The MMP 30th Anniversary Kick-Off Party will be held at their brand new Drop In Center, the first of its kind in Los Angeles. The Drop In Center is a harm reduction intervention site where women involved in prostitution can come for assistance getting out of the life, basic needs of life, counseling, groups, support and guidance. The center provides free condoms, HIV testing, counseling, hygiene kits, food, and other forms of aid to help prostitutes cope with their difficult lives and slowly but surely take the steps that will get them out of prostitution. The Drop In Center is an ideal place for guests to learn more about MMP’s services and facilities, and tours will be given of the new center from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Mary Magdalene Project gives women who have been victimized by street prostitution the opportunity to turn their lives around. Through intensive and comprehensive programs from the residential Hayman House program to the Drop In Center, the women face, cope with and then overcome the many obstacles that life has dealt them. New relationships are formed, skills and strengths are discovered. The Mary Magdalene Project is a successful program that begins the transformation.

Come join the MMP in a celebration of 30 years of helping women. The MMP Drop In Center is located at 7136 Haskell Avenue, Suite 125, Van Nuys, CA. Please RSVP by calling 818-988-4970. More Information about the MMP can be found at their website www.mmp.org.

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Contact: Dr. Martin McCombs, Executive Director
Mary Magdalene Project
Trevor Gould, Public Relations
Email: MMc4mmp@aol.com or
trevorcitytv@hotmail.com
Dr. Martin McCombs 818-988-4970
Trevor Gould 858-663-8091

Don’t make the mistake of dismissing these women as ‘Just some poor innocent and harmless souls trying to make a living.’ In reality many of these women, and the ‘Johns’ who procure them, are very violent and dangerous individuals.

At least three street prostitutes that work this very stretch of South Robinson Ave. are registered sex offenders, two sit in prison right now for committing murder, at least one was convicted of bank robbery, a dozen have been convicted of armed robbery and most have convictions for assault, theft and drug crimes.

The women in this photo are associated with the violent street gang the ‘Latin Kings’ as evident in the gang logo of the crown tattooed on one of the prostitute’s breast.

Several of the ‘Johns’ have been identified as registered sex offenders and in recent months one of those sex offender ‘Johns’ was arrested and has been charged with murdering a young girl.

Senate Bill 956, authored by Sen. Todd Lamb and State Rep. Pam Peterson, aligns state law with the Federal trafficking victims protection act.

Those convicted of human trafficking face up to five years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. This legislation increases human trafficking penalties when the victim(s) are 18-years old or younger to 10-years in prison and a fine up to $20,000.

The newly signed legislation allows law enforcement to seize “any vehicle or conveyance used in any manner to facilitate or participate in the commission of any human trafficking offense.”

In 2003, the Department of Justice reported the largest concentrations of trafficking survivors who received federal assistance resided in California, Texas, New York and Oklahoma.

According to law enforcement, a woman from Nebraska called the Santa Barbara police after she received a call from her missing 18-year old daughter. The mother told police her daughter alleged she was being held against her will at a motel on upper State Street.

When police responded to the motel to investigate they learned that two women and one male had been staying in the room but had checked out an hour before. Police also learned from witnesses that the three left in a white Cadillac with Oklahoma license plates.

Within hours, deputies with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department spotted the car on the highway and stopped it for further investigation.

Detectives determined that “Boughton had used threats, coercion and physical abuse to force the 18-year old woman to engage in prostitution and prevent her from fleeing.” Detectives have not yet determined what if any involvement the third woman had in the alleged sex trafficking. Reports also indicate that guns and drugs were found in the suspect’s car.

Boughton is currently being held on a $100,000 bond.

A quick records check by JohnTV.com shows that Boughton is indeed from Oklahoma and has twice been charged with felony crimes in Oklahoma County. In January and May of 2008 Boughton was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from an incident in November of 2007. In both cases the charges were dismissed at the request of the District Attorney’s office because the victim and witness either refused to testify or could not be located. According to Oklahoma City records, Boughton has at least a dozen outstanding city warrants for his arrest.

*The booking photo appearing in this article is from a prior arrest in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The result has been a noticeably quieter South Robinson Ave. in recent weeks.

When approached this afternoon near SW 36 and S. Robinson, ‘Angel’ a self-proclaimed “Hoe since 17″ says that lately she only works Robinson in the middle of the afternoon when the roofers are away at work. “And that’s only if my daddy thinks I need to make a little more,” Angel proclaimed matter-of-factly. ‘Daddy’ is a reference to Angel’s pimp and most nights Angel claims she makes from $400 – $2,000 servicing mostly Mexican laborers at $20 – $60 a sex act.

Angel, 27, but 10-years of street working and obvious drug abuse has left her looking closer to 50 than 30. She scratches at the various red sores on her arms as she tugs her shirt to cover the signs of child birth to her stomach. ”Its a lot easier than working the track,” a reference to South Robinson Ave., “… and there’s no cops and they all gots [sic] lots of beer and dope,” said Angel.

When asked how many workers she’s slept with in the last couple of weeks she laughs and says, “who knows, hundreds.”

