Human Trafficking

A31-year-old Baltimore Police officer was charged Friday with pimping out his wife after officers from a human trafficking task force found him outside a hotel room where the woman had agreed to have sex for cash with an undercover officer. The child recovery task force was working a proactive investigation into human trafficking when they came across a "young-looking female" advertised as an escort on a website, police said. Officers arranged to meet the female at a hotel near BWI airport, court records show.

A31-year-old Baltimore Police officer was charged Friday with pimping out his wife after officers from a human trafficking task force found him outside a hotel room where the woman had agreed to have sex for cash with an undercover officer. The child recovery task force was working a proactive investigation into human trafficking when they came across a "young-looking female" advertised as an escort on a website, police said. Officers arranged to meet the female at a hotel near BWI airport, court records show.

Human trafficking happens because prostitution is illegal ("House of ill-repute," July 29 ). Prostitution is illegal only because the majority of people don't like it. Making something a crime forces it underground which is what enables abuse to take place. What happens between two consenting adults should not be the business of anyone if no one is harmed. Wendel Dean Renner

The Business and Professional Women of Maryland's annual conference is May 17 and 18 at the Holiday Inn Laurel-West, 15101 Sweitzer Lane. The theme of the conference is "The Power of YOU - Equality, Advocacy, Development!" Several conference events are open to the public, including the kick off luncheon with a focus on women in the military; the Individual Development Program sessions on public speaking and goal setting; and the Saturday luncheon with a panel discussing human trafficking.

In regard to recent reporting on the Baltimore-Texas sex-trafficking case, thank you for covering this story and special thanks to the FBI and Baltimore Police for their success ("On the streets of Baltimore, a new hustle," Nov. 6). I would just like to point out that the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) has a hotline (1 - 888-3737-888) where incidents of suspected human trafficking can be reported. The best way citizens can help is to be alert to, and report, suspicious activity in which women, minors under the age of 18, or men are forced to provide labor, services, or commercial sex against their will.

Let me get this straight. Over 140 years ago the 13th Amendment to the Constitution legally abolished the slavery of my ancestors and my people. And today, according to your editorial ("Human trafficking: A modern-day form of slavery," June 6), some people (mainly young girls) in America are still being sold into slavery, albeit sexual slavery rather than servitude on a plantation. Yet the Maryland legislature dared to kill a measure that would have enabled victims of this loathsome commerce to sue the perpetrators for damages?

A Washington, D.C., man arrested in July on human trafficking and prostitution charges has pleaded guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence, said the Annapolis Police Department in a prepared statement on Tuesday. Freddy Leguisamon, 28, was arrested by police in connection with a prostitution business he operated. The arrest followed an investigation that combined several government agencies, including the Annapolis Police Department's Hispanic Liaison, Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

I was very pleased to see your front-page story on human trafficking in the United States ("Women from Maryland escape alleged prostitution ring," Nov. 5). When most people think of human trafficking, they imagine something that is happening in Third World countries, not on Baltimore Street. Thank you for doing your part to raise awareness about this very important, very relevant and very local issue. I hope that you will continue your coverage on this important topic. For example, what is the status of the Phylicia Barnes murder case, and is anyone investigating whether she was a victim of human trafficking?

Thanks for your piece on human trafficking in Maryland and your call on the General Assembly to do more to fight it ("Modern-day slavery," June 6). Yet punitive measures alone are not enough. We must also do more in the areas of awareness, prevention and victim care. We host the Maryland Rescue & Restore Coalition, a state-wide initiative against human trafficking. Every week we go into schools, churches and businesses to educate people about human trafficking, and we are amazed at what our children, in particular, don't know about this crime and how to protect themselves from it. It's a mistake to assume young people know how to recognize the danger posed by traffickers and take appropriate action, especially online.

