Update January 1, 2011: Minneapolis Star Tribune has a great story about how this case developed, here.
Update December 4th: Accused sex-traffickers had access to restricted airport areas in Nashville, here.
Update November 24th: New York Times gets around to the story, here.
Update November 13th: Minneapolis Somalis react, here.
Update November 12th: Indicted want out of custody, here.
Update November 10th: Names and photos posted of those arrested, here. Muslim women involved as abusers.
Update November 9th: The master of spin, Omar Jamal, is back, here.
We told you this might be coming here two months ago but at that time we didn’t know Columbus, Ohio Somalis were involved. Now, today, comes the indictment (hat tip: Ed and others).
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
MINNEAPOLIS – Twenty-nine people have been indicted in a sex trafficking ring in which Somali gangs in Minneapolis and St. Paul allegedly forced girls under age 14 into prostitution in Minnesota, Tennessee and Ohio, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
The 24-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee, said one of the gangs’ goals was recruiting females under age 18, including some under age 14, and forcing them into prostitution so the defendants could get money, marijuana or liquor.
The indictment details several instances in which young Somali or African American girls were taken from place to place and forced to engage in sex acts with multiple people. One girl was under 13 when she was first prostituted. Another girl was 18 when she was raped by multiple men in a hotel room, the indictment said.
Three gangs of former refugees or children of refugees were involved (friends of yours, Allahsoldier?):
The indictment claims the ring involved three Minneapolis-based gangs — the Somali Outlaws, the Somali Mafia and the Lady Outlaws — and that all three gangs are connected. The men and women charged were either gang members or associates of the gangs, the indictment said. They range in age from 19 to 38.
[….]
Jerry Martin, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said the defendants traveled back and forth easily between Nashville and St. Paul, and some may have been related. Both cities, as well as Columbus, have large Somali refugee populations.
By the way, we heard a similar story on a smaller scale from Seattle, here, nearly two years ago.
For new readers: We have admitted well over 100,000 Somali refugees to the US. To check out the numbers visit this post, one of our most widely read posts over the last few years. In FY2010 which ended September 30th the US State Department resettled 4,884 Somalis (here) to towns near you.
Also, after being closed for nearly two years, the US State Department is on the verge of resuming the fraud-ridden family reunification program that admitted as many as 36,000 Somalis fraudulently to the US between 2003 and 2008. See the latest on new regulations, here. The State Department is on the verge of re-opening the program.