American Pleads Guilty To Arranging Thailand Brothel Trips

[george]

Las Vegas man admits arranging sex tourism

LAS VEGAS: -- A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland to charges he operated a business that arranged for tourists to visit brothels with underage girls in Thailand.

Russell Herman, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver to one count of facilitating travel for the purpose of an illicit sex act.

Herman is from Las Vegas but lived in Thailand for several years. Federal agents said he arranged for tourists to have sex with girls as young as 12. Many of the girls were kept padlocked in cells unless they were having sex, according to court documents.

The case was in Cleveland because the agent who came across Herman did so while working here. The agent, who works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, asked to remain anonymous because he does undercover work.

The agent said in court documents that he came across Herman's Web site in December 2005 while investigating the sale of fake Gucci, Prada and Rolex merchandise.

Besides selling the fake goods, the Web site advertised arranging marriages with Thai women between the ages of 18 and 24. Herman's e-mail address was listed for further information.

The ICE agent contacted Herman and asked about the availability of girls between the ages of 10 and 14, according to court documents. Herman replied, "Thailand is a lot of fun and you'll experience some incredible things here!!!"

Another ICE agent called Herman in November 2006 and said he was interested in traveling to Thailand, where Herman was living. Herman said that for $1,000, he would take the agent to a hotel where 15-year-old girls would be brought to the undercover agent's room.

A few days later, Herman met the undercover agent and took him to several places where they were solicited for sex. Some of the girls appeared to be as young as 12, the ICE agent said in court documents.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Herman probably will be sentenced to between four and five years in prison.

-- cleveland.com 2007-03-11

[popshirt]

If my tax money is not financing the killing of Iraquis it is spent on board and care for low-lifes like this guy.

[astral]

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Herman probably will be sentenced to between four and five years in prison.

-- cleveland.com 2007-03-11

Is that all?????????????

[Thai-Spy]

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Herman probably will be sentenced to between four and five years in prison.

-- cleveland.com 2007-03-11

Is that all?????????????

Under 18 USC 2423(d) the penalty can be up to 30 years but there's no mandatory minimum sentence.

(d) Ancillary Offenses. - Whoever, for the purpose of commercial

advantage or private financial gain, arranges, induces, procures,

or facilitates the travel of a person knowing that such a person is

traveling in interstate commerce or foreign commerce for the

purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct shall be fined under

this title, imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

[cloudhopper]

It's going to be five long hard years for that guy...

[WaiWai]

Hope he'll pass contact details for these "tourists" & anyone else involved to the police.

[Rincewind]

I don't know what part of this I find more appalling -- what he did, or how light his sentence is expected to be.

Five years isn't nearly enough for trash like that. Maybe they can make it 5 years in a Thai prison first?

[Flysiam]

I don't know what part of this I find more appalling -- what he did, or how light his sentence is expected to be.

Five years isn't nearly enough for trash like that. Maybe they can make it 5 years in a Thai prison first?

One can fully expect that this guy will spend no where near the entire 5 years. He will be out and walking the streets long before that.

[wintermute]

I don't know what part of this I find more appalling -- what he did, or how light his sentence is expected to be.

Five years isn't nearly enough for trash like that. Maybe they can make it 5 years in a Thai prison first?

One can fully expect that this guy will spend no where near the entire 5 years. He will be out and walking the streets long before that.

He'll get a big fat sex offender tag too I believe. This will follow him everywhere in his personal life including various registries which means he is essentially screwed for life.

[ourmanflint]

Can someone just explain to me how this happens under everyones noses???

I don't believe there aren't lots of people who know about this yet do next to nothing about it!

Where do these girls come from?

[ColPyat]

Can someone just explain to me how this happens under everyones noses???

I don't believe there aren't lots of people who know about this yet do next to nothing about it!

Where do these girls come from?

Some of those sort of brothels have well connected clients, pay off the police on more than just local levels, are well hidden behind fronts.

Nevertheless, this sort of thing goes on almost anywhere. There are places in the region far worse than Thailand.

The girls (and boys as well) range from kidnapped kids, sold kids, foreign kids, drug addicted kids, etc.

It's really disgusting and disturbing.

Edit:

Right now in Thailand there is a rising problem again with kids getting kidnapped off the streets, packed in vans, and shipped off. Recently there was at the Malay border a truck caught with that way kidnapped kids for sale there, packed in small boxes.

Edited March 11, 2007 by ColPyat

[Brutiniero]

What makes me angry is (beside of this scumbag) that in Esarn underage boys and girls get kidnapped and nothing about this in the national TV.