Anne Arundel County police have charged a 19-year-old California woman with prostitution, operating a prostitution ring and human trafficking. Shkoyia Michelle Lomack of Sacramento was arrested Tuesday evening and remains in custody with a June 19 trial date. Officers received an anonymous tip that a woman was using hotels in the Linthicum area to house prostitutes and profit from their activities. Investigators say Lomack had used an Internet advertisement as a front for the prostitution ring that involved other women from California.

A Washington, D.C., man arrested in July on human trafficking and prostitution charges has pleaded guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence, said the Annapolis Police Department in a prepared statement on Tuesday. Freddy Leguisamon, 28, was arrested by police in connection with a prostitution business he operated. The arrest followed an investigation that combined several government agencies, including the Annapolis Police Department's Hispanic Liaison, Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

The directions to the alleged brothel told the men that if they saw a house with green awnings, they'd gone too far. But some of them apparently misunderstood; would-be customers have shown up for years at the nearby house in Towson. Despite neighbors' complaints, police say, Di Zhang, 42, continued to operate the brothel from a white Colonial-style suburban home on Joppa Road, advertising on websites until this month, when county police and federal agents moved in. Neighbors said they weren't surprised to learn that Zhang, the operator of Jade Heart Health, had been charged with prostitution and human trafficking.

Judith L. Colligan, a Howard County activist whose work included putting an end to human trafficking, aiding city children through Agape House and founding a meditation group, died Jan. 19 of heart failure at her home in Columbia. She was 71. "Judy had lots of energy and was very, very vivacious," said Ruth Ellen Hellyre, a Columbia resident and friend of 35 years. "She was always considerate of other people and very dedicated to acting on what she believed. " "Judy died at the top of her game and with her boots on. And that's what she would have wanted," said Normale Doyle, a retired Social Security Administration computer systems analyst and neighbor.

On Oct. 23, a purse was the ticket to a good time at Power of the Purse, an event hosted in Towson by the Baltimore County Commission for Women 's and the nonprofit Samaritan Women. The night's goal was to raise awareness — and ultimately money through the resale of donated purses — to fight human trafficking, an issue that commission members say has shown increasing concern in Baltimore County, and Maryland overall. Outside 7 West Bistro Grille, people were asked to drop off new or gently used purses.

On Tuesday night, Oct. 23, a purse is the ticket to a good time - and for fighting a good cause - at Power of the Purse, an event being hosted in Towson by the Baltimore County Commission for Women and the Samaritan Women organization The night's goal is to raise awareness, and ultimately money through the resale of the donated purses, all to fight human trafficking, an issue that Commission for Women members say has seen increasing concern in...

A 27-year-old Takoma Park man, who drove women to locations in the Annapolis area for the purposes of prostitution, has been charged with numerous counts of human trafficking and prostitution. Freddy Leguisamon was arrested last month by Annapolis police, after an investigation that combined the efforts of several law enforcement and government agencies. He faces 54 counts of general prostitution, eight counts of receiving compensation from human trafficking, five counts of taking another person to a place for the purpose of human trafficking, and four counts of operating a prostitution business.

Thank you for the informative but distressing, editorial "Modern day slavery" (June 6). This is the kind of information we would rather not know about — young girls being lured into prostitution — right here in Maryland! Sadly, human trafficking is a major international problem that is more prevalent than most of us realize. We hear about the prostitution of little girls in southeast Asia and other parts of the world. We shake our heads and toss aside the reports. But, the fact that "since last fall the Crimes Against Children Squad in Baltimore's FBI office has rescued 16 juveniles who were forced into prostitution" and that's "likely only a fraction of the victims" is both good news and bad news.

A Baltimore firefighter has been charged with running an online prostitution ring and unlicensed after-hours club in a Southwest Baltimore warehouse, less than two years after he received probation in Baltimore County in a similar sex trafficking case. The prior arrest didn't end the city employment of Jamar Marvin Simmons, 29, who continued to work as a firefighter/paramedic out of a firehouse in Roland Park. Fire officials said Simmons has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the most recent arrest.