Five Arrested in Houston Sex Trafficking Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOV

CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

Four men and one woman have been arrested on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking of children, as well as forcing and coercing adults to engage in commercial sex acts.

The charges against the six total defendants represent the single-largest domestic sex trafficking case ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas.

“The protection of the innocent and the most vulnerable among us is one of the most important obligations of law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer. “Sex trafficking, especially the trafficking of children, is unconscionable, and federal law enforcement is working closely with state and local authorities to fight this most reprehensible sort of exploitation.”

“It is a horrible reflection on our society when adults prey on the vulnerabilities of children and reduce them to indentured sex slaves,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Tim Johnson.  “Whenever and wherever offenses of such a depraved nature occur, our law enforcement community will respond with the sum of our collective prosecutorial resources.”

Five of the six defendants were arrested late Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, and early Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in a coordinated effort between federal and local law enforcement with warrants issued following the return of a sealed indictment by a Houston grand jury on Aug. 4, 2009.

The indictment unsealed today charges John Butler, 47; William Hornbeak, 34; Jamine Lake, 27; Andre McDaniels, 39; Kristen Land, 28; all of Houston, and Ronnie Presley, 35, formerly of Houston and currently of Tulsa, Okla., with conspiracy to traffic women and children for the purposes of commercialized sex; sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; transportation of minors; transportation; and coercion and enticement.

Upon conviction, each count of sex trafficking and transportation of minors carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Each count of transportation carries up to 10 years in prison, charges for coercion and enticement carry up to 20 years in prison and conspiracy carries up to five years in prison. All charges carry up to a $250,000 fine.

Butler, Hornbeak, Lake, McDaniels and Land were arrested in Houston. The government will ask the court to hold all the defendants in federal custody without bond pending trial. Presley is a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about Presley’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact their local FBI field office, or the Houston FBI Field Office at (713)-693-5000.

According to the unsealed indictment, the defendants allegedly operated commercialized sex businesses often disguised as modeling studios, health spas, massage parlors and bikini bars in Houston, and used sexually oriented publications and Web sites to advertise their illicit business. The criminal enterprise allegedly transported women and minors to and from the Houston area and had ties to Kansas, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Women and minors as young as 16 were allegedly enticed and coerced into prostitution and were routinely beaten and threatened. The defendants allegedly collected any proceeds the women and minors received as a result of “dates,” rendering them dependent upon the defendants for basic necessities.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

“The defendants are charged with transporting and threatening young women with violence in order to force them into prostitution,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot said. “A concerted, cooperative effort by state and federal law enforcement is cracking down on the horrific crime of human trafficking – and those who profit from it.”

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Force and the Houston Police Department as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative. A joint effort of the FBI, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the initiative was founded in June 2003 to address criminal enterprises involving the domestic sex trafficking of children.  At least one minor was rescued during the course of the investigation. Other minors and several adults have been returned to their families.

“From low-tech methods such as prostituting minors at truck stops, to high-tech methods such as internet advertising, our children are being used as commodities for sale or trade,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Richard C. Powers said. “Here in Houston we have established unprecedented cooperation among law enforcement agencies that are working together to link cases, make arrests, and rescue children being sold on our streets. We will not allow our city to be a safe haven for this unconscionable activity.  If you hear about it, if you suspect it, report it.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Goodwin of the Southern District of Texas and of the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Trial Attorney Michael Yoon of CEOS.

What You can Do if a Child Discloses Sexual Assault to You

• BELIEVE THE CHILD!!!
  
• Respond calmly and in a “matter of fact” style
• DO NOT ask leading questions (Leave that to a child forensic interviewer)
• Ask simply: Who What When Where?
• Tell the child you will get them help
• Call Child Protective Services, Indian Child Welfare and or Law Enforcement.

A Sane nurse is not always especially equipped to do a sexual assault exam on a child. REMEMBER THE ASSAULT WILL CONTINUE IF YOUR CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM IS FORENSICALLY NOT HANDLED BY QUALIFIED SPECIALIST.

