Latest news with #sexualexploitation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Cedar City man arrested for allegedly sending sexual photos to officer posing as 12-year-old
CEDAR CITY, Utah () — A Cedar City man was arrested after allegedly sending inappropriate photos to an undercover officer posing as a 12-year-old girl. Joshua Henry Quist, 27, is facing two charges of criminal solicitation-sexual exploitation of a minor and two charges of distributing materials harmful to a minor. According to arrest documents, a Cedar City officer was performing undercover operations on a website named ChatIB as a 12-year-old female. On May 27, 2025, a male with the screen name 'Cedar City' contacted his undercover account. Kanab sex offender arrested on 50 felonies for sexual exploitation of a minor The account description said that 'Cedar City' was a 27-year-old male in Utah. During a conversation with the undercover officer, documents say he was 'made aware and acknowledged' that he was speaking with a 12-year-old girl. At this point, he exchanged phone numbers with the officer, whom he believed was the minor. Police were able to verify Quist's identity through his phone number and a photo he shared of his face. According to police, during text conversations, the officer sent a fake photo of a 12-year-old (that was in reality a female Cedar City officer with an age filter) to Quist. In response, he shared a picture of his face and an inappropriate sexual photo of himself. Utah judge's sentence for child pornography offender sparks controversy, the court's response At this point, Quist asked for sexual photos of the 12-year-old girl, and the undercover officer declined. The next day, he would send another sexual picture of himself in a text and ask for pictures again, according to documents. On May 29, the Cedar City Police Department arrested Quist. According to documents, he admitted that he was chatting with who he believed to be a 12-year-old and that he had shared inappropriate pictures. He also confessed to the officer that he had 'done this previously 10 times to other minors.' Quist was booked into the Iron County Jail on May 29 and is currently being held without bail. South Jordan man apprehended after fleeing from traffic stop, shelter in place order lifted Cedar City man arrested for allegedly sending sexual photos to officer posing as 12-year-old Charges filed against Utah man who allegedly messaged missing 15-year-old before her disappearance Weber County School District considering tax increase Hill Air Force Base's Mazer Chapel reopens after 2 years of renovations Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Indigenous girls targeted in human trafficking scheme: police
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service crest is pictured on the Tsuut'ina Nation near Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, June 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Ten individuals are facing charges because of an undercover operation targeting human trafficking on the Tsuut'ina Nation, police said Friday. The Nation's police service says Project Buffalo was an operation investigating the sexual exploitation of underage Indigenous girls. Police discovered in May that several individuals had arranged meetings to obtain sexual services from minors. Thirty-one charges were laid, ranging from child luring, obtaining sexual services from a minor and invitation to sexual touching from a minor. Officials said the accused are not members of the Tsuut'ina Nation. 'This investigation highlights the importance of proactive policing initiatives and collaboration with survivor-informed organizations to combat human trafficking and protect vulnerable members of our community,' said Tsuut'ina Nation Police Chief Keith Blake in a release. 'We remain committed to disrupting the demand for sexual services and safeguarding our Nation.' Police say efforts like Project Buffalo are essential because of the overrepresentation of Indigenous people as victims of human trafficking. If you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please reach out to the following organization for support:
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Bling-loving ‘king of porn' Alex Marin, 37, ARRESTED for ‘forcing underage girlfriend into making explicit videos'
THE self-proclaimed "King of Porn" has been arrested for allegedly forcing his underage girlfriend into making sex tapes. Alex Marin, 37, who flaunts his luxury lifestyle and glam girlfriends online, was cuffed in the Mexican city of Jalisco this week. 5 5 5 The authorities claim the porn baron, pushing 40, lured a 16-year-old girl into a relationship with him and coerced her into making explicit videos. Marin, real name Alejandro Marn Ramrez, was arrested by cops from the city's state prosecutor on Wednesday and remains in custody. Officials say he will be charged with human trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor. The governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, said the case was being taken incredibly seriously. He said: "The detainee, identified as Alejandro N., is now at the disposal of the judge to face the charges against him. "In Jalisco, we take the protection of women and minors very seriously." Creepy-looking Marin is notorious in Mexico as the self-styled "King of Porn". He would post daily nauseating pics of himself cosying up with women in skimpy outfits. The sex-mad influencer often boasted of having seven girlfriends - one for each day of the week. He regularly featured in his home-made porn vids alongside the women. Twisted revenge porn gangs are trading nude snaps of women as young as 16 & catfishing victims to order for perv's 'hit lists' in YOUR area Marin acted and directed in his own productions, which he usually shared through his company Solobellezas - meaning "only beauties". Shortly before his arrest he had posted pics from a party in Toluca, central Mexico, bragging about a new event. The age of sexual consent in Jalisco is 16 - but Mexican federal law defines it as 18. This is observed particularly when exploitation or abuse of power is involved. 