EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE – OCTOBER 2023
There is no worthier cause than to help end the crisis of child exploitation and trafficking. With your help, America’s Future will continue to be on the frontline in this war on children. In this edition of the PDPC Bulletin, you’ll be inspired to join us in the fight when you watch the latest episode of Not On My Watch and listen to four whistleblowers who tell their stories about the tragedies and treatment of children at the southern border in our blockbuster exposé, Where Did The Children Go. You’ll also get an update on the effort to pass a national grooming law that we all need to support, get to know one of our fellow warriors who is relentless in her efforts to protect children and fight for justice, and learn about our next Get In The Fight campaign in Michigan. Thank you for being part of our growing network of Americans getting involved to end child exploitation and trafficking. Gratefully – Mary O’Neill
A new federal bill that hardens grooming convictions by increasing the penalties for those convicted of sexual grooming and prohibiting plea deals was unveiled at the 2023 National Federation of Republican Assemblies Convention in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, and it’s gaining traction. America’s Future Executive Director, Mary O’Neill, along with other leaders, were present in support of the proposed legislation.
The Andrew’s Law – Unlawful Grooming Offenses Act, is named after Andrew Koscik, who, as a teenager, was sexually groomed by his teacher, until his mother, Michelle Peterson, discovered the horrific circumstances that he had endured. Once exposed, Peterson’s fight to have her son’s groomer incarcerated lasted over three years, from 2010 to 2013. The predator was eventually convicted on two Illinois charges: solicitation of a minor and grooming. The 2013 grooming conviction turned out to be the first in the United States and has since been used as a precedent in grooming cases in other states.
“At the NFRA Convention, our team announced the grooming bill that we are working on with Florida legislators to pass,” Peterson told the PDPC Bulletin. “Florida State Rep. Doug Bankson was on hand and he met with me to fully understand my story and its impact on grooming and trafficking cases. To date, he has fully embraced the bill and is assisting us in Tallahassee to ensure the bill becomes law in Florida.”
The goal of the bill is to prevent someone charged with grooming from taking a plea deal in order to protect the victim from trafficking. “If a state doesn’t have grooming legislation already in place, then we are working to establish that legislation,” Peterson said.
To learn more about Michelle’s fight to protect her son and other children in her community – and now nationally through the proposed bill – please watch America’s Future Not On My Watch interview with Michelle, hosted by Liz Crokin, investigative journalist and a member of America’s Future Project Protect & Defend Our Children Advisory Board.
Last week on Thursday, Oct. 26th, America’s Future released a special exposé featuring four whistleblowers revealing “horror after horror” in the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Unaccompanied Children (UC) program at the southern border. Within 24 hours, “Where Did The Children Go,” went viral, raising awareness among the masses as to the dire conditions and treatment of migrant children, and the lack of accountability of the HHS and its NGOs to the public.
The brave whistleblowers who were connected to the Pomona Fairplex Emergency Intake Site in California as government or federal contractor employees in 2021 include Tara Lee Rodas, the first HHS whistleblower to expose government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded child trafficking at the Pomona facility during her testimony before Congress in April 2023; Mayra Moreno, former case manager for a federal contractor, Maxim Healthcare Services; Deborah White, a federal government contract specialist, deployed to the Pomona facility at the same time as Rodas, and Carlos Arellano, former unaccompanied minor transportation specialist for MVM, Inc. and later, other government contractors operating the government’s release of thousands of migrants housed at the Row NYC in downtown Manhattan.
Watch the exposé to hear new evidence showing that the U.S. government knowingly put children into the hands of unknown and unvetted sponsors and traffickers, how the federal government turned a blind eye to the waste of taxpayer dollars by their select NGO contractors, and how “shame tactics” and threats were used by both government officials and federal contractors to suppress staff from sharing information.
From their first-hand accounts, the whistleblowers describe the conditions of a dysfunctional government agency that put innocent lives in harm’s way, including how a “gentlemen’s club” was used as a drop-off site for migrant children, how traffickers infiltrated the child in-take center and, once known, were simply released into the U.S. without arrest or any other punishment, and how repeated requests to review NGO contracts for the sake of accountability were denied, plus more outrageous actions.
“It’s stunning. It’s horrifying,” said HHS Whistleblower Tara Rodas in one segment. “And the government knows…they knew they had a trafficking problem. They knew. And so, where are these children? Where are these children?”
The whistleblowers are calling on others to step forward to protect the children and for Congress to take action immediately. “That’s what we all want to see. Accountability and transparency for the children and for the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that are funding child trafficking.”