Child Sexual Assault

By: Beth Ballo Prevention Specialist Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Wisconsin Child Sexual Assault Laws

• First Degree Sexual Assault
• A. Sexual contact or intercourse with a person not yet 13, and causes great bodily harm.
• B. Has sexual intercourse with a person who has not yet attained the age of 12.
• C. Has sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 by use or threat of force or violence.

( Class A Felony Mandatory Arrest Minimum=25 yrs)

• Second degree Sexual Assault:
• Anyone who has sexual contact with or intercourse with a person who has not reached age 16.
• Sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older.
• Engaging in repeat acts of sexual assault with the same child.
• Incest with a child.
• Sexual Assault of a child by a school staff person or a person who volunteers or works with children.
• Child Enticement
• Causing a child to listen to or view sexual activity.
• Sexual Assault of a child for prosititution.
• Sexual Assault of a child placed in substitute care.
• Exposing genitals or pubic area.
• Female genital mutilation.

Examples of Child Sexual Assault

• Obscene phone calls
• Internet Solicitation
• Exposure to pornography
• Exposure to Sexual Acts
• Voyeurism
• Photographing a child in sexual poses
• Touching a child’s genitals; making a child touch someone else’s genitals. (inside and outside of clothing)
  

The Dark Side of the Internet and Cell Phones!

Report BY: Special Agent Eric Szatkowski
Wisconsin Department of Justice/Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) since 1991.
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Milwaukee. Eric’s law enforcement experience also includes murder-for-hire, cold-case homicides, death investigations, anti-government groups, fugitives, and narcotics enforcement.
CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG ERIC CAUSE I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE IN CYBER-SPACE WATCHING….
Oh Yes and Miigwitch (thank-You) for that!
Since 1998 there have been more than 680,000 tips about online exploitation and the majority of the tips have involved child pornography.
In Wisconsin alone 20,000 sites are identified porn sites and these sites are abusing our children and subjecting them to sexual predators and porn.

I watched him as he logged on to my space and went into a CHAT. Here he introduced himself as a child home from school and bored. WITHIN SECONDS HE HAD TWO CHAT BUDDIES QUESTIONING WITHIN A MINUTE THERE WERE FOUR …..WITHIN FOUR MINUTES THERE WERE TEN CHAT BUDDIES ASKING…….QUESTIONS!

In 2002, 22 Million images and more of child pornography were on the internet.
INNOCENCE IS LOST ON THE INTERNET
1-5 teens have sex by age 15
1-4 girls between the ages of 4-11 have sexually transmitted diseases.
20%-Caucasian
20%-Hispanic
50%-African American
No mention of Native American nor Alaskan Natives?
Statistically speaking Alaskan Native women have the highest rate of sexual assault in the United States.
Chat or Cell children and teens are exposed to predators, pornography and bribed into sexual contact and online sex chats.
Do you know the old saying “a photo speaks a thousand words”, well a photo on the internet like Myspace, Facebook, Bebo, Xanga, and Cell Phones, “A PHOTO IS FOREVER!”
Think about this girls and boys IF YOU SEND A FRIEND A PHOTO OF YOU THAT IS SEXUALLY INAPPROPRIATE AND THEN THE FRIEND DECIDES NOT TO BE YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE AND PASSES IT ON TO YOUR MOM AND DAD OR WORST YET POST IT ON THE WEB OR EVEN WORST YET PUTS UP IN THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF YOUR SCHOOL….OH OH OH OMG!
25% of youth being exposed sexually or sexually enticed become depressed.
19% of youth being exposed have a very expanded vocabulary.
Porn on the Pod….no not Corn on the Cob….Pornography uploaded on an I-Pod.
Sexting….no not Texting sexually charged to a cell phone pornographic pictures and cell phone exchange, ALL YOU NEED IS A CELL PHONE NUMBER TO DO THIS. All of you professionals out there, teachers, counselors, be wary of this!
(see sexting teen suicide under the blogroll)
Vermont is considering legalizing teen sexting.
IT’S ALL ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT!
In Wisconsin it’s a crime 15 years and younger.
On YouTube our youth are subject to tons of porn such as rape dance and all a kid has to do is spell words like Big Tits and boom there it is OMG!
Take a look at LiveLeak.com real nice photo’s of Beyonce’s Butt, Britneys oops!, and Miley Cyrus Sexy Photos….HOW OLD IS SHE?
Children and Teenagers on these sites are:
10-20 harassed or bullied online
1-3 unwanted exposure to sexually inappropriate content
1-7 receive sexual solicitation
1-7 sexual exploitation
1-33 aggressive solicitation
Parents while your sleeping there getting bribed with alcohol, money, games, tickets to the game to send photo’s and YES, some sneak out and meet these guys in your back yard. WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE GUYS ARE DOING WHILE CHATTING, SEXTING AND LOOKING AT YOUR CHILD’S PHOTO…. WITH THEIR FREE HAND?
Most often the photo’s these guy’s are putting up on their myspaces or sending on Bebo are not the actual photo of the guy.
My space banded by-law 90,000 sexual predators there are 40,000 more than that on the sex offender registry….!
Sex offenders, Perverts, Pedophiles get a free ride. WHY?…… money for corporations and site owners. Corporations solicit their wares on these websites.
What about Private Spaces?????
No….not private…..try it anyone can get in.
These spaces are like diaries….do you think they check your birth certificate when you login…no, youth…. kids, no pictures, no addresses, no time schedules. When you invite friends those friends have friends and so on and on we go….

