Pieper Lewis Sentencing May 31st - Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery

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Pieper Lewis Sentencing Scheduled for May 31st

On April 12th, the public defenders for Pieper spoke at a lecture on the Iowa State University campus entitled “Examining the Homicide Case of a Teenage Sex Trafficking Survivor”. Matthew Sheeley, Assistant State Public Defender, is shown in the photo speaking about the tireless effort to seek justice for Pieper, who still faces up to 21 years in prison and a felony record for killing the 38-year-old man who abused, sexually assaulted, and trafficked her as a 15-year-old juvenile.

Sheeley spoke with deep emotion that “it has been an honor and privilege to represent Pieper”. He asserted in 30 years “I have never been involved with a client with a better soul than Pieper”. To read three frontpage Des Moines Register articles about Pieper as written by Phillip Joens click the following three links:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/121lJ5NAYkbVFVT_EcF2Lhp4dGwKaQEol/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RToUuPptihBy9n20VcRFLPfO_00X4VwJ/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fRMSvw_yq6VyIo4JwU4i9oE0luXD-s8r/view?usp=sharing

For a joint statement by the NAHT and Shared Hope International addressing Pieper Lewis’ case and entitled “Protecting Not Punishing Cvhild Sex Trafficking Survivors” go to this link: https://iowanaht.org/my-story-can-change-things-pieper-lewis-september-13th-2022/

List and Map of 77 Adjudicated Trafficking Cases in Iowa

Gretchen Brown-Waech, Coordinator of Human Trafficking for the Iowa Attorney Generals Office recently updated (2005-2022) a list of 77 traffickers who have been prosecuted and convicted/pled guilty in Iowa. For more information on each of these cases go to this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qbWdZ5TQiOMNSGPMTkfZkoHGPxiOolk9/view?usp=sharing

Below is an Iowa map showing the color coded location of each trafficker with the individual names for each area of the map. If you have questions about this map and list, feel free to contact Brown-Waech at gretchen.brown-waech@ag.iowa.gov.

Cedar Rapids Online Predator Billboards

Chains Interrupted has implemented public service announcement billboards in Cedar Rapids by Lamar Advertising to educate the community about human trafficking. They have plans to continue a campaign of awareness with the billboards as long as the donations are available. The first board is on 380 and 33rd Avenue heading North starting April 10th for 4 weeks and then will be moving to an NW and a SE location.

The Chains Interrupted billboard shown here sends an important message: LETS START TALKING TO OUR YOUTH ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ONLINE CONVERSATIONS. Chains Interrupted hopes that the billboards will successfully start caregivers and their youth talking in the car about who they are talking to online. There are 750,000 sexual predators online at any given moment. Awareness starts with a conversation, then to the realization about how vulnerable youth are. Once we acknowledge this is happening, we can then discuss how to prevent kids from being manipulated and groomed by a trafficker and what social media apps might put them more at risk.

The NAHT commends Chains Interrupted for launching this billboard campaign in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa College Facing Federal Lawsuits Alleging Labor Trafficking

Western Iowa Tech Community College is facing two civil lawsuits alleging the school engaged in human trafficking. One lawsuit was filed on behalf of 14 students from Chile, and the other was filed on behalf of 11 other students who mostly originate from Brazil.

The federal lawsuits allege the school enticed impoverished students to come to Iowa where they were placed in “debt bondage” working at a food-processing plant and dog-food factory.

The Sioux City college allegedly procured visas for the students to enroll in the school’s international education program, then steered them to work in the processing plants. The college diverted money from students’ paychecks to reimburse the school for the cost of the program, the lawsuit claims.

For more of this article written by Clark Kauggman and published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch go to this link: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/04/04/iowa-college-denied-access-to-counseling-records-in-human-trafficking-case/

Ottumwa, Iowa Couple Sentenced in Human Trafficking Case of Forced Labor

A man and woman living in Wapello County, Iowa have been sentenced to two years in federal prison for coercing two men from Micronesia to work in an Ottumwa meatpacking plant.

A federal judge has ordered the couple to pay nearly $70,000 in restitution to the victims. According to the U.S. Justice Department, the couple are citizens of Micronesia and U.S. residents who recruited two young men from Micronesia to come to Ottumwa to work, telling them they could send money back to their families in Micronesia.

The couple pleaded guilty to withholding the workers’ passports and confiscating most of their wages. A deputy in the U.S. Justice Department says the defendants callously exploited the victims and used their power over them to profit from their hard work at the Ottumwa plant.

New Law Requires Human Trafficking Awareness in Public Colleges

Last week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill into law requiring colleges and universities to incorporate human trafficking awareness and prevention training into their freshman-year orientation programs.

“When it’s done at this level, it really lifts some of the burdens. It helps show that this is an issue we should care about at the community level, state level, federal, and global level. No matter what side you’re on, we should want to work together for the betterment of our community and protection of our people so I’m really grateful that we’ve seen movement with this,” said one anti-trafficking advocate.

The bipartisan bill becoming law also encourages private institutions of higher education to develop and implement similar policies. Schools like Bridgewater College are aware of the news and plan to look into it.

Comments from the impact statement share that public institutions that do not offer human trafficking awareness and prevention training would need to contract with an external vendor for services.

Although the new law is only for public colleges and universities, advocates feel it can expand to a wider audience for knowledge, including middle and high schools.

Information, Articles, and Resources

By Dr. George Belitsos on May 1, 2023 / News