To watch “Where Did The Children Go,” click the video above or here. The special was produced by TriFilm Pictures Production, and presented by America’s Future as part of its Project Defend & Protect Our Children initiative established to raise awareness and educate grassroots Americans to get involved in helping end child exploitation and trafficking. Rodas is a member of the initiative’s Advisory Board.
A passionate, smart advocate for the protection and safety of children, Liz Crokin wears the battle scars for calling out those in “high places” who take advantage of the innocence of the most vulnerable in our society. Her talent to uncover facts and truth about the dark underbelly of child exploitation comes from years as an investigative journalist. She is fearless in reporting on these issues that others in her profession refuse to expose. Liz stands alone in her repertoire of reports and persistent efforts to expose predators, whether they are individuals or organized enterprises. We spoke with her to find out how she got involved and what drives her dedication to helping end the war on children.
There are times in our lives that are transformational. You have been an advocate for getting the truth out about the crisis of child trafficking. When did your awareness of this crisis occur, and how has it affected your life?
My awareness about the child trafficking crisis occurred in the fall of 2016 after I read the Podesta emails released by Wikileaks, which took me down a very deep, dark rabbit hole. During my research, I quickly discovered that Hillary Clinton and many of her elite pals or associates were involved in child sex trafficking. The most blatant indicator was their use of known pedophile code words in the emails, such as “pizza,” in a context that clearly didn’t apply to food. This discovery shattered my soul, and what made it worse was that the mainstream media was not willing to tell the truth about this story, including high-profile journalists I had looked up to and some I had even worked for. This changed the whole trajectory of my life. I realized that if I didn’t tell this story and dedicate my life to it – no one else would. I rose to the occasion and have been put through hell for it; however, I would do it all over again because I know in my heart this is what God called me to do.
As an investigative journalist, you have been uncovering facts about people, events, policies, etc. much of your professional career. Was there one story you wrote about or produced that you are most proud of reporting?
I flew all over the world, including to some exotic places such as the Galapagos Islands, as a celebrity reporter for many years, covering meaningless gossip like celebrity break-ups and cheating stories. I was proud of my ability to out-scoop and produce more cover stories than my colleagues, but that kind of journalism left me empty. In 2016, I switched gears and transitioned to politics and ironically found myself writing about another celebrity: Donald Trump. My story about him, Trump Does The Unthinkable, for Townhall is one of the stories I’m most proud of. When the entire media was slandering Trump with blatant lies, I wrote this piece to counter that filth while highlighting all the good Trump has done over the course of his entire lifetime. That story went viral, and I still see it circulated on social media to this day. It was the first celebrity story I wrote that gave me a sense of fulfillment because I know it had a tremendous positive impact at a time when it was desperately needed.
You have been researching and reporting on child exploitation, the proliferation of pedophilia, and Satanic rituals in the movie and film industry for years. Some people are still in disbelief even though evidence has been brought to light. Why do you think that is the case?
Most people are good and would never hurt a child, so they can’t wrap their head around the idea that there are networks of people engaged in the trafficking and Satanic Ritualistic Abuse (SRA) of children. There’s also a psychological component keeping people in denial that is driven by fear, apathy, and laziness. Once you realize this evil exists, your reality is shattered. People don’t want to be taken out of their comfort zone, and some don’t want to accept that they’ve been living in The Matrix, so to speak, because that takes work. I do believe some people in denial do know deep down this stuff is real; however, they refuse to do the research to prove this because with that comes a moral responsibility to act. This is where laziness and apathy come into play. Finally, the entire mainstream media – and even conservative outlets – work overtime to cover up for elite pedophiles in particular, so it takes effort and digging to find the truth.
Most Americans are realizing that our nation, and in fact, the world, is involved in a spiritual war – good against the forces of evil. What advice can you offer to people who are just waking up and don’t know exactly what to do to get involved?
There are three courses of action people who are just waking up should take. No. 1: Pray. No. 2: Get in touch with your “conspiracy theorist” friends and keep them close – they will support you and walk you through the awakening process, which can be traumatic. No. 3: Sign up for our newsletter at the America’s Future website and attend one of our upcoming summits or a training course if you have the means. These courses provide education and training on how to combat child sex trafficking.
What is your prayer for America?
We’ve got a lot of serious problems in America, but there’s nothing more important than protecting children. If we cannot rally together to save children from monsters, then we’ve failed as a nation. My prayer for America is that the masses wake up to the truth about crimes against children and that this is the cause that unites us all. If this happens, I believe it will not only help heal the kids, but it will also repair the country’s other deep wounds and humble We The People. God’s best masterpieces are made from broken pieces.
Editor’s Note: Liz Crokin is host of Not On My Watch and a member of America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Our Children Advisory Board.