Last time here not far from our village was a van who kidnapped some children, but one boy could escaped (with tied hands !!!).

He ran to the fields where farmers untied him and tried to follow the van after that, but it was gone ... with the other children.

The village bosses anouced the bad news then and gave a warning that parents should have an eye on their childs.

But in the newspapers, TV NOTHING, they disappered ..... never seen again.

[rafval]

meanwhile the girls are probably still padlocked in cells, wouldnt you people be better off venting your anger on helping them somehow, dont know how but just a thought

[ColPyat]

What makes me angry is (beside of this scumbag) that in Esarn underage boys and girls get kidnapped and nothing about this in the national TV.

Not just in Issarn, but in Bangkok as well.

[Brutiniero]

Even the worried parents around here say, even if they would get caught, nothing is going to happen, like Colypat said: " to powerful groups are behind there".

I just can't believe it.

[astral]

It's going to be five long hard years for that guy...

I guess the other inmates will be the "hard" ones.

[TerryLH]

"But in the newspapers, TV NOTHING, they disappered ..... never seen again."

It's been in the news in Khon Kaen. There is at least one school here that has posted a police sketch of a suspect.

[yuyi]

Everyone of us can do what this agent did: if we see something suspicious, have a second and third look, ask questions, collect information, and pass it on (with persistence) to the authorities in the home country of the scumbag offering these poor girls.

The one who looks away is as guilty as the one committing these crimes.

[bernie66]

meanwhile the girls are probably still padlocked in cells, wouldnt you people be better off venting your anger on helping them somehow, dont know how but just a thought

As in every country I’ve been to. Only crime that produces revenue for the police or some government division, of is in the forefront of their priorities and press. All we have to do is figure out how to link the kidnapped children with drug distribution and they will all be caught over night. the only bad thing is that they will get about 10 years more time in prison as the people who kidnapped and raped them.

[brahmburgers]

A few days later, Herman met the undercover agent and took him to several places where they were solicited for sex. Some of the girls appeared to be as young as 12, the ICE agent said in court documents.

A. Did the agent indulge before blowing his cover?

B. The article uses the word 'appeared.' Asian girls appear a lot younger, especially to newcomers. Did the arresting agents get an ID on the girls?

Any sordid biz like that would have at least a few layers of Thais involved. Were the Thais arrrested also? If they weren't arrested right there on the spot, they won't subsequently be hounded down and arrested by Thai police. Thai authorities just aren't adept at that sort of thing.

[Scott]

The U.S. has extremely long sentences, especially compared to European countries. My guess is this guy has struck a deal with the prosecutors. This is a pretty dodgy case to get a conviction on, especially if there is a jury.

The guy didn't actually "procure" any of the girls. He simply took the agent to the places where they work. I've taken friends who are visiting to Patpong--I have no idea if everyone is over-age or not--but then I am not charging my friends for taking them there.

So, yes, there has to be many layers of locals involved in this trade.

[Brutiniero]

I know it s a bit far from the topic, but people around here speak from Organ Mafia and that the children who got kidnapped might been used for their organs

[sriracha john]

ICE Operation Predator arrests of child exploiters top 10,000

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Just four years after the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Predator, an initiative aimed at those who sexually exploit children, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that its arrests had topped 10,000.

Operation Predator is a great example of how our transnational partnerships and wide-ranging legal authorities can work to protect children," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for ICE. "In the course of this highly successful operation, ICE has investigated and arrested people who tried to use the anonymity of the web, foreign travel or their roles as trusted members of the community to hide their crimes. Nothing makes us prouder than eliminating from our communities those who take advantage of children."

More than 8,600 of those arrested as part of the operation have been non-citizen sex offenders whose crimes make them removable from the United States. As of today, more than 5,500 have been removed from the United States.

Child exploitation takes many forms. ICE targets child pornographers, child sex tourists and facilitators, human smugglers and traffickers of minors, criminal aliens convicted of offenses against minors and those deported for child exploitation offenses who have returned illegally. Those who prey on children are often trusted members of the victims' families or communities. Among the 10,000 predators arrested by ICE were: relatives of victims, clergymen, doctors, athletic coaches, daycare and camp directors, teachers, janitors, babysitters, law enforcement officers, firefighters and military officers.

Below are two individuals arrested in the greater San Antonio area:

- On April 19, ICE agents in San Antonio arrested David Winkler, 35, an internal medicine doctor. He was arrested at his office following the execution of a search warrant. A preliminary forensic review of Winkler's computer led to the discovery of more than 200 images of child pornography.

