Indianapolis to Combat Super Bowl Weekend Sex Trafficking
For all the fun of Super Bowl sportsmanship and competition and boost to tourism, host cities have long seen an unwanted, dark element to the weekend fueled by testosterone, excessive drinking and the party hard atmosphere. That element is sex trafficking, the Super Bowl's ugly, secretive stepsister.
Each year, thousands of young girls are trafficked to Super Bowl cities with the express purpose of fulfilling sexual desires and lining the pockets of pimps and organized crime rings.
This year, nuns, legislators and police in Indiana are standing up to fight the exploitation of women and children involved in the sex trade, particularly immigrants and underage girls who have been trafficked and forced into the seedy profession.
The Catholic Sisters of the Holy Cross in Indiana spoke with Fox News about the plight of these young women. As investors in the hotel chain, they are banking on that investment to call on hotels to report suspicious activity.
"It seemed like this would be an opportunity to use some of our investments that are in some hotels to help educate those hotels to the fact that this is a reality, that there are steps that they can take and it's important to us that they respond to this," said Sister Joan Marie Steadman.
The nuns have called all hotels within a 50 mile radius of Indianapolis to put them on high alert and advise them of what to look for.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill into law to protect children against human trafficking on Monday, in preparation for the big weekend.
The bill, which passed unanimously, broadens the penalties for trafficking and sends a message to organized crime groups that promotion of the underage sex trade will not be tolerated. Those caught will face 20 to 50 years in prison.
“The message we send today is ‘don’t try it here.’ Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis is where this practice ends,” said Governor Daniels. “Thanks to Senator Head and Attorney General Zoeller and those who brought this problem to our attention so we could act to give law enforcement officials the tools they need.”
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