TAG / SEX TRAFFICKING

Two centuries ago, US Congress banned the slave trade. Against that backdrop, Tony Ortega’s defense of Backpage child sex trafficking shows how exploitation evolves—and enablers evade accountability.

A sweeping, 11-county operation led by Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Task Force recovers dozens of survivors—including a 12-year-old—while law enforcement pivots toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

As the UN champions global efforts against modern-day slavery, scrutiny is mounting over whether its attorney’s financial support of her husband—who long defended the world’s largest child sex trafficking marketplace—undermines the institution’s human rights mandate.

A nationwide FBI operation targets child sexual exploitation, yet the man who defended the world’s largest sex trafficking site escapes accountability.

With arrests made and new investigations launched, the San Antonio-led effort demonstrates what can be achieved by agency coordination—but experts warn enforcement alone won’t end trafficking.

Three new laws took effect on October 1 in the Sunshine State, imposing harsher penalties for trafficking minors, luring children and distributing nonconsensual sexual content.

Survivors and attorneys are forcing the hospitality industry to pay a steep price for looking the other way while children were abused.

The case exposes systemic gaps in digital law and highlights the struggle to hold exploiters and platforms accountable for online sexual abuse.


With Backpage and its imitators shut down, DOJ is offering restitution using recovered funds—but paperwork and deadlines pose hurdles for survivors.

The indictments mark a turning point as Taiwan strengthens anti-trafficking laws, expands cross-border cooperation and pledges protection for victims who testify.