Tulsa World: Fighting the child sex trade

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Fighting the child sex trade
deck head, please New campaign aims to enlist churches

GLOBAL CRIME
Lynette Lewis: "I was absolutely shocked. I wanted to do something. Most people feel that this is an overseas issue," but the United States is now the No. 1 destination to traffic children.

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 1/24/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 1/24/2009 2:48 AM

Tulsa churches are being recruited for a national campaign to fight child sex trafficking.

Lynette Lewis, who lived in Tulsa for 25 years and was president of Leadership Tulsa, launched the campaign from her New York office, where she is a business consultant.

She met with leaders in Tulsa in November about the campaign, and will talk about it at 9:45 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Sanctuary Church, 8621 S. Memorial Drive.

Lewis said she first learned about child trafficking from a young woman in her church.

"I was absolutely shocked. I wanted to do something," she said in a phone interview this week.

"Most people feel that this is an overseas issue," she said, but the United States is now the No. 1 destination to traffic children.

It is hard to get exact numbers of children who are being held as sex slaves, but experts estimate about 200,000 in the United States are at risk, and 27 million worldwide, she said.

Getting involved

And Oklahoma is not exempt. A U.S. State Department video on the problem has an interview with a young, blond girl about 12 or 13 years old who was forced into prostitution at an Oklahoma truck stop.

"The more you learn about it, the more depressing it is," said Lewis, who is working on the campaign with her husband, Ron.

Together they are planning a national campaign to raise awareness about the issue.

That campaign will include Walk to Stop Child Trafficking Now! events Sept. 27 in 50 cities, including New York and Tulsa.

The next step of the campaign will be activation, getting average Americans involved.

Lewis believes the real solution will be the arrest and prosecution of people who buy and sell children.

"We're focusing on the demand side," she said.

Building a case

More than 100 organizations are involved in just rescuing girls, but for every one rescued, another will be sold into slavery to meet the demand, she said.

The Lewises' organization, Strategic Global Initiatives, plans to develop teams of private citizens, many of them former elite military, to investigate and build cases against traffickers, working with law enforcement agencies.

"Trafficking is a well-oiled machine, driven by people who are making millions of dollars. It requires elite knowledge to build a case that will result in convictions," she said.

Trafficking in children is the second most lucrative global crime, she said, next to drugs.

Special Agent Gary Johnson, spokesman for the Oklahoma Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the agency has charged several people with taking under-age girls across the state line for sexual activity.

"We take any type of human trafficking very seriously," he said. "We have individuals assigned across the state that are prepared to target any individuals or groups that are involved with child trafficking."

Johnson said he would characterize Oklahoma's trafficking problem as about average, compared to other states, but said it is still "a considerable concern of the FBI."

Time to wake up

Kristin Weis and her husband, Jason, have been selected to head the Tulsa arm of the campaign.

He is the off-campus director of Victory Bible Institute, part of Victory Christian Center.

Kristin Weis said the couple became aware of the trafficking problem while they were living in Colorado, and moved to Tulsa to get ministry training in order to combat it.

"We want to wake up the church (to the problem) because the church has fallen asleep," she said.

They plan to go to churches and schools in cities across America training people to start their own task forces against trafficking.

They are active in Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans, a coalition of state organizations fighting the problem.

She said child trafficking has escalated in recent years, in part because of the Internet, which makes child pornography accessible in the privacy of homes.

For more, go to tulsaworld.com/stopchildtrafficking.

Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer

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	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (1/24/2009 11:25:28 AM) Seriously...I am shocked to read that part connecting Oklahoma to this despicable crime. ... We certainly have our share of pedophiles in the Sooner state. The last thing we need is another negative national ranking, this time in this kind of industry. ... Sadly, this crime involves people within the religious community as well as outside it. Until we place more emphasis on caring for and protecting our children, well continue to see more child abuse.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, small town (1/24/2009 3:54:00 PM) I am glad to see some one step up to the plate and do something about this.i am proud of this lady.it has become bad in all big cities. they just busted a big operation in texas a couple weeks ago with under aged girls that was forced in to prostitution.bad thing is a lot have been taken to mexico.we will never see again.
	Report Comment 52favoriteteacher, Southwest Trojans Rock! (1/25/2009 11:57:56 AM) Getting involved GLOBAL CRIME Time to wake up Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans, a coalition of state organizations fighting the problem. Lynette Lewis: "I was absolutely shocked. I wanted to do something. Most people feel that this is an overseas issue," but the United States is now the No. 1 destination to traffic children. child sex trade is big time dollars cut off the johns by 1 strike and you do 30 years real men do not have to get an 11 year old to be satisfyed

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