Operation Stormy Nights
| Operation Stormy Nights | |
|---|---|
| Part of "Innocence Lost" | |
| Operation Name | Operation Stormy Nights |
| part of | "Innocence Lost" |
| Type | Anti-Human-Trafficking sting operation |
| Scope | domestic |
| Roster | |
| Executed by | U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Mission | |
| Target | Human traffickers |
| Timeline | |
| Date executed | 2004 |
| Results | |
| Arrests | 12 |
| Miscellaneous Results | the release of 23 female child (12-17yr) prostitutes |
| Accounting | |
Operation Stormy Nights was an early major anti-human-trafficking operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[1] Operations took place in Oklahoma and brought to light organized crime networks trafficking female minors along United States Numbered Highways, where the girls were forced into prostitution to service truck drivers.[2]
Onset
The operation was undertaken in 2004 and resulted in the release of 23 girls from child prostitution.[3] Twelve pimps were arrested.[4] Most of these traffickers' victims were between 12 and 17 years of age.[5] Lieutenant Alan Prince said that operations like Stormy Nights "are difficult because the girls are always on the move... and when you find them, it's hard to talk to them."[6] This sting operation was headed by FBI agent Mike Beaver, who was working as an undercover agent.[7]
Sex trafficking
One of the human trafficking victims rescued in Stormy Nights was a girl named Angie.[1] Beaver called Angie "a normal, typical American teenager."[7] Angie, from Wichita, Kansas, was being forced into prostitution with another girl, Melissa, in the Midwestern United States.[8] They were both teenagers at the time.[9]
Short film
Angie was later interviewed in the documentary film Not My Life, in which Angie explains how she and Melissa were expected to engage in sexual intercourse with truck drivers at a truck stop and steal their money. Angie said that, while looking through one of these drivers' wallets, she found pictures of the man's grandchildren and realized that he was old enough to be her and Melissa's grandfather. She recounts this story disgustedly and almost crying, and says, "I wanted to die."[9] Beaver also appears in the film, saying, "It's not just truck drivers. We're seeing them purchased and abused by both white collar and blue collar individuals."[8] Robert Bilheimer, the film's director, said that Angie did not fit the stereotype for a girl at risk of being sexually trafficked: she was from the Heartland, attended a private school and, when her parents divorced, she began acting out as a way of seeking attention. A man abducted her when she was 12 years old, violated the Mann Act by transporting her to another state, and began trafficking her sexually.[7] While being trafficked, Angie was expected to engage in 40 sex acts every night, charging $20 for oral sex, $40 for vaginal sex, and $80 for both.[1] Her trafficker threatened to kill her if she refused to perform these acts.[7] Bilheimer said that the truck drivers Angie was expected to service either did not know or did not want to know what would happen to her if she did not give all of the money she earned to her pimp.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rhodes, p. 7.
- ↑ Louise Shelley (2010). Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-1139489775.
- ↑ "Human Trafficking in Oklahoma". Harrah Police Department. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ↑ Morgan Beard (December 9, 2011). "Human sex trafficking state issue". Oklahoma City Community College Pioneer. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ↑ Alex Tresniowski (May 1, 2006). "Nightmare at the Truck Stop". People. 65 (17). Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Sex trafficking charges filed". The Topeka Capital-Journal. January 22, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 John Dankosky (April 17, 2013). Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery. Connecticut Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rhodes, p. 8.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cindy Von Quednow (September 21, 2009). "Lucy Liu and Others Advocate Against Trafficking Sex, Domestic Workers". Kansas City infoZine. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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Bibliography
- Nancy Keefe Rhodes (2012). "Not My Life: Filmmaker Robert Bilheimer's Latest Meditation on Good and Evil" (PDF). Stone Canoe. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2013.