Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and several other members of President Biden’s administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enacted by President Trump and work toward combating migrant trafficking, securing the border, and ending the border […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, as part of his Office’s Hope Initiative, in a press conference announced four civil lawsuits have been filed against illicit massage businesses operating in Missouri. The four illicit massage businesses that were sued are A Little Massage in Laclede County, Blue Lotus Asian Massage in Cole County, Shangri-La Massage in […]
Prince Bixler, 41, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Wier to 36 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $333,100 in restitution to three sex trafficking victims. In September 2020, a federal jury convicted Bixler of 15 federal felonies related to his […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has led a coalition of 18 states in urging President Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Johnson, to reverse the Biden Administration’s last-minute cancellation of Operation Talon. Operation Talon is a nationwide ICE operation that focuses on removing illegally present convicted sex […]
A successful human trafficking operation was completed late Friday night at two St. Joseph truck stops – Bucky’s and Love’s Travel Stop. The joint operation, organized by the St. Joseph Police Department, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Missouri Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, resulted in 3 arrests, […]
A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced to over 17 years in prison for advertising videos and images of children being sexually abused. Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin of the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced an update to his office’s efforts to evict illicit massage businesses through the Hope Initiative. Since launching the initiative, 10 additional illicit massage businesses have either been evicted, are in the process of being evicted, or their eviction is likely. “Human trafficking is a global scourge that affects millions […]
The FBI released Hate Crime Statistics, 2019, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s latest compilation about bias-motivated incidents throughout the nation. The 2019 data, submitted by 15,588 law enforcement agencies, provide information about the offenses, victims, offenders, and locations of hate crimes. Law enforcement agencies submitted incident reports involving 7,314 criminal incidents and 8,559 related […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced earlier today a new, first of its kind initiative to combat instances of human trafficking by targeting illicit massage businesses across the state. The Hope Initiative targets illicit massage businesses that may be engaging in human trafficking and advertising on illicit websites while posing as a legitimate business. The initiative’s […]
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office is changing how human trafficking is reported in Missouri to help decrease response time and aid cross-jurisdictional cooperation, removing barriers to reporting human trafficking. Instead of using the Missouri-specific hotline, the Attorney General’s Office instead will be using the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and urges citizens of Missouri to also […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is issuing a consumer alert and a public service announcement for parents to be watchful of their children’s online activity during quarantine or stay at home orders, as traffickers or other bad actors may use that increased online presence as a way to contact, groom, or otherwise exploit children. “Because […]
Northwest Missouri State University-Kansas City is working with the Kansas City region and its communities this month to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking. Northwest-Kansas City, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, 2020will host higher education professionals from the Kansas City area and hear from experts and survivors of […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway released a report that looked into whether former Attorney General Josh Hawley used state resources for political purposes. The review determined that coordination between political campaign consultants and Attorney General staff gave an appearance of impropriety, and the Attorney General used a state vehicle for political and potentially personal purposes. This […]
A traffic stop in the western part of Livingston County last Thursday led to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest and the arrest of a driver. Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports 38-year-old Ivan Othoniel Sevilla-Baker of Mexico was arrested at the request of Homeland Security following a search of a van. He was taken […]
A Sacramento, Calif., man was sentenced in federal court for the sex trafficking of six victims. Ronald Ean Taylor, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 18 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Taylor to pay $5,000 in restitution to one of his victims, and $6,100 in […]
Historically, most of the bills passed during the Missouri Legislature’s regular session become law on August 28. Of the roughly 2,100 measures filed this year, 144 proposals made it across the finish line. Dozens of proposals become official today. Here is a snapshot of 10 key measures taking effect: Education funding In the fiscal year […]
This week the Department of Justice announced the nationwide recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through the FBI-led Operation Independence Day. This initiative was a month-long coordinated law enforcement effort, focused on the recovery of child sex trafficking victims and providing them with the assistance they needed. […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office has joined the FBI’s efforts in the fight against human trafficking and exploiting children. During a press conference today in Kansas City, Schmitt says his office now has a seat at the table in the FBI’s task force made up of Missouri and Kansas law enforcement agencies and other […]
The Missouri House is expected to vote today on a mammoth anti-abortion bill. The legislation would ban doctors from giving women abortions if they are eight weeks into their pregnancy. Physicians who violate the ban would face 5 to 15 years in prison. The proposal would also prohibit doctors from providing an abortion […]
A Sacramento, California, man pleaded guilty in federal court to the sex trafficking of six victims. Ronald Ean Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to six counts of the sex trafficking of an adult. By pleading guilty, Taylor admitted that he used force, fraud or coercion to cause six victims […]
