maggie Hassan ( New Hampshire), Thom Tillis (No Carolina) and Joni Ernest (Iowa) introduced the "Survivors of Human Trafficking Fight back Act of 2020"  This act is designed to broaden the route to justice for victims of trafficking and CSAM (child pornography).  It also includes victims of other forms of image-based abuse and will enforce important protective measures for victims.  The bill aims to give victims of sex trafficking and rape victims the right to seek compensation in federal court if pornography websites distribute intimate photos of them without their consent. This is sometimes referred to as revenge porn. According to Hawley, Sites like Pornhub routinely escape responsibility for facilitating abuse, trafficking and exploitation, making millions for themselves in the process.   

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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Over the past several months, we have noticed a very concerning trend in California to minimize incarceration time, de-fund law enforcement budgets and allow sex offenders currently in prison to be considered for early release.  . In each and every case, the decision made by courts and politicians references the statement "The people have spoken" referring to the results of recent elections.  While there is certainly an element of truth to that statement, in reality most voters had no understanding of the end results of these measures when they voted on it.  It is my belief that few people understood the cumulative impact on the safety of our community and especially women and children who have been the victims of these sex offenders.  This show looks at the cumulative trend of de criminalizing crime in California.

Be sure to go to insideralerts.org to sign up for the latest Million Kids Insider Alert for case analysis, latest technologies and breaking news in our efforts to keep kids safe from predators.

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An innocent 13-year-old was enticed online by a predator and brutally assaulted and murdered. This takes a look at the tragic and devastating story of Patricia Alatorre from Bakersfield, California who disappeared on July 1, 2020.  It is a story every teen and preteen who uses the Internet should hear.

Patricia was an exceptional young lady - smart, beautiful, talented and apparently full of energy.  Like millions of other teens she met someone online and began to send photos and chatted.  But what started as an exciting fantasy relationship ended in total tragedy. Fair warning this is an intense and graphic story so please use caution to not traumatize very young kids.

The alleged perpetrator has plead "not guilty". 

An overview of what Million Kids does for the community, law enforcement and individual families.