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Authorities say the Super Bowl each year is a magnet for prostitution — often through human trafficking. According to Forbes, 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami for the Super Bowl in 2010 and 133 underage arrests for prostitution were made in Dallas during the 2011 Super Bowl.
New Jersey is particularly at risk during Super Bowl 2014 at MetLife Stadium because of its dense population, huge proportion of immigrants and proximity to both New York City and the transportation hubs in Newark, law enforcement authorities say.
Last month, Gov. Christie signed into law a measure that tightens New Jersey’s human trafficking laws.
It boosts penalties for those who fail to verify that advertisers on their websites aren’t minors, while establishing “john schools” to educate patrons of prostitutes about the industry’s exploitation of women and minors.
The law also allows judges to acquit those convicted of related offenses when it’s show that traffickers forced them courts to commit the crimes.
It applies not just to prostitution but also to other forms of forced labor.
The law also created the commission, which is evaluating human trafficking laws and their enforcement in order to make recommendations for changes or enhancements.
Tomorrow’s symposium kicks off a series of events “to highlight what New Jersey is doing to combat human trafficking” and to publicize services available to victims and survivors, Acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman said.
Among the planned attendees:
First Assistant Attorney General Thomas R. Calcagni
Division of Criminal Justice Director Elie Honig
Juvenile Justice Commission Executive Director Kevin Brown
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Michael Halfacre
Department of Children and Families Commissioner Allison Blake
Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness Director Edward Dickson
Atlantic County Acting Prosecutor James P. McClain
Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk
Essex County Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray
Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey
Morris County Acting Prosecutor Frederic M. Knapp
Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan
There will also be representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, New Jersey State Police, Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness, and other state, federal & county law enforcement agencies
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center in West Trenton.
PHOTO: Courtesy The Bells of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
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