2013 News Archives
Saving Bobbi: A teen’s sex trafficking ordeal. Pimps liked to target the particularly vulnerable ones — kids with abuse in their past, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome. When those challenges combined with teenage rebellion, and kids bolted from home to the streets, they were easy prey. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, November 18, 2013).
Ramsey County beat: Helping fathers who fall behind. The county hopes to help some of those dads make their payments and become better parents by partnering with the FATHER Project, a program run by Goodwill Easter Seals of Minnesota. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, November 14, 2013).
St. Paul woman pleads guilty to identity theft. A forged check in June 2012 led investigators to Burg, who told them that she obtained her names from Kristin R. Warren, who allegedly received them from Deflorin in exchange for drugs, the complaints said. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, October 25, 2013).
New video helps lodging industry to recognize, combat sex trafficking. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office released a new training video today about how to combat sex trafficking in area hotels and motels. (RCAO, St. Paul, MN, October 24, 2013).
Ramsey County creates video to cut down on sex trafficking. According to prosecutors, most sex trafficking starts with online classified ads on sites like Backpage.com, but it ends in local hotel rooms. (KMSP Fox9, Eden Prairie, MN, October 24, 2013).
For St. Paul cop's career-ending injuries, man gets 8.5 years in prison. When (Officer) Reilly approached Thomas Swenson, he punched and kicked her to the point where she thought she was going to die. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, September 26, 2013).
Two men who pimped Duluth teens in St. Paul sentenced to over 21 years. Ramsey County District Judge Lezlie Ott Marek sentenced Fonati Diggs to 22 years and 10 months in prison and Timothy Cross to 21 years and two months, imposing consecutive sentences for their two sex-trafficking convictions. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, September 16, 2013).
Ramsey Co. judge sentences sex traffickers to 21 years. The victims, aged 17 and 18, took a bus from Duluth to St. Paul on June 15. The men drove the young women to a Super 8 motel, where they were threatened and forced to have sex with multiple men, according to the criminal complaint. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, September 16, 2013).
Four women allegedly stole hundreds of identities, according to Ramsey County charges. Deflorin obtained identities and Social Security numbers from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) where she worked from October 1994 to September 2004, and from going through trash. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, September 7, 2013).
4 Charged In ID Theft Ring Targeting State Employees. Ramsey County investigators say they have busted a major identity theft ring involving the personal information of hundreds. (WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, MN, September 7, 2013).
Former state of Minnesota worker stole IDs of 269 public employees, charges say. Investigators found the stolen names and Social Security numbers of 269 public employees in the home of a former state worker, according to a criminal complaint. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, September 6, 2013).
Ex-addict's faith — and others' faith in him — helped him start anew. As a 12-year-old gangster wannabe hooked on drugs, he stole much of his parents' life savings to help feed his growing habit. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, August 24, 2013).
Ramsey County attorney says civil statute could protect children from perpetrators. He plans to take a civil statute designed primarily to protect kids from neglectful parents and use it to file no-contact orders between alleged perpetrators and their juvenile victims. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, August 9, 2013).
She was just a girl -- and just what alleged St. Paul pimps looked for. The child, who should have been spending time riding her bicycle and braiding her dolls' hair, had been sexually assaulted by an older boy at a suburban home. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, May 25, 2013).
Tougher regulations may curb car and metal thefts. Amid the flurry of high profile measures, the Legislature made it tougher to steal a car this spring. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, May 24, 2013).
New Minnesota law is expected to quash scrap-metal crimes. Auto and metal thieves will find it harder to sell their loot for scrap metal, thanks to a new law aimed at stamping out such thefts. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, May 24, 2013)
St. Paul, Ramsey County teaming up to crack down on sex trafficking. The work by police and Choi’s office is being funded by grants provided last year and this year from the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, April 23, 2013).
St. Paul prostitution ring busted; young, vulnerable girls trafficked. The victims' willingness to talk to authorities was pivotal to the six-month police investigation, said Choi and St. Paul police Sgt. John Bandemer said. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, April 11, 2013).
Victims step forward to help bust St. Paul sex-trafficking ring. For two years a St. Paul family allegedly posted hundreds of online ads selling sex with several women, some as young as 15, who were coerced, threatened and assaulted into a life authorities described as “modern day human slavery.” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, April 10, 2013)
5 Charged In 2-Year Ramsey Co. Sex Trafficking Ring. Two St. Paul brothers, their uncles and one woman are now facing charges in connection to human trafficking that spanned the last two years, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office announced Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (WCCO-TV, St. Paul, Minneapolis, MN, April 10, 2013).
Unique Program Aims to Help Vets in Trouble with the Law. The Veterans Justice Initiative enables the criminal justice system to address the issue of veterans who have suffered collateral consequences due to their military service and thus find themselves in trouble with the law. (KSTP 5 Eyewitness News, St. Paul, MN, March 15, 2013).
Minnesota police reaching out to abuse victims, before it’s too late. The common denominator in many deadly (domestic violence) cases is that the victim was trying to leave. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, March 2, 2013).
Family Reunification Act could restore parental rights in some lost custody cases. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would give some parents who lost custody of their children years ago a chance to reunify with them. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, February 26, 2013).
Ramsey, Hennepin Counties sue mortgage registration service. Minnesota's two largest counties have joined together to file a lawsuit against the Mortgage Electronic Registration Service, Inc. (MERS) on behalf of taxpayers and all other counties in Minnesota, alleging that MERS has likely deprived states and counties of somewhere around $7.2 billion nationally. (KARE 11, Minneapolis, MN, February 15, 2013).
Ramsey, Hennepin sue mortgage registry over lost fees. Ramsey and Hennepin counties are suing a Virginia-based national home mortgage registry, alleging that they've lost potentially millions because the company failed to record mortgage transfers with the counties as required, they claim, under state law. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, February 15, 2013).
Capitol hearing: Insurance fraud on the rise. Insurance company representatives said crooks are especially intent on exploiting Minnesota's no-fault auto insurance system, milking insurers with exaggerated or false injury claims. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, February 11, 2013).
Ramsey County embarks on journey to establish Veterans Justice Initiative. The Veterans Justice Initiative enables the criminal justice system to address the issue of veterans who have suffered collateral consequences due to their military service and thus find themselves in trouble with the law. (RCAO, St. Paul, MN, January 15, 2013).
Ramsey County aims to help veterans caught in court system. The goal: Identify veterans as they enter the court system and figure out what services might help them. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, January 15, 2013).
Runaway girls focus of Minn. fight to curb sex trafficking. Research shows that Minnesota girls who run from their homes are not only more vulnerable to being sold for sex, but also face a higher risk of being raped or sexually abused in other ways. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, January 11, 2013).
Minnesota felons' DNA samples slip through the cracks. With DNA an increasingly important tool for solving crimes, criminal justice officials are calling for more vigilant collection efforts. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, December 10, 2012).
'Veterans Court Track' Launches for Ramsey County Offenders. The program length for misdemeanor offenses is nine months, and the minimum length for gross misdemeanors and felonies is one year. (KSTP-TV, St. Paul, MN, December 6, 2013).