SEXUALIZATION=VICTIMIZATION

X-Box Live, Ruinscape and all live games on the internet are subject to perverts pretending to be a player…BEWARE!

1/3 to 1/2 of Internet user’s are children or our Youth…..Who do you think are the rest?
Police
Perverts
Predators
Stalkers
Students
Parents
Recruiters
Employers
Teachers
Colleges
Kids and young people your friends are not the only people on your site!
Parents her are some FILTERS.
What do they do WATCH!
www.guardiansoftware.com
spectorsoft.com
They cost otherwise…..
No Internet on the cell phones or camera’s or unlimited texting
No computer’s in private area’s
No No No No using computer’s without supervision.
On the side bar I will add some sites to help and report cyber crime. I will also add a cyber language dictionary.

Sexual Assault Boys to Men

I recently listened to a story from an Indian man who is a survivor and is encouraging other men to speak up about the sexual abuse they have suffered in their lives.
He is doing this for several reasons, most importantly it is breaking the silence, and the road to healing can begin. Another reason is that perpetrators may be held accountable and other young boys may be saved from the same abuse.
It is harder for males to admit they have been victimized sexually by other males for reasons we as a society play a role in. First of all, there is a stink about homosexuality that permeates this country and the world. This stench denies male victims justice, for fear of social ostracism. Secondly, society has equated masculinity to strength as in not having human emotions and the main perpetrators of this is men themselves. Myself, as a women, witnessing a man showing human emotion attribute this to integrity and balance. Lastly, we as women and mother’s of both sexes, male and female are not acknowledging these issues exist and our children are suffering and most likely will die or commit suicide with this socially perpetrated injustice. Following is an article to prove my point further:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 1, 2009
“Trail of Tears”
Police are digging into two possible suicides, a drug death and the molestation of at least 28 boys.
TRACKING ACKER’S TRAIL
By Tom Kertscher
GREENFIELD, WI– At least one and possibly two of Daniel Acker’s suspected victims committed suicide and a third died because of complications from drug use, according to the police official who is supervising the Acker investigation.
And Greenfield police now believe that Acker, 61, a longtime West Allis resident before moving to Waukesha last year, molested at least 28 boys.
In an hour long interview Tuesday with the Journal Sentinel, Deputy Inspector Bradley Wentlandt retraced the “trail of tears” detectives have followed in their investigation, which could reach a pivotal stage this week.
And he detailed how Acker, who is suspected of assaulting boys in his homes, on the lakefront, in a park and elsewhere, managed to cloak his actions over four decades.
“I guess you could say that over time, he got better at it,” Wentlandt said.
Prosecutors have charged Acker with a 2005 assault on a boy who is now 19 and are expected to decide this week whether to file charges involving two other suspected victims.
In an interview Sunday from jail, where Acker admitted to “weaknesses,” and “poor choices” but denied having sexual relations with boys.
Greenfield police are investigating the case because on of Acker’s accuser’s, a man now in his 40’s said he was molested by Acker in Greenfield in the 1970’s.
Wentlandt said the man reported the alleged assaults in a voice mail message left march 19 with West Allis-West Milwaukee Recreation Department, which has employed Acker as a part-time swim instructor for 37 years.
Wentlandt said a supervisor of that department spoke to the man the same day, then informed Greenfield Police March 23 Acker was arrested that day while teaching a youth swim class in West Allis.
