Tag Archives: sex trafficking

Gaetz’s Imprisoned Sex Trafficker Buddy Has Flipped

The New York Times reports: A lawyer for the chief witness against Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, said on Friday that the witness was cooperating with a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with an underage girl while he was serving in Congress. Fritz Scheller, a lawyer for Mr. Gaetz’s former friend and political ally …

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House Ethics Panel Reached Out To Gaetz’s Ex-Girlfriend

CNN reports: The House Ethics Committee investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz has reached out to an ex-girlfriend who was a key witness in the federal investigation into the Florida lawmaker, according to a source familiar with the ethics probe. The outreach, which has not previously been reported, is a sign that the GOP-led committee’s investigation into the Florida Republican has recently …

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REPORT: Gaetz Ousted McCarthy Over Ethics Probe

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been adamant that his move to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was rooted in policy disagreements and wasn’t a personal vendetta related to the congressional ethics investigation against him. In private, he told a different story. According to private correspondence reviewed by The Daily Beast, Gaetz indicated to a friend …

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CNN: Ethics Committee Seeks Info From Woman Who Allegedly Had Sex With Gaetz While She Was Underage

CNN reports: The House Ethics Committee investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz has reached out to the woman whom the congressman allegedly had sexual relations with when she was a 17-year-old minor, according to a source familiar with the committee’s work. The outreach, which has not previously been reported, is a sign that the GOP-led committee’s investigation into the Florida Republican has …

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WV Pastor Arrested On Child Prostitution Charges

Oak Hill, West Virginia’s ABC affiliate reports: The now former lead pastor of Mount Hope Christian Church has been arrested on charges of patronizing a minor victimized by sexual servitude. Elbert Eugene Goins, known as Buddy Goins, was arrested on December 8 in Beckley. According to the criminal complaint, he had been talking to an adult about having sex with …

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Five Women Sue QAnon Film Inspiration For Sex Abuse

The Associated Press reports: Five women on Monday sued the founder of an anti-child-trafficking group that inspired a popular movie this year, alleging he sexually manipulated, abused and harassed them on overseas trips designed to lure and catch child sex traffickers. Tim Ballard’s life story and work with Operation Underground Railroad inspired “Sound of Freedom,” a 2023 film popular with …

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GOP Megadonor Gets 21 Years For Child Sex Trafficking

The Associated Press reports: A formerly well-connected GOP donor convicted of giving teenage girls gifts, alcohol and money in exchange for sex was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in prison on sex trafficking charges. Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was found guilty in March by a federal jury of seven counts involving “commercial sex acts” with five girls ages 15 and 16 …

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House Ethics Panel Reopens Sex Probe Into Matt Gaetz

CNN reports: Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have begun reaching out to witnesses as part of a recently revived investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, focused on allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use or other misconduct. At least one witness in Florida told CNN they have spoken to investigators about the Republican …

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Pastor Convicted In Ohio Child Sex Trafficking Sting

The New Castle News reports: A New Castle man accused of child sex trafficking and corrupting children in Ohio has been found guilty by a jury in Mahoning County Court. The Ohio jury’s verdict was delivered Wednesday against 35-year-old Jarod Mills of West Terrace Ave. of unlawful attempted sexual contact with a minor. Mill was arrested in Mahoning County in …

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House Ethics Committee Restarts Gaetz Sex Probe

Punchbowl News reports: The House Ethics Committee has restarted an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the latest legal problem for the controversial Florida Republican, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The secretive panel hasn’t decided yet whether to move ahead with a special investigative subcommittee. That would require a vote by the Ethics Committee members and would …

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GOP Megadonor Guilty Of Sex Trafficking Underage Girls

CBS News reports: Anton Lazzaro, a former GOP operative, has been found guilty of sex trafficking underage girls. Lazzaro was charged with seven counts involving “commercial sex acts” with five minors ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when he was 30 years old. Closing arguments wrapped on Friday, and the jury was handed the case shortly before noon. The jury …

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DOJ: No Sex Trafficking Charges Against Matt Gaetz

CNN reports: The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter. Senior officials reached out to lawyers for at least one witness on Wednesday, the source tells CNN, to inform them of …

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TX Youth Pastor Arrested In Mass Sex Trafficking Bust

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Forty-six men who included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital were recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas, a federal agency announced on Friday. The names of the suspects were not released by federal authorities. The joint …

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New Details Emerge In Matt Gaetz’s Bid For Pardon

Talking Points Memo reports: The Florida Republican has reportedly been under investigation for potentially trafficking a 17-year-old girl since late 2020. We knew Gaetz sought a presidential pardon from White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to sidestep the whole ordeal. Tuesday’s transcript adds new details from Johnny McEntee. “He told me to ask Meadows for a pardon,” McEntee said. The …

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Gaetz Wingman Joel Greenberg Sentenced To 11 Years

ABC News reports: Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector who sources say agreed to cooperate in the federal probe into his one-time close associate, Rep. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to crimes ranging from wire fraud to sex trafficking a minor. Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six of the 33 …

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Judge: Fired Fox Anchor Must Face Revenge Porn Suit

The Daily Beast reports: Disgraced former Fox News anchor Ed Henry’s motion to dismiss allegations that he violated New York’s so-called “revenge porn” statute against his sexual assault accuser was rejected by a federal judge this week. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams also ruled that ex-Fox associate producer Jennifer Eckhart’s accusation of sex trafficking against Henry could continue. Weeks after …

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Matt Gaetz Unlikely To Be Charged With Sex Trafficking

The Washington Post reports: Career prosecutors have recommended against charging Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a long-running sex-trafficking investigation — telling Justice Department superiors that a conviction is unlikely in part because of credibility questions with the two central witnesses, according to people familiar with the matter. Senior department officials have not made a final decision on whether to charge …

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WaPo: Matt Gaetz Sought Pardon For Sex Trafficking

The Washington Post reports: Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told a former White House aide that he was seeking a preemptive pardon from President Donald Trump regarding an investigation in which he is a target, according to testimony given to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnny McEntee, according to people familiar with his …

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REPORT: Trafficking Case Against Gaetz Still Unfolding

The Daily Beast reports: Eight people with direct knowledge of the probe confirmed to The Daily Beast that the case is still unfolding—albeit at a methodical pace—as federal prosecutors work their way across a number of spokes of possible criminality. Lyle Mazin, a criminal defense attorney who represents a witness in the case, told The Daily Beast that the quiet …

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Man Gets Five Years In Attempt To Extort Gaetz Family

The Northwest Florida News reports: Niceville resident Stephen Alford will serve 63 months, or just over five years, in federal prison for attempting to extort $25 million from Don Gaetz, a former state Senate president and father of Florida’s First District Congressman Matt Gaetz. The plan to extort money from the Gaetz family, spelled out in documents filed with the …

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