I captured his message as a screen shot, so I could warn others.

Notice how he references a non-profit organization UNICEF to make him seem like a good guy. The line that really creeps me out is “…I hope you will be good and faithful to me.” Is that really something a normal person would say when they are introducing themselves for the first time?? No – that is what a PIMP would say to his slave.

I mistakenly replied to the first creep telling him that I was married and not interested and that he should try e-Harmony.com.  In hindsight, responding to him was probably a mistake. I should not have engaged him. I’m probably on a list somewhere of easy targets for spammers. I should have immediately reported his message as SPAM to Facebook. I am also writing this blog post to alert others of this new scam.

What can you do to keep yourself safer from these potentially dangerous social media ploys?

• If you are parent reading this, PLEASE share this with your adolescent and teen children. Help them know what to watch out for. This is part of how sex traffickers recruit, entrap, then enslave and exploit their victims.
• If you are teenager reading this, PLEASE keep yourself safe and don’t engage with on-line predators. It’s not a game…it’s your life that is at stake.
• If you are a predator who is reading this, GO GET HELP. What you are engaging in is a federal crime. You are harming children just to satisfy your own carnal needs. You will be caught and prosecuted. If you are not aware, Federal US Law prohibits sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion (18 U.S.C. 1591 (2008)); as well as Coercison and Enticement (18 U.S.C. 2422(2008)) and Transportation of Minors (18 U.S.C. 2423 (2008)). Furthermore, child prostition is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• If you are a vicitm of sex trafficking or any form of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888  There is help out there for you. Get yourself to safety.

“Widespread sex trafficking in children?”, you may be saying to yourself. “Sure, it happens overseas in places like Thailand and Moldova, and while there may be some of it here there’s not that much of it in our country. In covering news for more than 60 years, I’d like to think that few stories shock me anymore. But this is one of them. We ran across it late last year and the more we dug, the more disturbing it became.” – Dan Rather

Click through to watch this video and read the full story from Dan Rather...

Portland, Oregon is without doubt one of the nation’s treasures. It has been voted one of the best places to live and work. But according to police, the city and its outlying communities has become a hub for the sexual exploitation of children. In a recent nationwide sting by Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, Portland ranked second in the country for the number of rescued child prostitutes. And according to Doug Justus, the workhorse sergeant in charge of Portland’s tiny Vice Detail, many of the children caught up in this are middle class kids from the area.

The girls, sometimes as young as 12, often 13-16, are lured by a “front man” in his mid-to-late teens. He becomes her “boyfriend,” taking her to dinner, buying her nice things, sometimes meeting her parents. The girl eventually moves in with him. Then he says they need money to continue being together. First, she’s enticed to sleep with his friends to pay the rent. Soon she’s turning tricks for what police say is an endless supply of older men willing to pay top money for sex with very young girls. Other times convincing the young adolescent girls to sell themselves happens very quickly.

EDUCATE YOURSELF on the issue

1. Read the full story from Dan Rather…
2. Read this blog to discover why prostitution is the world’s oldest oppression of women and girls.
3. Learn more about this problem by reading Victor Malarek’s book “The Johns: sex for sale and the men who buy it.“
4. Soroptimists are working to STOP human trafficking and enslavement of women and girls. Learn more about human trafficking by visiting the Soroptimist International of the Amercia’s web site. Soroptimists are working with other organizations to raise awareness of this important issue that is negatively impacting women and girls in local communities and around the world.
5. Connecticut residents are invited to attend a free public presentation on November 1, 2010 from 6-8pm at the Canton Library Community Center. Sponsored by Soroptimist International of Farmington Valley, guest speaker Shaleen Silva of the Paul & Lisa Program will share important information on sex trafficking of minors within Connecticut and what we can do as a community to keep our children safer. Reserve your seat to this event by emailing SIFV2004@gmail.com.

• Download the flyer: Do you Know about Sex Trafficking of Children in Connecticut