Wentlandt said he didn’t know why the supervisor waited four days to make the report but doesn’t believe the delay hampered investigation.
Since then, more than 100 people have spoken to investigators. Police say the 28 males they have identified as victims were molested by Acker between 1972 and 2005.
The boys generally were between the ages of 7 and 15 when they were abused, although some continued to be molested into their later teen years, according to Wentlandt.
The assaults occurred over the years at Acker’s homes, first in Greenfield and later on the northwest side of Milwaukee and in West Allis, where he lived from 1990 to 2008, Wentlandt said.
Acker also molested boys at Whitnall Park, near Like Michigan, in Eagle River and in Waterford in Racine County, Wentlandt said.
Acker met the boys from among the literally thousands of children who took his swim classes, through a previous job working at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex and through other people, Wentlandt said.
Acker befriended boys from troubled families, bought them things and took them places, let them hang out at his home and sometimes gave them alcohol and marijuana.
After a period of months, he would ask the boys if he could take nude pictures of them; later he would touch them sexually.
Some of the boys refused to be photographed nude and never saw Acker again, but others-thankful for the attention Acker showed them-succumbed to indecent touching and eventually to more advanced sexual activity, Wentlandt said.
“They’re already being assaulted before they know what happened,” Wentlandt said.
“I GUESS YOU COULD SAY OVER TIME HE (Acker) GOT BETTER AT IT.”
One of the suspected victims committed suicide as an adult, another death is considered a possible suicide and a third died from complications stemming from drug use, Wentlandt said. He said relatives of the drug user tied the drug use to Acker’s suspected assaults.
Other men identified as Acker’s victims suffer from broken marriages and can’t hold jobs, Wentlandt said.
Even though the number of suspected victims has reached 28, it is not known whether police will be able to seek charges involving more than the three cases already submitted to the district attorney’s office.
In 15 of the cases, the alleged abuse would have occurred before 1989, beyond the statute of limitations. In 10 cases the suspected victims were unable or unwilling to provide enough information.
Equally frustrating is the belief that Acker likely continued molesting boys after 2005, the year of the assault involving the 19-year-old, Wentlandt said.
But Wentlandt said he understands, having witnessed the anguish of men in their 30’s and 40’s recounting their allegations of abuse by Acker, how a teen molested more recently would not come forward. Victims often feel a stigma about having been abused, believe they somehow consented to it or fear being labeled homosexual, he said.
“I can’t imagine how a 14 year old boy would feel in the same circumstances” said Wentlandt.
Despite police allegations that Acker committed hundreds of attacks, neither West Allis nor Greenfield police have records of any prior reports of abuse by Acker. Milwaukee police said they have no record of any other contact with him.
After his arrest, Acker would not volunteer any information about sexual contact with boys, Wentlandt said.
But after being confronted with the details about the 19 year old and about five other victims from the 1970s, he admitted to assaults involving these boys, Wentlandt said.
Wentlandt said he hoped to exhaust most leads this week and then turn over information to other law enforcement authorities about alleged assaults in their communities.
As a mother and a tribal victim advocate I am pleading with you boys and men to break your silence and bring these perpetrators to justice so we may can put a stop to this on our lands!

