DEAR NY POST - RESPONSE TO DEA OWNED STRIP CLUB OWNERS ARRESTS

Ever since the news leaked out that series “8 Minutes” that aired briefly on A&E was “staged” - people have been wondering why.  Why would someone go to all that time, trouble, and money to not just film a series on this subject - and then not want the public to know it was “staged”?

When the “yep” guy sued to let us know that some of the storage unit auctions had been rigged - I got it.  The show needed some drama, and storage companies want to see people thinking they’re going to get rich at the auctions.  So I can understand why producers might have planted some stuff in those units to make their show more dramatic.   I mean why not call it a “re-enactment” even like some shows do? 

The series was filmed by Relativity Media.  The same company that had some scandal a few years ago over the same thing with the “Gigolo” series.  It was also labeled “reality” and presented to the public an image of what the life of male escorts was like falsely.  I know because I was the one leading the charge to Showtime, the FCC, and even the authorities to have this show either taken off the air - or at least more accurately labeled.  Because it was clearly NOT the “reality” of the sex industry anymore than the images that we saw on “8 Minutes” were the “reality” of the sex industry.

Because here is the “reality” of the sex industry in America today.  There’s nothing illegal about a strip club.  The DEA agents who owned it had no reason to lie about owning a strip club.  So if they were lying about owning such a club - then it was because they were hiding something.  Something like hiring illegal immigrant women?  I doubt it.  I  mean why take the risk of hiring illegals when there’s plenty of legal American women willing to come shake their booties in the club?

I think it’s clear that they hired these women because of something else going on in the clubs they wanted to hide.  So they hired illegals so they didn’t to have to worry about what went on in the club  being repeated outside of the club.  Shortly before these arrests went down we read about a party where DEA agents were entertaining Columbian drug dealers with strippers.  The Columbian police were asked to watch the DEA agents’ guns during the party.  I’d be willing to lay down a cash bet some of the women working in that club were illegals from Columbia.  You put an American woman in such a club - and she might feel it’s not such a safe place to work.  She might quit - and then run off her mouth about why.

So you get women inside of the club who can’t run because they're illegal.  They’ll see all kinds of things in the club without the owners worrying about them going anywhere, or repeating anything for this reason.   Now I ask you - do you think men like that want those type of women to know there is a group like Sex Workers Anonymous they can call for help that will get them SAFELY out of there? 

What’s the big deal?  They can call 100 groups to get out of there right?  I invite you to imagine the challenges of trying to help a woman get away from someone who has the power of the badge behind them.  Can that woman go to any local shelter?  Not when one phone call to a buddy in the police force, or jumping onto one of their computers, will let them know that a woman just showed up at the local shelter asking for admittance.  Some in uniform shows up and flashes a badge at the staff saying “I need to speak to her for a moment”.  Then she’s gone.  Staff asks “what happened to her?”  The response is “confidential - sorry”.  The wall of silence goes up and no one knows what happened to this woman after that.

What about the National Trafficking Hotline?  They absolutely could help her - so guess what?  Men like this have “friends” who belong to all the trafficking groups, the task forces, the community groups.   Take a look for example at Kevin Brown on “8 Minutes”.   He claims he retired from the Orange County police department two years ago and “found God”.  This led to him forming a church outreach to help trafficking victims.  Problem is that state records show he incorporated the church in 1994 - long before domestic sex trafficking even had federal recognition. 

The news articles that started in October of 2012 claim that Greg Reese, another retired cop now private investigator, and Kevin Brown, started knocking on motel room doors of prostitutes and offering them the National Trafficking Hotline number to call for help.  Polaris would then refer callers from there to the Orange County Task Force.  The OC Task Force who is led by the Anaheim Police Department.  Who would then refer the call back to someone like Kevin Brown and Greg Reese. 

Only let me ask you a hypothetical question - what if you're needing help to get away from people like Kevin Brown and Greg Reese?  Then what?  Crazy question huh?  So let me ask you something - why weren’t Kevin Brown and Gary Reese handing out phone numbers to victims of two groups who are set up to handle victims of trafficking, as well as those who just want to get out of Dodge for any reason, to either/or Sex Workers Anonymous or Children of the Night? 

What’s the difference between the groups on the task force and SWA or CON?  Unlike every agency that’s listed on the Orange County Task Force “partners” page - SWA and CON are set up in structure for the very real fact that most victims of trafficking, as well as anyone involved in sex work that might want help to quit, are either being actively trafficked by men within our own government in some form, whether that’s the DEA, FBI, police, judges, politicians, etc. or certainly on the payroll to assist the traffickers. 

We saw that clearly with the Chris Butler case that came to light in 2012.  Chris had also retired from the police after 20 years to then open some massage parlors also in California.  He then obtained drugs and protection from active duty, even awarded, police, who would get them from the evidence rooms and then resell the drugs, among other things like guns to the “johns”.   Something that’s also happening right now in Orange County - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388819/-Judge-disqualifies-all-250-prosecutors-in-Orange-County-CA-because-of-widespread-corruptionhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388819/-Judge-disqualifies-all-250-prosecutors-in-Orange-County-CA-because-of-widespread-corruption

This is the reason why you won’t find listings on many of these TV shows, or “task force" pages for Children of the Night, nor Sex Workers Anonymous.  One of the reasons why we formed in the first place was because we were finding that most of those people, male and female, who were being forced to work in the sex industry, were having to deal with people in our legal and political system preventing them from being able to leave.

Lois was finding the kids weren’t able to go to “regular" shelters for that reason - as well as I had the same problem myself when I tried to escape this ring of corruption when I was trying to leave.  People who were worried I might “turn” on them, or release their name to the press- got nervous about what I might say if I were to leave - and I wasn't “safe” at a “regular" program or shelter either. 

So when I founded our group, and the movement itself to have domestic trafficking recognized as “real” - I did so stating we needed to decriminalize prostitution.  Why?  Because the very people trafficking us are the very people arresting us - now who do you think is going to be arrested if this is the case?

The competition.

This is nothing new.  This is exactly what I was speaking http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388819/-Judge-disqualifies-all-250-prosecutors-in-Orange-County-CA-because-of-widespread-corruptionup about in 1987 when I first went onto a talk show stage.   The difference between then and now is the audience used to “boo" at me and say I was “crazy” for saying http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388819/-Judge-disqualifies-all-250-prosecutors-in-Orange-County-CA-because-of-widespread-corruption this was even real.  However, now we have proven it’s real, and now I have a program that can get people safely out from under situations  like this - now I have talk show producers and reporters telling me if they write about us  they’ll get fired.  Then shows like “8 MInutes" come on that appear to the public to be showing there is a way out for these victims.  When the reality is to them they're being told there is no escape.

Only there is.  If you’re under 18 and need help - you can get into any cab and call the hotline at www.childrenofthenight.org   They’ll arrange for your transportation there.  If you’re over 18 years of age - you can reach out to us at www.sexworkersanonymous.com

Jody Williams

(702) 468-4529