5 5 That means any sexual activity involving an under-18 when these are at play can still result in prosecution. If convicted, Marin could face between 10 and 25 years in jail. Marin first hit headlines when, in his mid-twenties, he married a 17-year-old, Mia. The pair were wedded for 12 years before announcing their split in February 2024. He started off as a systems engineer but claims to have since grown his business into a global empire spanning Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Italy. Marin was previously caught on camera brawling with a man on the street - as his girlfriend clung to him and begged him to stop.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Former N.S. teacher charged with historical sexual assaults
Social Sharing A former teacher at an exclusive private school in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley is facing allegations of sex offences against a youth more than two decades ago. Roderick Alexander MacDonald, 48, has been charged with sexual exploitation, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault. He was a teacher at King's-Edgehill School in Windsor, N.S., at the time of the alleged offences. MacDonald is now living in British Columbia. In a news release issued Thursday, Nova Scotia RCMP said they were first contacted in November of last year. The alleged offences occurred on and off the King's-Edgehill campus between 2000 and 2002. In January of this year, MacDonald was served a summons in British Columbia to attend court in Nova Scotia. He is scheduled to appear in Nova Scotia provincial court in Windsor next month. RCMP said there is no information to suggest there are additional victims.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Sexual exploitation and domestic violence soared after Lahaina wildfire, report finds
Sexual exploitation and domestic violence soared after the catastrophic Lahaina wildfire in 2023, with pre-existing gender inequalities exposed and exacerbated by the post-disaster response, new research has found. In the weeks and months after the deadliest American fire in a century, one in six female fire survivors surveyed felt forced to engage in sexual acts in exchange for basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing. Immigrant women and other limited English speakers felt particularly isolated and unsafe in emergency shelters, with some sleeping with their children in vehicles – or engaging in 'survival sex' for a safer place to stay, according to the new report by Tagnawa, a Filipino feminist disaster response organization in Hawaii, shared exclusively with the Guardian. Filipinos constitute the largest immigrant community in Hawaii, accounting for around 40% of the Lahaina population before the fire – the majority women. Researchers conducted in-depth surveys with 70 Filipino women survivors. At least 102 people died and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed on 8 August 2023 after 50 miles per hour winds supercharged a fire that ripped through the historic town of Lahaina in West Maui, leaving thousands without shelter and access to adequate health and other basic services. The housing crisis was made worse by the political decision to reopen West Maui to tourists just two months after the devastating fire – despite widespread opposition from traumatized survivors and community advocates. Reopening the tourism industry compounded a sense of powerlessness among survivors, and may have exacerbated male rage and fueled forms of domestic violence such as coercive control, the research found. Amid the ruins that saw extended families separated and stuck in hotels for months, some displaced fire survivors reported feeling increasingly trapped in violent relationships with no safe place to go. Others remained silent due to financial dependence on the abusive partner or relative – which at times was exacerbated by the way disaster aid was organized around a male head of the household. In the first two months after the fire, calls to a 24/7 crisis hotline run by Women Helping Women (WHW), Maui's main domestic violence service, more than doubled. Reports of sexual assault and substance misuse also surged. 