Utah is No. 1 – for online pornography consumption

Rachel Madow/MSNBC News brought this up last night.

By Dawn House

The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 03/02/2009 07:39:01 PM MST

Besides its political bent, Utah’s per capita appetite for online pornography makes it the nation’s run-away red-light state.

A study by a Harvard Business School professor shows that Utah outpaces the more conservative states — which all tend to purchase more Internet porn than other states.

Online porn subscription rates are higher in states that enacted conservative legislation banning same-sex marriage or civil unions and where surveys show support for conservative positions on religion, gender roles and sexuality, according to an analysis published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

The Beehive State briefly experimented with a state-funded porn czar until 2003. The study examining online porn usage from 2006 to 2008 shows those efforts apparently failed.

Utah has the nation’s highest online porn subscription rate per thousand home broadband users, at 5.47, while the nearby states of Idaho and Montana showed the lowest rates of 1.98 and 1.92, respectively, according to the study.

Utah’s No. 1 score may have to do with its demographics, said the author of the study, Benjamin Edelman.

For instance, Internet porn subscriptions are particularly widespread in states with young populations, in the 15 to 24 age group, while people over 65 are less likely to subscribe. Income can be a another factor, with each $1,000 increase in average household income pushing up the number of subscribers. Rates also go
up with a college education and among people who are divorced, although marriage and graduate degrees have the opposite effect.

“Even when I control for income, age, education, and marital status, Utah residents still consume disproportionately more than people from other states,” said Edelman.

Another possibility for Utah’s top porn billing may be the scarcity of adult entertainment outside the home.

“If it is distinctively difficult to get this material in retail locations in Utah, Utah residents who seek such material may have to get it online,” said Edelman, in an e-mail. “On net, then, Utah residents would be buying more online adult entertainment — but perhaps not more total adult entertainment. That said, I analyzed only online adult entertainment, so I’m not in a position to assess the magnitude of this effect.”

Although Utah is headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Edelman found that regions where people regularly attend religious services are not statistically different from their counterparts in more secular regions. But users who do attend religious services tend to shift their adult entertainment sessions to other days of the week than the day of services.

Pamela Atkinson, head of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, said other indications, such has Utah ranking second in Google searches for “hot sex” and “naughty,” back up what Edelman has found.

“What I do know is that from all accounts the problem is really growing in Utah,” she said. “People spending more time on the Internet are realizing this is something they can do in the privacy of their own rooms and their own homes.”

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, who worked in law enforcement, said he has never dealt with a sex offender who didn’t get his start with pornography.

“I’m not a huge fan of censoring the Internet, but this is definitely something to look into to see if we can stop the influx of pornography into our society, because pornography is such a plague. It’s rotten to the core and it hurts families and it hurts children.”

Daniel Weis, spokesman for the Colorado-based Christian group, Focus on The Family, said the study “is credible only for what it is studying, which is very little.”

“My caution is that people do not extrapolate that this is a report for the entire nation,” he said. “The fact that conservative-minded people are fighting porn doesn’t mean that they go home and look at it.”

The study used data from anonymous credit card sales from a top-10 Internet porn provider that operates hundreds of Web sites offering a wide variety of adult entertainment. Edelman then correlated that data with ZIP code information for his analysis.

– Robert Gehrke contributed to this report.

This attitude following is Minimizing the issue. Pornography is a common characteristic for sexual offenders, stalkers, rapist and Domestic Violence. Women are viewed as objects not human beings.
Another possibility for Utah’s top porn billing may be the scarcity of adult entertainment outside the home.

