Sex Trafficking is a Lucrative Business for Some Government Officials

For many people living within the United States, especially here in Atlanta, Georgia, it can be an unwelcoming shock to learn that sex trafficking is incredibly prominent within our borders and our city. However, what is an even greater shock to many individuals is that there are many examples of government officials such as police and department heads that treat child sex trafficking as business investments, such as in the following example.

In a previous article written on InnocenceAtlanta.org entitled “5 More Sex Traffickers Off The Streets And Behind Bars” I explained how 5 Chinese nationals had been arrested, convicted and sentenced behind bars for an elaborate but incredibly common sex trafficking scheme in American Samoa. Chinese women were trafficked to American Samoa and upon arrival they were unpaid victims, denied access to their passports and return airline tickets and the opportunity to leave until they had paid off mounting debts.

A few days later on January 9th, 2008 a man by the name of Iona Uiagalelei – former Assistant Chief of the Department of Property Management for the American Samoan Government – was sentenced in Federal court in Hawaii for obstructing a federal sex trafficking investigation.

Uiagalelei was a business partner with Chinese national Fu Sheng Kuo, who, along with several other co-defendants, operated the sex trafficking scheme to recruit and import Chinese women and hold them in prostitution in nightclubs and brothels in American Samoa.

This former Assistant Chief of the Department of Property Management surely was managing his property well when he sponsored numerous Chinese nationals to enter and reside in American Samoa. The women would then be forced to engage in Kuo’s prostitution business.

Uiagelelei, who was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment and three years supervised leave, pleaded guilty to witness tampering. He had the gall to instruct the very victims whom he had aided in enslaving for profit (two Chinese women) to provide false and misleading testimony to a federal grand jury, the federal prosecutor and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.

Prosecutors say he instructed two co-defendants to not testify that they were prostitutes or that they had met with him or received instructions as to what they should say in their testimony before a grand jury investigating co-defendant Fu Sheng Kuo’s prostitution business in the territory.

Uiagalelei also instructed the women to say that I&L Uiagalelei Corporation, which only exclusively sponsored numerous Chinese nationals for Kuo’s prostitution enterprise, was involved in the prostitution business in the least. This is all according to the plea agreement. However, one must speculate as to whether or not this is all Uiagalelei had to do with the business seeing as how this plea agreement was the lighter out of the other five.

Iona Uiagalelei’s prominent position and subsequent involvement with the sex trafficking trade is unfortunately not a rare occurrence. The fact is that many young men/women, boys/girls in America and abroad who are trapped or forced into the sex trafficking trade are considered lucrative business investments by even the most high-ranking individuals.

Another not so uncommon aspect of this story is that Mr. Uiagalelei’s persuasions could have very easily worked. These young men and women are typically told that their families back home will be murdered or that their reputation will be ruined by rumors being spread about how they became United States prostitutes if they speak out or try to escape the clutches of the pimp.

In addition, many people wonder why victims of child sex trafficking do not contact the authorities. There are several factors to consider. Despite the half-starved and drugged state they are kept in as well as the constant threats on behalf of the pimps, many sex trafficking victims report that the police are part of the clientele – another problem that needs to be solved.

Written by: William Mac

See More From William Mac at This Week in Time

Original Story at Centre Daily