Registration is open for the next Get In The Fight campaign in the State of Michigan, scheduled for December 8 and 9, 2023, at the Grace Christian Church at 33801 Van Dyke Ave. in Sterling Heights. The campaign is part of America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Our Children (PDPC) nationwide initiative to build a grassroots community of informed citizens across the country armed with the facts, knowledge, and tools to help end child exploitation and trafficking. To learn more and register for the Michigan campaign, please click here.
On December 8th, Michigan’s campaign will begin with a speaker’s meet and greet reception from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., followed by the summit panel discussion from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The panel will be moderated by Lara Logan, an award-winning investigative journalist, and America’s Future Board Director, and include Bazzel Baz, founder and president of the Association for the Recovery of Children, Tara Lee Rodas, HHS whistleblower, Jaeson Jones, CEO, Omni Intelligence, and Christine Dolan, author, and investigative journalist. Lara, Baz, and Tara are members of the PDPC Advisory Board.
On the following day, December 9th, a series of training programs will begin at 9 a.m. and run through 4 p.m. at the church location. Among the courses taught by experienced instructors include seminars for hospitality and healthcare professionals, parents and caring adults, first responders, and overcomers. Other training programs include learning ways to protect children from becoming predators or prey in the world of commercial sexual exploitation, and a session on how traffickers and predators blend apps and AI tools with the techniques of psychological operations to control human behavior that includes a showing of the movie, Into The Light, produced by acclaimed filmmaker, Mike Smith, an America’s Future Board Director.
Michigan residents and others interested in attending the two-day Michigan event are encouraged to register early to secure their seats for the panel and training programs and to attend the meet and greet reception with the panelists, instructors, and other members of the America’s Future PDPC Advisory Board, Liz Crokin, Brian Gamble, Lynz Piper-Loomis, Ben Moore, and special guests.
Plans are in progress for several other state campaigns, including Illinois on January 25 and 26, 2024, and Ohio on June 14 and 15. If you or an organization you are affiliated with are interested in coordinating a Get In The Fight campaign in your state, email Lisa MacDonald, America’s Future Director of Strategic Planning and Development, at [email protected].
In the sixth episode of Not On My Watch, viewers have a chance to learn about the essence of family love and how the tragic death of a young man became a fight for justice in a corrupt system for his aunt, Geri Perna. Geri is the loving aunt of Matthew Perna, a natural-born teacher who loved his students as much as the children loved him. He was also an advocate for children who were exploited, unafraid to speak up on their behalf so others would understand the reality of the existence of child trafficking.
In the episode, hosted by investigative journalist Liz Crokin, Geri recounts the tragedy of losing Matthew to suicide as a result of the political persecution he endured from DOJ prosecutors following his arrest for exercising his constitutional rights on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. He never hurt anyone, never raised his hand in anger that day, nor did he steal or break anything. Yet after agreeing to a plea deal on phony charges to put the ordeal behind him, the DOJ threatened him with a terrorism enhancement that would have kept him behind bars for years.
Watch Not On My Watch, and learn about Matt’s love of country, especially the American flag, and his genuine warmth and generosity towards others. And how Geri has turned her nephew’s tragic death into a rallying cry to end DOJ corruption, and how she has become a lifeline for other Jan. 6ers victimized by a corrupt DOJ, and who are battling thoughts of suicide. She has also presented legislation called the Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2022 to provide protections for nonviolent political protesters, and started the Matthew Perna Foundation to celebrate the spirit of her nephew’s life and the passions he cared so deeply about.
There have been developments in multiple ongoing civil cases related to the trafficking ring headed by Jeffrey Epstein – one of the most prolific pedophiles of our generation who ran his operation across many countries around the globe and victimized several dozen, possibly hundreds, of young women. The discovery process from these cases has revealed a lot of new information, particularly over the past several months, including new names of Epstein associates. Multiple cases have been settled; however, others are still proceeding, and 16 states plus Washington D.C. have objected to the settlement terms in a lawsuit filed by Epstein’s victims.
In September, JPMorgan agreed to a $75 million settlement to the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the lawsuit, the Virgin Islands alleged that JPMorgan facilitated and benefited from the sex trafficking of young women. JPMorgan did not admit to any wrongdoing, and within the settlement, $55 million will go to Virgin Islands charities, including those that are involved in anti-trafficking efforts.
In June, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million to settle a class-action suit from Epstein’s victims. However, last week, multiple U.S. States objected to the settlement, stating that the terms limit their ability to seek compensation for sexual abuse victims. There are 16 states plus Washington D.C. that made objections complaining that the settlement language prevents “any sovereign or government” from seeking damages arising from sex trafficking by Epstein.
“There’s pushback from multiple states plus one [Washington D.C.],” reports Attorney Ben Moore, who is a member of America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Advisory Board. “If you get the right judge or attorney general, it could be the perfect scenario for more discovery on Epstein to be obtained, and it would be less likely that the case will be sealed.”