'Some men are trying to control anything they can control because so little is out of their control, especially with the current rebuilding of Lahaina. Anything they can control their money, kids, partner that's heightened. Tourism added another layer of things out of our control,' Jordan Ruidas, a community organiser from Lahaina Strong, told researchers. More than 18 months after the fire, anecdotal reports from key experts suggest intimate and intra-familial violence among survivors remains high. Equality in Flames is a first-of-its-kind research exploring how the 8 August 2023 devastating fire compounded existing gender – and racial – inequalities in West Maui. The report is based on state and county health and crime data, the in-depth surveys Filipino women survivors, and accounts from local experts in mental and reproductive health, gender based violence, criminal justice and community organizing. Overall, the findings suggest that the Lahaina fire – and the response to it – increased the number of people at-risk of sex-trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation by exacerbating known risk factors including domestic violence, substance abuse disorders, financial precarity and unstable living situations. The report adds to a small but growing body of feminist research exploring the unequal impact of climate and environmental disasters in the US – especially on Indigenous, immigrant and working class women and children. The post-disaster response in Lahaina was largely coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and the American Red Cross. According to the report, Fema and the Red Cross failed to adequately adapt their practices to local conditions or approach fire survivors through a culturally sensitive lens, in part because they rolled out a 'one-size-fits all' recovery package without adequately consulting local experts. Fema and the Red Cross did not provide adequate opportunities for victims to report sexual and domestic violence, and may have unintentionally exacerbated gender-based violence especially among displaced people of color, immigrants, and non-English proficient survivors, the report found. 'The fact that in the richest country in the world women had to resort to any means necessary to meet basic human needs and survive a fire, is absolutely a critique of the entire American system – and the problem with having that system forced onto Hawaii,' said co-author Khara Jabola-Carolus, a Filipino community organizer and the former executive director of the State of Hawaii's commission for women. 'Fires spark the harmful side of masculinity that other environmental disasters just don't do, yet gender remains the elephant in the room,' added Jabola-Carolus. Environmental disasters – wildfires, earthquakes, floods, drought and hurricanes – always impact men and women unequally. In general, women die at higher rates during water-related disasters like floods – mostly because globally girls are less likely to be taught to swim, whereas men are more likely to die in fires. In Lahaina, some female survivors said that male partners and relatives chose to act 'macho' and stayed behind to protect the home, contributing to the disproportionate male fatalities. Incidents of domestic violence (felony abuse with injury of a family member) increased in both 2023 and 2024, according to Maui police department data. Requests for temporary restraining orders also rose after the fire, judiciary personnel reported. Yet in some cases, calls to the police by domestic violence victims actually increased their vulnerability, as unscrupulous landlords sought to evict the entire family to avert unwanted attention on their housing unit. As of 20 April 2025 only 10 homes in Lahaina have been rebuilt, and the majority of survivors remain displaced in temporary accommodation or else have left the island. In one grim but positive outcome, several cases of child sexual abuse were uncovered as a result of the fire disrupting normal routines – some of which may have gone hidden otherwise, according to judiciary personnel. Yet overall, official figures show reports of sexual and domestic violence to health professionals and law enforcement fell in the aftermath of the fire. This could be down to what's known as post-disaster silence, according to experts, with victims fearful of speaking out due to their financial dependency on perpetrators, the diversion of law enforcement into disaster efforts and the failure to provide safe, culturally appropriate ways for victims to report gender based violence in shelters and other aid hubs. The lack of safe spaces was particularly marked for immigrant women in Lahaina. One in five female Filipino survivors said they have felt unsafe in places where they sought shelter since the fires, while 56% have experienced an increase in conflict at home. A staggering 16% engaged in 'survival sex' – kissing, hugging, touching and intercourse with a landlord, an employer, family members, friends and acquaintances. The most common reasons included obtaining enough food (86%), clothes (71%), long-term housing (48%) and temporary shelter (43%). The high concentration of Filipino women in Lahaina can be traced back to the sugar plantation oligarchies which for decades controlled labor migration – as well as access to land and water. The report calls for the urgent nuts-and-bolt reform of emergency management in the US, putting gender at the heart of future disaster planning and response that is in line with international best practice. Amid worsening wildfires and other climate-related disasters, its recommendations could serve as a blueprint especially in places with large immigrant populations, according to co-author Jabola-Carolus. 'Everyone knows that violence against women and children should be considered a primary concern during wildfires and other disasters, not a secondary issue to be addressed after the provision of basic needs. There are plenty of inexpensive fixes, and far less wealthy countries all over the world that really put the Unites States to shame.' In a statement, the department of homeland security assistant secretary blamed Joe Biden, claiming without any evidence that the former president used Fema as a 'piggy bank, spending hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars to housing illegal aliens'. Hawaii governor's office declined to comment. Red Cross did not respond.