Angel’s biggest gripe is the competition amongst the other prostitutes. “There’s like 30 bitches working out of the Plaza and them guys don’t want the same girl twice when there’s so many others to choose from,” said Angel with a sigh. “You need to move,” Angel exclaims as she points me down the street – “I can’t makes [sic] no money when you’re around.”

A quick drive up and down South Interstate 35 from SE 15th to SE 59th this evening revealed about a dozen low rent motels with their parking lots packed. Sure enough, amongst the pickup trucks and trailers, filled with roofing and construction supplies, were the familiar faces; ‘Tisha,’ 26, and often working side-by-side with her drug addicted mother. ‘Precious,’ 34, who wears underwear more often than she wears her dentures and ‘T,’ 23, who gives me a friendly flip-off as she smiles and approaches my vehicle.

T asks if I’m going to be “tripping” on her customers as she scans the parking lot for a potential ‘John.’ When she feels assured I prefer the prostitution to be going on at the hotels rather than the neighborhoods she confirms the tale told earlier by ‘Angel’ with one disturbing side note. T claims she’s seen several “new girls” at the hotels “mostly looking to score some drugs but willing to trade sex to get them.”

But what does all this mean; Is this a brief but welcomed reprieve for the families and businesses along South Rob.? Is it a cautionary STD tale to the wives and girlfriends that will soon be welcoming their breadwinning men back home? Is it proof legalized red light districts would lessen the burden on the community and the coffers? Or, is it just the reality of “the world’s oldest profession” vs. “the world’s oldest abuse”?

Prostitutes as young as 15 were routinely beaten and deprived of food if they didn’t earn $500 a day selling their bodies, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office found.

Pimps went to schools to find hookers for their operations in Bushwick, Brownsville and East New York, according to indictments unsealed earlier this month.

The teens and older women worked out of hotels, motels and the pimps’ apartments and on the street – known as “the track,” investigators said.

Their services were advertised on sites such as craigslist, Backpage and other adult Internet pages – as recently as last month, the court papers say.

Investigators uncovered four distinct operations, three of them run by Bloods gang members.

One of the accused ringleaders is Abking Wilcox, 30, a Bloods member with previous arrests for assault, weapons possession and promoting prostitution.

“He kept the girls prisoner in his house and if they didn’t make the $500 minimum he beat them,” an investigator said.

Wilcox is also accused of working a separate prostitution racket trafficking with James Kortu, a member of the Bloods’ Horsegang unit, and Christiann Woodberry.

“Woodberry was the eyes and ears for Kortu; she trained the girls, told them never to look another pimp in the eye and to get the money first, before sex,” said an investigator.

“If she saw the girls sitting on a curb or resting because they were tired, she called Kortu, who beat them,” the investigator said.

Wilcox, who was also charged with rape, has been arrested. Kortu, who also had a 15-year-old girl working for him, is at large.

Authorities say a third ring was run by Tenisha Sanders, her cousin, Bernadette Mosely, and her son, Eric Sanders.

They are all charged with sex trafficking, including recruiting and abusing yet another 15-year-old.

The teen was having problems at home and moved in with Sanders – who forced her to have sex with Eric, prosecutors say.

“Bernadette Mosely took her to the dates that were arranged via the Internet,” said an investigator.

When the teenager balked, she was beaten and otherwise threatened into submission, the source said.

Bloods members Lathaniel McCoy and Kareem Clark operated a fourth ring out of the Imperial Hotel at 2550 East New York Ave., and also had a 15-year-old working for them, the indictment said.

The investigation began with a domestic violence complaint from a woman who told authorities she was a prostitute.

That led to interviews with other hookers and information about the teenagers, who are now either in foster care or reunited with their families.

The eight accused sex traffickers face up to 25 years in prison, if convicted.

Thoren was arrested June 17 during a prostitution sting targeting Internet ads she and two other women placed online. Also arrested were Virgen Perez Velazquez, 39, and Bobbi Jo Rennicks, 32. Rennicks is a roommate of Thoren’s.

If convicted, Thoren would be barred from ever owning a day care facility in the future. All three have been released on bond to await future court dates.

