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Milwaukee County judges: ‘We have to do something’ about child sex-trafficking

By: Eric Heisig//August 7, 2014//

Milwaukee County judges: ‘We have to do something’ about child sex-trafficking

By: Eric Heisig//August 7, 2014//

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A Milwaukee committee working to address the needs of sex-trafficking victims in the juvenile system is starting to attract the attention of judges who decide the cases that will determine the victims’ fates.

The informal committee has been meeting monthly since January 2013 at Milwaukee County Children’s Court in Wauwatosa. The number of prosecutors, public defenders and treatment providers that show up at each meeting varies, but usually hovers around 15.

The thrust of the group is to discuss a recent influx of cases stemming from child sex trafficking in Milwaukee. Often, those involved say, the trauma of a child who is sent out to prostitute his or herself can lead to criminal behavior, and it is important to address the underlying problem through counseling or treatment.

“Everybody’s sort of figuring out that the worst thing we can do is put these kids in detention, because we’re basically locking up victims,” committee member and Assistant Public Defender Diane Rondini-Harness said.

So far, she said, the group’s meetings have led to a better understanding of the victims’ plights. The committee has yet to make any policy recommendations for Milwaukee’s courts.

But children’s court judges are starting to take notice. Children’s Court Judge Mike Dwyer said he wants to participate, as does Judge Rebecca Bradley.

“The problems have sort of escalated to the point where we have to do something,” Dwyer said. “I’m sort of hopeful that this crisis will help us energize.”

In Milwaukee, 77 juveniles were identified as sex-trafficking victims between August 2010 and August 2012, according to a report by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, in consultation with Rethink Resources. The majority of those juveniles were African-American girls who lived on the north side of Milwaukee, and many had a history of running away from home.

And the cases continue to pop up. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Paul “Pimpin’ Paul” Carter and David “King David” Moore for their alleged parts in child and adult sex trafficking between 2007 and 2013 in Milwaukee.

“These adults and juveniles may be committing crimes, but they are doing so at the behest of these traffickers,” said Ian Henderson, director of legal and systems services at Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault Inc. “They are coerced. They may be caught up … and now have criminal records and be part of the juvenile justice system.”

Claudine O’Leary, a committee member who runs Rethink Resources in Milwaukee, said the committee formed as a result of judges, attorneys and caregivers seeing more victims show up in court for delinquency or child protection proceedings.

There are other groups working to address sex trafficking, as well. The Wisconsin Anti-Human Trafficking Consortium, run by the state’s now-defunct Office of Justice Assistance, was formed to examine the issue, as was the Human Trafficking Task Force of Greater Milwaukee. But that committee, from many accounts, is tightly focused on what can be done once the children enter the court’s system.

authorities raid a hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. When FBI agents and police officers fanned out across the country last month in a weeklong effort to rescue child sex trafficking victims, they pulled kids as young as 11 from dingy motel rooms, truck stops and homes. (AP Photo/FBI)
Authorities raid a hotel in Jackson, Miss., in June in search of child sex traffickers. When FBI agents and police officers fanned out across the country in June in a weeklong effort to rescue trafficking victims, they pulled kids as young as 11 from dingy motel rooms, truck stops and homes. (AP Photo/FBI)

“We see it probably now more than ever,” Children’s Court Presiding Judge Mary Triggiano said, “how [trafficking] affects our child welfare and delinquency.”

O’Leary said ideas, such as creating a specific girls court are being discussed, but there are no firm plans for changes.

Rondini-Harness said she hopes the group will, at some point, make larger recommendations.

The committee’s work has led to new programs for Milwaukee County, O’Leary said. For example, a program called Proactive Outreach for the Health of Sexually Exploited Youth, paid for by a Medical College of Wisconsin endowment, is aimed at better identifying trafficking victims and addressing their medical and mental health needs. The DA’s office is a community partner in the group, and former Assistant District Attorney Katharine Kucharski, now a court commissioner, helped obtain $158,276 to pay for the project for two years, O’Leary said.

A growing problem

Sex-trafficking is presenting new challenges for the courts, such as more girls in the system. Committee member Stephen Gilbertson, a psychologist and program coordinator at the county-run children’s treatment provider Wraparound Milwaukee, said trafficking, as well as an increase of women being incarcerated as a result of the national War on Drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing laws, resulted in a spike in girl defendants in the past couple of decades.

The committee’s discussions have focused in part on how to deal with girls in the system, since their treatment needs often differ from their male counterparts, he said.

“Judges are frustrated that there aren’t enough or there aren’t the right resources for girls,” Gilbertson said.

Dwyer agreed, saying many of the cornerstone programs in the juvenile justice system are geared toward treating boys.

“With sex trafficking,” he said, “there are a whole different set of relationships going on there that are unusual.”

The committee’s discussions also come at a time when the city and state are taking notice of the problem in Wisconsin. In April, Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 362, which allows a victim of sex trafficking who was convicted of prostitution to have that charge expunged from their record.

But O’Leary said victims in Wisconsin — unlike other problem areas such as Oakland, Calif., or New York — don’t see a lot of prostitution charges. Instead, it’s typically charges such as theft or obstruction.

She said a lot of police and prosecutors here “understand that it’s a mistaken impression to be charging a minor with sexual assaults” if they are not legally old enough to consent to sex.

But the committee believes more needs to be done. That’s why, Rondini-Harness said, for now the group members hope to leave each meeting with a better understanding of the victims’ needs.

“The more knowledge we all share with each other,” she said, “the better it is for the clients.”

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