Father, son indicted in prostitution case

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Thursday, February 26, 2009

A federal grand jury indicted a father and son from Milwaukee on counts of prostituting teenagers here and across state lines, according to court documents.
Todd “King Tut” Carter,38, and his son, Nicholas Harrison, 19, were indicted Tuesday.
Each is charged with conspiracy and three counts of trafficking minors. Additionally, Carter was indicted of two counts of enticing a minor.
According to court documents, Carter has been a pimp for 20 years and more recently used his son to recruit girls to be prostitutes because he was closer to their age.
Carter required teens to have sex with him first as “training,” and then he would arrange for them to engage in prostitution, often advertising on Craigslist……,Carter was denied bail.
If convicted, the men face the possibility of life in prison.
TEENAGER, GIRLS-BOYS-YOUNG PEOPLE-IF SOMEONE IS HURTING YOU OR HAS YOU WHERE YOU DON’T WANT TO BE……CLICK AND GIVE ME A CLUE SOME CONTACT INFORMATION….A PLEA FOR HELP…AN IDEA OF HOW TO FIND AND HELP YOU. I WILL FIND YOU!

Internet Teen Sex Trade

Feds Arrest Alleged Online Pimp In Sacramento

Stephen McKesson, 22, allegedly used online bulletin board Craigslist to market and traffic teen prostitutes in the Sacramento area.

An alleged high-tech pimp has been arrested and accused of trafficking teenage prostitutes, according to authorities.

Stephen McKesson, 22, allegedly used online bulletin board Craigslist to market and traffic teen prostitutes in the Sacramento area, some as young as 13 years old. Federal investigators accuse him of using playing cards with provocative pictures of teenagers to market them to strangers.

Investigators say they caught up with the suspect when a friend of one of the teens recognized her in an online posting and called police.

McKesson raped and beat the teens to force them to obey him, authorities said. Some of the teen girls even gave birth to his children.

He is now facing a laundry list of charges for those allegations, and is being held without bail.
CBS5
What do I think….? Call us….comment…..let us help you…..
300.000 children forced into sex slavery every year in the U.S. If we can not protect our children then what are we?
GET INVOLVED
For info on how to help or items to include in a care package, call the local Coalition Against Human Trafficking: 525-4807

Send your tax-deductible donations to the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking to: 9260 Cove Ave., Pensacola, Fla., 32514

Cyber sex case stumps parents

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Erin Richards
2/6/09

Since Anthony Stancl former New Berlin Eisenhower High School student was charged Wednesday facing charges for using facebook to sexually assault peers.
Stancl, 18 was charged by Waukesha County district attorney Wednesday with posing as a female on facebook, a social networking site, persuading at least 31 teenage boys from Eisenhower to send him nude photos of themselves and the threaten to release those pictures to the public unless the victims agreed to perform sex acts with him.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
by Jacqui Seibel
2/7/09
The Waukesha County district attorney said Friday that he hopes to prosecute without having to call victims on stand……”For child victims of sexual abuse, we have to find a way so they don’t have to relive this in the courtroom,” District Attorney Brad Schilmel said.
Authorities think there was more boys but no more have come forward, the boys ages were from age 13 to 19…..about 300 photo’s were found on Stencl’s computer.
PARENTS TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN!
GET CYBER SMART!
TEENAGERS GET CYBER SMART!
REPORT CYBER SEXUAL PREDATORS THE LINKS ARE UNDER THE BLOGROLL.
STOP SENDING NUDE PHOTO’S INTO CYBERSPACE.

America’s Most Wanted Sexual Assault Hotlines

America’s Most Wanted (AMW) online Safety Center has just released their latest online safety video, entitled “Sexual Assault: Getting Help Now.” AMW highlighted RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotlines as the premiere resource for those affected by sexual violence. The online video, featuring RAINN’s president and founder, Scott Berkowitz, informs viewers about the resources available through the National Sexual Assault Hotlines, and explains how to contact the hotline over the phone, or online.

Since 1994 the National Sexual Assault Hotlines have connected over 1.2 million people with free, confidential support. The telephone hotline is available at 1.800.656.HOPE, and connects callers to a trained counselor at their local rape crisis center. The National Sexual Assault Online Hotline is accessible through RAINN’s website, and provides live support through an interface similar to an instant message with a trained volunteer. Both hotlines are free, completely anonymous, and available 24/7.

For information about the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline, and how you can get involved, please visit our Information Page.

Link under blogroll