1. Pimp sentenced for trafficking two teenage girls: Dwayne Lawson, 29, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison as part of a plea agreement for his part in prostituting two teenage girls. According to court papers, Lawson met a 17-year old girl on MySpace and after promising to make her a “star” began prostituting her in various cities and states. The second victim was forced to prostitute in “various counties and states” throughout 2008.
2. Pimp charged with trafficking 12-year old: Derwin Smith, 42, of Glen Burnie, Md., has been charged with the human sex trafficking of a 12-year-old girl from Washington, D.C. in New Jersey and Maryland.  Smith is currently being held on $3 million bond. The victim had been reported missing by her parents on May 25. Authorities believe the victim was already working as a prostitute when she met Smith and after meeting him he allegedly held her against her will and prostituted her at various locations while keeping all the money. (link)
3. Murdered prostitute kept list of dangerous ‘Johns’: Teri-Lyn Williams, 41, was a known Canadian street prostitute when she was found murdered along the side of the road in Surrey, B.C. by a passerby on June 9. Authorities say that Williams kept a list of dangerous ‘Johns’ and others that might mean to do her harm. Reportedly Williams had told her boyfriend that if anything happened to her, police should take a close look at the people on that list. (Link 1 – Link 2)
4. 5 arrested prostitutes claim business is bad: Five women arrested for prostitution in Fort Walton Beach, FL., tell police that “business” in the area has been down recently. The five women, ranging in age from 33-47, were all arrested in the same motel after placing ads in the news paper, Craigslist and other websites. Undercover police agents responded to the ads and placed the women under arrest. Charges range from misdemeanor to felony based on prior arrest records. (Link)
5. Sentence handed down for Sex-for-World-Series tickets: Susan Finkelstein, 44, of Philadelphia became worldwide news when she was arrested for allegedly offering to perform sex for a couple of World-Series tickets last year. The initial charge of prostitution was dismissed and replaced with attempting prostitution. Her sentence was recently announced and it appears she will emerge fairly unscathed (minus her reputation). Finkelstein was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. Judge Albert Cepparulo urged Finkelstein to speak to groups of women about the dangers of the Internet. (previous story 1, previous story 2)
6. Columbus ‘John’ says prostitute set him up to be robbed: A 54-year-old ‘John’ in Columbus, GA., reported to local police that a street prostitute set him up to be robbed by two men. According to police, the ‘John’ took a prostitute to the Georgian Motel on June 7. Once in the room the ‘John’ went into the bathroom and the prostitute let two men into the motel room. The men reportedly told the ‘John’ they would hurt him if he did not turn over his money and ATM card. The ‘John’ was not injured. (Moral of this story ~ Go looking for a hooker and you may get screwed in ways you never planned on.)
7. ‘Crossbow Cannibal’ a criminology student: Stephen Griffiths, 40, A doctoral student researching murder appeared in court recently on charges of killing three prostitutes in northern England. When asked to give his name, Griffiths said, “the crossbow cannibal.” His three victims ranged in age from 31 to 43. 36-year-old Suzanne Blamires’ body parts were found dumped in a river. British tabloids had latched onto and sensationalized the murders. Griffiths is being held without bond. (Link)
8. Mother of two scores arrest number 207 in Tennessee: Rhonda Heisler, 42, and mother of two has become a regular in the Portland, Tenn. area jails with over 200 arrests on crimes ranging from prostitution to public drunkenness, DUI, weapons, and theft. Heisler, listed as a transient, was arrested for her 207th time last Thursday after citizens called the police when it appeared she was driving drunk with her two daughter, ages 8 and 11, in her vehicle. Court records show Heisler has 155 arrests for prostitution alone. Her arrest history fills up more than 130 printed pages. (Link)
9. Police recover three women forced into prostitution in Maryland: Gabriel Dreke-Hernandez, aka “Echo,” 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland has been arrested and charged with first and second degree assault, kidnapping, various sex trafficking offenses and false imprisonment. The arrest happened after police received a tip that three women, ages 16 to 23, were being forcefully prostituted from the Garden Inn Hotel in Laurel. One victim, 19, told police she had been kidnapped from a party she was attending in April. Police say all three women were threatened with physical violence if they did not prostitute themselves and then give the money to Hernandez. Police believe the 19-year-old victim reached out to a friend after hearing of a similar police recovery of a 12-year-old in Laurel on Monday.
10. Cops seize over $600K from prostitute: Kim Wroblewski, 54, of Connecticut is accused of being in the business of prostitution, and according to police records she was pretty good at it too. Police bgan their investigation after receiving tips from neighbors that there was an endless parade of male visitors coming and going from Wroblewski’s residence, none staying more than an hour. When police searched Wroblewski’s two apartments they discovered meticulous records recounting her 15-years of prostitution, $31,000 in cash and  seized bank accounts holding more than $650,000. Wroblewski apparently told neighbors she worked nights as a nurse. In reality police claim she ran a prostitution business daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wroblewski has been charged with prostitution, second-degree promoting prostitution, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school.

Are prostitution business opportunities being missed in the Oklahoma City tourism industry? Or are sex workers so biz savvy already that they’re able to sidestep arrest?

A quick overview of the Oklahoma City Police Department’s arrest records for the last 12 months would suggest that prostitutes simply aren’t tapping into major conferences and trade shows.

The dates on which 213 johns, prostitutes, pimps and illicit massage services, escorts and dancers were most often arrested since June 2009 failed to overlap with Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau events in any significant manner.

That revelation began as a challenge from our editor, “Why can’t you guys find stories like this?” pointing out the headline, “Prostitutes flock to South Africa ahead of World Cup 2010.”

Well, yeah, why not?

After all, city leaders keep reminding us, we’re a big league city now, which means that we loves us all things sportish. If crime is being committed somewhere else in the world, it certainly could happen here as well.

So we started with a request to the city police department via the state’s Open Records Act for arrest data, just for grins and giggles. Officials were very prompt in response, which shouldn’t really surprise most of us remaining in the traditional (i.e. newspaper) news gathering industry around these parts – the Oklahoma City municipal government generally has very good management practices and open access to information.

To read the rest of the article, follow this link to the Journal Records website.