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The mission of the Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking is to eradicate human trafficking in Bucks County through victim identification, community education, enhancement of arrests and prosecution of traffickers, legislative advocacy and a coordinated response of survivor services. |
Meet a BCAT Member Corner
- Julie Dugery
Angus the English bulldog is a patient companion, which is a good thing, because his human, Julie Dugery, has a lot of balls in the air, and she isn't always tossing them to him. Julie is NOVA's coordinator of volunteers, community outreach and public affairs. As volunteer coordinator, she recruits volunteers who serve on the NOVA hotline as well as other agency work, such as staffing the thrift shop, helping with administrative projects and special events. "My role there is to support our volunteers in the wonderful work they do for NOVA," she said.
Community outreach for Julie means overseeing NOVA's presence in the community via events such as the annual Senior Expo's, the Peace Fair, presentations to community groups and clubs, and at volunteer recruitment events.
Her other significant responsibility is serving as NOVA's liaison in the legislative arena by maintaining contact with the Bucks County legislative delegation and assisting in advocating NOVA's positions on crime victim issues. Julie travels often to Harrisburg for advocacy events such as the Safe Harbor Awareness day in October and April's Crime Victims Rally and to meet with legislators and committee staff on relevant issues.
Julie is heartened to see the hard work of BCAT, MCAT, VAST, the Pennsylvania Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy Work Group and partners like PCAR and Villanova's Center for the Study of Commercial Sexual Exploitation manifesting into legislation in the state capitol in the last few years, such as Act 105, Pennsylvania's comprehensive anti-human trafficking bill. During the 2015-16 session, stakeholders also advocated for Senate Bill 851, "Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth", which hasn't yet been passed but is expected to be reintroduced in 2017 under the leadership of state senators Stewart Greenleaf (R-12th) and Daylin Leach (D-17th).
"My function in supporting BCAT is to keep an eye on public policy issues relating to human trafficking and to collaborate with other advocacy and stakeholder groups," she said. "BCAT members are constituents, and it can make a difference for our elected officials to hear from BCAT members about how important it is to pass the Safe Harbor legislation once it's reintroduced next session. BCAT, along with coalitions across the state will be very instrumental in advocating for its passage."
Julie asks that BCAT members watch for the Calls for Action emails that go out in the coming year, as well as the BCAT Facebook page and newsletter, for a heads-up when it's time to call our respective legislators to help encourage passage of important bills. Julie also welcomes interested members to attend the upcoming subcommittee meeting on December 6th. And she's waiting for calls from us on any issue in which she can be of help. "I hope anyone who needs more information on any legislative topic will reach out to me at any time," she said. Angus approves.
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Pearl S. Buck Festival of Trees
It's that time of year again for the annual Festival of Trees. Each room in the historic Pearl Buck farm house features a tree that is decorated by local artisans, businesses and nonprofits who share their artistic expression of holiday joy. BCAT is participating in this unique event and will have its' own tree on display. Below are the dates. Open to the public. Come enjoy a beautiful holiday experience!
https://www.pearlsbuck.org/festival
November 8-December 31
$16 Adults, $13 Seniors, $8 Students
Monday-Saturday 11 am, 12 noon, 1, 2, & 3 pm
Sunday 12 noon, 1, 2, & 3 pm
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FBI Operaton Leads to 239 Trafficking Arrests, 44 in Philly/NJ
More than 200 people involved in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and their associates were arrested last month in an U.S.-wide, FBI-led operation to fight underage human trafficking. "Operation Cross Country X" netted arrests of 239 people, and police rescued 82 children, who are being aided by state child-welfare agencies and victim advocacy organizations. The Philadelphia branch of the FBI announced the arrests of 15 pimps and associates, thanks to the assistance of the Philadelphia police, suburban police departments and the state police. While this is the 10th year for Operation Cross Country, it marks the first year the sting also involved cooperation with other countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Canada.
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Canada Arrests 32 in Trafficking Sting
Canadian police announced October 18 the arrests of 32 people charged with 78 offenses in a coordinated investigation across Canada. More than 390 Canadian officers, with the assistance of the U.S. FBI, were in contact with people suspected of working in the sex trade-many of them against their will. The sting, titled "Operation Northern Spotlight," arrested 25 of the people in Ontario alone. Those arrested were charged with trafficking in persons under 18, "procuring sexual services from those under 18"*, exercising control, and making and distributing child pornography. Sixteen people were freed by police, including many under 16.
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More Trouble for Backpage!! Backpage CEO Arrested
Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer, 55, was arrested October 6 in Houston and charged with pimping a minor, pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. Two major shareholders of the website, James Larkin and Michael Lacey, were also charged with conspiracy to commit pimping. Ferrer was arrested as he was returning on a flight from Amsterdam, where the company that owns Backpage is headquartered.
Backpage enables users to post classified ads, but is perhaps best known for allowing "escort" ads. Other websites that prominently feature classified ads, such as Craigslist, have already banned escort ads. According to npr.org, the California Department of Justice spent three years investigating Backpage. California's attorney general, Kamala Harris, said Backpage was "purposefully and unlawfully designed" as an online brothel.
Credit for the impetus of the investigation goes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has chronicled thousands of cases of child sex trafficking on Backpage, npr.org said.
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ICE Charges 17 With Trafficking in Minnesota
Also in October, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations unit secured a federal indictment charging 17 members of an international sex trafficking organization with transporting hundreds of female sex slaves from Thailand and trafficking them throughout the U.S. Twelve people from Thailand and five U.S. citizens were charged. According to the indictment, since at least 2009 the criminal organization involved has trafficked at least hundreds of women, which the organization calls "flowers," from Bangkok, Thailand, to various cities in the U.S., including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington (D.C.), Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, and Austin, among others.
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"Like" BCAT's Facebook Page!
If you use Facebook, please "like" the BCAT Facebook page and take us over the mark of 400 likes! Your online recognition spreads the word about BCAT and educates the public! Thank you! https://www.facebook.com/bcatpa/
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Would you like to be part of the BCAT Outreach Sub-Committee?
The BCAT Outreach-Sub Committee wants your involvement! The Outreach Committee works to spread awareness to the community and provides tools to prevent and address human trafficking in Bucks County. We are planning events for Human Trafficking Awareness Day (January 11, 2017) as well as events during the month of January. The committee meets monthly on the fourth Monday of the month at 5:30 PM, NOVA office in Jamison PA. Contact Deirdre Blackburn at deirdre@novabucks.org for more information.
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Don't miss the first BCAT meeting of 2017!
A special thanks goes to representatives from Valley Against Sex Trafficking (VAST) and the Montgomery County Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition (MCAT), who presented at BCAT's October 14 meeting. MCAT's Obed Almeyda and VAST's Christi Dominguez discussed their coalitions' respective initiatives, plans for future awareness raising efforts and all three coalitions discussed cross county collaborations.
Please mark your calendar for the first BCAT meeting of 2017. January 11 is the next meeting and also marks Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Stay tuned for a special announcement concerning this date!
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