On May 3, he was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography. Winkler's prosecution is pending.

- Mark Daniel Studenny, 31, a dentist who is also major for the U.S. Air Force, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in August 2006. ICE agents executed a search warrant October 2005 at his residence. Agents seized computer hard drives and other items found inside his home. The forensic report revealed that Studenny was indeed in possession of child porn. A sentencing date has been scheduled for August 2007.

"These are just two examples of the many child predators our agents have brought to justice. What someone does for a living does not protect them; no one is above the law," said Jerry Robinette, special agent-in-charge of ICE's San Antonio office of investigations. "Protecting the nation's most vulnerable, our children, remains a top priority for ICE."

National statistics indicate that one in five children receive an online sexual solicitation, one in 33 has received an aggressive online sexual solicitation and one in four has been exposed to unwanted sexual images online.

"Operation Predator is an extraordinary example of federal leadership attacking a problem across the United States," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). "What ICE has done is shine a light on the problem of child sexual exploitation. ICE's 10,000 arrests in less than four years is astounding. There are many more offenders than we thought possible."

"The world has now become the predator's playground," said Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. "As predators have gotten smarter, so must law enforcement. ICE has stepped up to the plate and made life safer for our nation's children."

In 2003, President Bush signed the PROTECT Act, which gave ICE agents the ability to make dozens of arrests under its child sex tourism provisions. Since the passage of the Act, the sentences for child molestation have been the longest on record. In May, a Minnesota man received 750 years in federal prison for the manufacture, possession and distribution of pornography involving young children he knew.

ICE has special authority when it comes to foreign nationals who prey on children in the United States. Of the 10,061 arrests made as part of Operation Predator, 8,601 have been arrests of foreign national sex offenders whose crimes make them removable from the United States. To date, more than 5,500 of these predators have been deported. Such crimes include a Polish man in New Jersey who repeatedly molested his own daughters, an Austrian-national soccer coach convicted of repeatedly fondling a mentally impaired minor, a Filipino babysitter in Virginia who repeatedly molested the child in his care.

ICE is the U.S. representative to the Virtual Global Task Force and works with Interpol to catch predators who seek safe haven in the United States for crimes they have committed in their home countries. ICE agents work with law enforcement around the world to shut down Web sites where child pornographers share files and even use streaming video to show molestation of children in real time. One of our earliest investigations attacked the financial structure of a Belarus-based network of child pornography sites called Regpay. The investigation resulted in the arrest of more than 1,400 subscribers to Regpay-affiliated child pornography Web sites in the United States and around the globe. The top two company officials each received 25-year sentences.

Law enforcement has new authorities to arrest those who travel abroad to take advantage of children. ICE attaches in more than 50 offices in 39 countries work with local authorities to bring these predators back to justice in the Unites States, where they face some of the toughest laws in the world. A Las Vegas resident who operated a sex tourism business on the Internet from Thailand pleaded guilty in February after an ICE undercover investigation. Russell A. Herman led an undercover agent to four brothels in November 2006 that held girls between the ages of 12 and 17. All of the girls were involved in prostitution, and many had been illegally smuggled into Thailand and were padlocked inside the brothels.

We have made significant inroads in human trafficking and smuggling of children. The criminal networks engaged in human smuggling and trafficking have become more violent and more profit-driven than ever before. At the same time, their victims are getting younger and younger. Just last week in Texas, a mother and her two daughters were charged with Sex Trafficking of Children by Force, Fraud or Coercion. The defendants allegedly traveled to Mexico to recruit girls as young as 15 to work as prostitutes in the San Antonio area.

ICE welcomes the assistance of the public in catching the next 10,000 predators. Members of the public wishing to report suspicious activity may contact ICE at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or [email protected]. Additionally, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an ICE partner on Operation Predator, can be contacted at 1-800-843-5678 or www.cybertipline.com.

Yesterday, in London, ICE entered into an understanding with the United Kingdom to improve international cooperation and the sharing of information to combat human trafficking. ICE joins the Department of Justice in its Project Safe Childhood to make the world a safer place for children.

Additional information about Operation Predator is posted at www.ice.gov.

ICE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

- TV4 San Antonio (USA)

[Stephen Cleary]

So, you think this guy’s bad, well read on……

I’ve done some undercover work before which has included underage prostitution being sold in English language publications in Thailand. Let me give you an example:

Pick up a copy of Thailand’s biggest selling English language newspaper and at the back of the Classifieds section you will see advertisements for ‘oil massage’, ‘aroma massage’ and ‘body massage’. Now, most are Thai run but some are Indian run. Call around a bit and you will probably come into contact with an Indian agent who will procure anything earthly possible. Yes, underage prostitution.

