Letter to James B. Comey, Jr., Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation - Details on Treatment of Minors Rescued from Forced Prostitution

Letter

Dear Director Comey:

Thank you for your response to my letter dated March 4, 2014, regarding the FBI's joint Super Bowl operation, which rescued eighteen minors from forced prostitution as part of the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI). Unfortunately, your response, while detailed, leaves questions unanswered and raises additional ones as well. In order to obtain a better understanding of how underage victims are treated once they are rescued from forced prostitution and to understand what additional protections are needed, please arrange for FBI staff to provide a briefing to my staff no later than May 9, 2014.

Your staff should be prepared to discuss the answers to questions posed in my previous letter, as well as other questions related to the FBI's policies regarding underage victims who are recovered from forced prostitution, including the following:

1. According to the FBI's February 4, 2014 press release, "To date, FBI and its task force partners have recovered more than 3,100 children" as part of ILNI.

a. How many of these 3,100 children, if any, were from the foster care system?

b. How many of these 3,100 children, if any, have been treated as juvenile offenders?

c. How many of these 3,100 children were referred to a health care facility, shelter, or other victim assistance program?

2. To date, how many minors who were recovered as part of ILNI were rearrested as a minor for prostitution? If the FBI does not track this data, is the FBI unwilling to track this information unless legally required to do so? Do you believe the FBI should be required to do so? If not the FBI, who is in a better position to track this data?

3. In your April 10, 2014 response, you indicated that three of the eighteen minors who were recovered from the Super Bowl operation were known to be from the foster care system. You also noted that three of the eighteen minors who were recovered were treated as juvenile offenders. Were the three minors known to be from the foster care system the same three minors you refer to as being treated as juvenile offenders? If not, were any of the minors known to be from the foster care system treated as juvenile offenders?

4. In your April 10, 2014 response, you indicated that "FBI Victim Specialists have not been required to track and maintain data on incidents involving foster care facilities." Similarly, you noted that "FBI Victim Specialists are not required to track whether victims utilize the referral to services or if services are actually rendered." Is the FBI unwilling to track this information unless legally required to do so? Do you believe the FBI should be required to do so? If not the FBI, who is in a better position to track this data?

5. In your April 10, 2014 response, you indicated that "FBI Victim Specialists are not required to track whether victims utilize the referral to services or if services are actually rendered," but that "FBI Victim Specialists typically follow up with victims and family members and inquire as to whether they followed through with the referrals that were provided." How do FBI Victim Specialists determine whether a particular case merits follow-up?

6. In your April 10, 2014 response, you indicated that some of the 3,100 children who have been recovered by the FBI through ILNI have been remanded into state custody or otherwise placed into a state judicial system. How many children have been so remanded or placed? Please provide a state-by-state breakdown of victims so remanded or placed.

7. Based on the FBI's ten-plus years of experience with ILNI, what legislative measure is most needed to protect vulnerable minors, including foster youth, from trafficking and forced prostitution?

I would appreciate a response as soon as possible to arrange a briefing no later than May 9, 2014. Should you have any questions, please contact Jay Lim of my staff at (202) 224-5225. Thank you for your cooperation on this important matter.

Source