ACTION AGAINST AMERICANS INVOLVED IN CHILD SEX EXPLOITATION

Published in ECPAT-USA news
(October 2000)

The US Customs Service is in charge of federal efforts to crack down on child pornography on the internet and child sex tourism. Thanks in particular to Congresspersons Nick Lamston (TX) and Nancy Johnson (CT), the agency has a new state of the art office in suburban Washington DC. In the last year, the office has won 12 convictions of child sex tourists and has made about 300 arrests for possession of child pornography.

Marvin Hersh, the first American convicted of traveling abroad to sexually abuse a child, was sentenced to 105 years in prison by a federal court in Florida in June. In 1999, Hersh, a former college professor, was convicted of 10 charges stemming from his sexual exploitation of a Honduran teenage boy.

Daniel Rounds, convicted in Honduras of sexually abusing two 12-year-olds, has been released from prison after servingthree and a half years of a six-year sentence. US authorities could now prosecute Rounds under US federal statutes.

Darryl D. Williams and Kathi A. Bliss of Richmond, California, face 160 felony counts for allegedly forcing dozens of girls and women into providing sex in exchange for room and board, cosmetics, clothes and condoms. Six of the girls exploited by Williams and Bliss were under 18.

New Yorker Michael Daniel Masse was jailed in Honduras, accused of kidnaping,a 12-year-old boy. Casa Alianza is supporting local authorities to try to charge the man with sexual abuse of the boy.

Eric Rosser, an American pianist performing in Thailand was arrested in February on charges of lewd behavior and possession of pornographic material. He jumped bail in April, however, and is believed to have fled Thailand. A Thai supreme court judge called the development “terrible” and urged reform of the judicial system to rule out bail for child abuse suspects. In March, Rosser was also indicted by a grand jury in Indianapolis on charges related to the sexual exploitation of girls in the US and Bangkok. US officials held off extraditing Rosser in the belief that he would first serve a prison term in Thailand.

In April, six men were convicted of operating a juvenile prostitution ring that prosecutors said stretched across nearly half of the US and a Canadian province. The members of the so-called Evans family were found guilty on 45 counts, including interstate prostitution, conspiracy and money laundering. They had recruited girls between the ages of 14 and 18.

Edwin O’Malley of Michigan was arrested in August in Costa Rica, charged with sexually abusing four boys between the ages of 8 and 12.

You can help. If you have information about Americans who travel abroad to have sex with children, email that information to [email protected] or phone them at 703/293-8005. If you have information regarding suspected situation of trafficking, domestic servitude or slavery in the US, contact the Department of Justice at 888/4287581. Calls can be made anonymously.