Not so long ago, I sent an email to the Classified section of this newspaper informing them of the advertisements which were offering underage prostitution (not much older than what the guy in this story has been done for). I got no reply, so I wrote again. Again – silence. Until this day, underage prostitutes are being sold to clients on the back page of this newspaper.

I also found that most of the addresses posted on these advertisements were terribly fake. Something along the lines of 34 Sukhumvit Road or 6 Silom. When I enquired into the actual address of the ones offering underage prostitutes, I found on two occasions that they were indeed owned by Indians located at ******** Condo near Victory Monument, nothing like the ad had stated.

Anyway, I pushed the matter further to clampdown on these pimps but alas, no-one took the matter seriously……..

Edited June 8, 2007 by stevesuphan

[johnh101]

A bit of topic but.........

I have heard of thes abductions also, the MIL lives in SW Khorat and they have had them there, the kids are all going to school in groups, no more are they allowed totoddle along at their own pace

They also say they have had cars coming up from BKK late at night and randomly shooting at people out on the roads !

[StateSix]

meanwhile the girls are probably still padlocked in cells, wouldnt you people be better off venting your anger on helping them somehow, dont know how but just a thought

As in every country I’ve been to. Only crime that produces revenue for the police or some government division, of is in the forefront of their priorities and press. All we have to do is figure out how to link the kidnapped children with drug distribution and they will all be caught over night. the only bad thing is that they will get about 10 years more time in prison as the people who kidnapped and raped them.

???? Are you saying that in every country you have ever been to, the police only really care about crime that produces revenue for them or the government? Even the UK (forget about speed cameras)? How does targeting drug distribution increase revenue for the police?

[Ijustwannateach]

OF COURSE the Thais have the most to do with this (and every other illegal business) in Thailand!

It's an obvious point that most of the criminals in any country are nationals of that country!!!

The question might be raised why it is that only foreigners seem to be arrested at all regularly for these underage prostitution crimes- and while I cannot say that I know the answer to that question, I know that the persons to ask that question would be the Thai authorities in charge of law enforcement.

[Jimjim]

OF COURSE the Thais have the most to do with this (and every other illegal business) in Thailand!

It's an obvious point that most of the criminals in any country are nationals of that country!!!

The question might be raised why it is that only foreigners seem to be arrested at all regularly for these underage prostitution crimes- and while I cannot say that I know the answer to that question, I know that the persons to ask that question would be the Thai authorities in charge of law enforcement.

Actually, if you look in the Nation online today you'll see an example of a Thai being arrested for sex crimes. He kidnapped students and made them perform sex acts.

I bet more Thais are arrested for these crimes then is reported in English languge newspapers. It probably has more of a wow factor when it's a foreigner, especially in English language papers. Perhaps some Thai papers report more about Thais being arrested for these crimes, or they're just not reported as much.

It probably seems to be only foreigners arrested because that's all you know or hear about, but it doesn't mean Thais aren't also being arrested.

[frodo]

OF COURSE the Thais have the most to do with this (and every other illegal business) in Thailand!

It's an obvious point that most of the criminals in any country are nationals of that country!!!

The question might be raised why it is that only foreigners seem to be arrested at all regularly for these underage prostitution crimes- and while I cannot say that I know the answer to that question, I know that the persons to ask that question would be the Thai authorities in charge of law enforcement.

Actually, if you look in the Nation online today you'll see an example of a Thai being arrested for sex crimes. He kidnapped students and made them perform sex acts.

I bet more Thais are arrested for these crimes then is reported in English languge newspapers. It probably has more of a wow factor when it's a foreigner, especially in English language papers. Perhaps some Thai papers report more about Thais being arrested for these crimes, or they're just not reported as much.

It probably seems to be only foreigners arrested because that's all you know or hear about, but it doesn't mean Thais aren't also being arrested.

Read that same article today. The report stated about 200 kids molested and possibly infected them with some sort of STD. Had it been a foreigner, the reactions would have had a far greater outcry with visa's, work permits, and whatnot being threatened. Either way, it's all a sad state of affairs, regardless of who did it.

Link: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/08...es_30036326.php

[qualtrough]

Some of the girls appeared to be as young as 12, the ICE agent said in court documents.

Not a nice guy, and not a nice business, but I hope the authorities had to provide more evidence than just saying that the girls 'appeared to be as young as 12'.