The states objecting believe that the settlement agreement is flawed since it seeks to release the states’ claims for victim-specific relief. Those states include California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Utah and Vermont.
“Jeffrey Epstein’s surviving victims should be fully compensated for the profound harm they have suffered,” New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who represents one of the 16 states, said in a written statement according to Reuters. “However, as it now stands, the settlement agreement improperly seeks to release (the states’) claims for victim-specific relief.”
This settlement needs approval by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, and Epstein’s accusers have until Nov. 6 to object to the state’s objection.
Last Friday (October 27), U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff gave final approval of Deutsche Bank’s $75 million settlement with victims. “This is, in the court’s view, a terrific settlement,” Rakoff said in court.
One case that’s still ongoing is a lawsuit filed by Ghislaine Maxwell against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. Maxwell is seeking millions of dollars to cover legal fees, security costs, and other expenses that she claims were incurred out of her relationship with Epstein. Maxwell has been unable to find a lawyer to represent her, so she’s representing herself. The silver lining is that if this case goes to trial – more information on Epstein should be disclosed, including potentially new names of people involved in his trafficking network. Maybe Maxwell will finally spill the beans and reveal the Epstein client list. After all, she has nothing to lose at this point.
Epstein is a cautionary tale for everyone – especially parents. Although, like most child sex predators, Epstein targeted young women who came from broken homes with deadbeat parents. That’s why it’s important for citizens everywhere to stay vigilant to protect all children – if you see something, say something!
America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Our Children Little Flower Advisory Board have dedicated their lives to educating, helping, and inspiring others through their professional work and personal lives. As a unified team of experts and leaders of this important Project, they have pledged their time and talent to the future of America – our precious children. Our Executive Director Mary O’Neill and Board Chair General Mike Flynn lead the advisory team that includes Board member Lara Logan, Liz Crokin, Mike Smith, Lynz Piper-Loomer, Bazell and Tina Baz, Brian Gamble, Tara Lee Rodas, Silvia Almond, and Attorneys Alicia Kutzer, Ben Moore, and Bill Olson.
In this edition of the Bulletin, our PDPC advisors open their notebooks to share their “reader’s choice” selections to watch, read, listen to, and learn more about why it is critical for all Americans to stay informed and get involved in eradicating child exploitation, abuse, and trafficking in America and worldwide.
TRAFFICKING CRISIS IN LA: In January of this year, California Governor Gavin Newsom decriminalized sex work. This law has emboldened sex workers since it’s made it nearly impossible for law enforcement to bust prostitutes. L.A.’s red light district is flooded with hundreds of prostitutes selling sex in broad daylight, including some who are barely out of their teens, according to the New York Post. Officers are no longer allowed to stop the sex workers or offer help unless they look underage. The cops will take the prostitutes who look underage to the state and refer them to the Department of Children and Family Services. However, LAPD sources say they usually see them back on the streets a few days later.
THE TRUTH ABOUT BRITNEY SPEARS: Britney Spears’ new book is out; however, skeptics question whether she’s endorsing this book and even wrote it or if it was put out by her team to profit off of her financially. Britney has done zero in-person promotion of her book, and her interview with People was done via e-mail, which begs the question if she wrote the answers to the interview questions. Court records cited that her conservatorship was turned into a “Care Plan,” and then the records were sealed – a red flag that she may not be free. To learn the truth about the illegal conservatorship that involved the trafficking of Britney Spears, watch Liz Crokin’s Slave Princess here.
ART IMITATES LIFE: The new hit Netflix series, The Fall of the House of Usher, is inspired by some of Edgar Allen Poe’s work. The gothic horror drama highlights the fall of a modern-day fictional elite family that runs a corrupt pharmaceutical company that’s ultimately responsible for the death of millions. The family patriarch, Roderick Usher, and his twin sister make a deal with a woman representing the devil and death to obtain their wealth and power; however, at the price of sacrificing their future bloodline. Although the show is fiction, it exposes the dirty pharmaceutical industry and other corruption that’s very prevalent in the real world.
SPREAD THE WORD: Share the PDPC Bulletin with family members, friends, and neighbors to help raise awareness about how to prevent child exploitation and trafficking in Americans. Encourage others to join the PDPC network to expand the grassroots community of Americans, helping to end the war on children. And visit the PDPC News page for informative articles and other resources, and to watch Not On My Watch podcasts.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Help support the PDPC initiative by shopping online in the AF Store. Check out the assortment of Project Defend & Protect Our Children tees for the whole family, and a wide range of accessories like coffee mugs and totes. Thank you for your support!
If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. – Matthew 18:6
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