lonelywombat
March 26th, 2012, 07:01
I have often seen reports of sex slave operations in Chiang mai and northern areas, but this is the first time I have seen this make the headlines of our conservative newspapers.
The numbers of undercover workers astounds me.
cut and pasted from The Age Melbourne http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexsl ... 1vsie.html (http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexslave-charity-head-quits-amid-row-20120325-1vsie.html)
Sex-slave charity head quits amid row
Lindsay Murdoch
March 26, 2012 - 12:00AM
THE head of an Australian charity that has been accused of faking the rescue of Thai hill tribe children from sexual slavery has resigned.
Former Australian army commando Sean McBride stepped down from the Grey Man charity at the weekend following new claims about the organisation and an investigation into the hill tribes children by ThailandтАЩs Department of Special Investigation.
Mr McBride, who also uses the name John Curtis, told The Age the Grey ManтАЩs board decided he should step down because тАШтАШpersonal issuesтАЩтАЩ between him and people in Thailand were interfering with the organisationтАЩs operations.
Funded by Australian donations, the high-profile charity promotes the use of former Australian soldiers and police in daring missions to rescue victims of sex trafficking in Asia.
Police in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai have cut ties with the charity amid claims and counter-claims about the organisation pending the outcome of the departmental investigation.
In a new claim, the Grey ManтАЩs former head of investigations in Thailand said the charityтАЩs website had exaggerated the success of its operations, including changing the ages of victims.
тАШтАШSean [Mr McBride] told me younger girls are most interesting for donors,тАЩтАЩ said the Thailand-born man, who asked that his name not be published because of his undercover work.
The charityтАЩs website often claimed that victims as young as 12 were rescued.
Responding by email to questions from The Age sent before he stepped down, Mr McBride said he never changed reports тАШтАШexcept to make them more readable and media-orientatedтАЩтАЩ.
He said the charity, which last year had about 25 field operatives and was training 20 more, would not put тАШтАШpeople on the ground in Thailand until we get the all-clear from the DSIтАЩтАЩ, although its website continues to appeal for donations to support its main objective of тАШтАШassist[ing] the police in Thailand in locating and rescuing children from trafficking and sexual abuseтАЩтАЩ.
He told The Age that much of the controversy about the charity he founded in 2007 was about тАШтАШcorruption and vested interestsтАЩтАЩ.
The charity says it has rescued dozens of children from prostitution in Asia, the youngest aged 10. It also works on prevention measures such as supporting employment and education programs in an attempt to stop children being trafficked for sexual exploitation. But the charity has had acrimonious disputes with its operatives in Thailand, including police provided with costs to support its operations.
Referring to the hill-tribe-children investigation and the Grey ManтАЩs critics, Mr McBride said: тАШтАШDid we rescue 22 children and did we scam the Australian public? They know they are about to lose that one, so they are using half-truths now to try and discredit us in other ways and they will keep trying.тАЩтАЩ
Police from the Chiang Mai-based transnational crime unit told The Age that 21 hill tribe children from a village in northern Chiang Rai province were not rescued from prostitution as the charity claimed on its website along with appeals for funds. The Department of Special Investigation is investigating claims that the children had never left their homes, had continued to attend school and had suffered as a result of the publicity.
Mr McBride said the Grey Man had provided the department with a comprehensive response to the allegations.
тАШтАШWe are fully co-operating with the inquiry,тАЩтАЩ he said.
Police also told The Age the department is investigating the Grey ManтАЩs alleged use of a fake address in Chiang Mai.
Mr McBride said the address тАШтАШwas a temporary address when we first startedтАЩтАЩ.
In responses to questions from The Age, Mr McBride defended the use of photographs of hill tribe children on its website above references to children being taken to a brothel.
тАШтАШThere donтАЩt seem to be many photos of hill tribe kids. If they were sex trade victims they would have their eyes blacked out,тАЩтАЩ he said.
тАШтАШI suppose people could make a connection between those kids and brothels but it was not our intention. I will discuss it with our people, but I think people realise a site like ours will have photos of kids on it.тАЩтАЩ
The former head of Grey ManтАЩs 10-person Thai investigation unit said Australian volunteers who travelled to Thailand to support operations could provide little assistance because they could not speak Thai and had little knowledge of Thai culture.
Mr McBride said the man did not like working with foreigners тАШтАШso we had to send our volunteers off to do their own tasksтАЩтАЩ.
Operations to rescue sex trade workers in Thailand have become highly contentious. The Empower Foundation, which represents sex workers, said in a report released this month that тАШтАШwe have now reached a point where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practice than there are women exploited by traffickersтАЩтАЩ.
The foundation was not referring specifically to the Grey Man, which is based in Brisbane and has been strongly supported by AustraliaтАЩs legal profession, including judges.
The Grey Man board has appointed former Australian Federal Police agent Colin Rowley to replace Mr McBride, who said he will no longer be involve
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexsl ... z1qAzIFJJP (http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexslave-charity-head-quits-amid-row-20120325-1vsie.html#ixzz1qAzIFJJP)
The numbers of undercover workers astounds me.
cut and pasted from The Age Melbourne http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexsl ... 1vsie.html (http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexslave-charity-head-quits-amid-row-20120325-1vsie.html)
Sex-slave charity head quits amid row
Lindsay Murdoch
March 26, 2012 - 12:00AM
THE head of an Australian charity that has been accused of faking the rescue of Thai hill tribe children from sexual slavery has resigned.
Former Australian army commando Sean McBride stepped down from the Grey Man charity at the weekend following new claims about the organisation and an investigation into the hill tribes children by ThailandтАЩs Department of Special Investigation.
Mr McBride, who also uses the name John Curtis, told The Age the Grey ManтАЩs board decided he should step down because тАШтАШpersonal issuesтАЩтАЩ between him and people in Thailand were interfering with the organisationтАЩs operations.
Funded by Australian donations, the high-profile charity promotes the use of former Australian soldiers and police in daring missions to rescue victims of sex trafficking in Asia.
Police in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai have cut ties with the charity amid claims and counter-claims about the organisation pending the outcome of the departmental investigation.
In a new claim, the Grey ManтАЩs former head of investigations in Thailand said the charityтАЩs website had exaggerated the success of its operations, including changing the ages of victims.
тАШтАШSean [Mr McBride] told me younger girls are most interesting for donors,тАЩтАЩ said the Thailand-born man, who asked that his name not be published because of his undercover work.
The charityтАЩs website often claimed that victims as young as 12 were rescued.
Responding by email to questions from The Age sent before he stepped down, Mr McBride said he never changed reports тАШтАШexcept to make them more readable and media-orientatedтАЩтАЩ.
He said the charity, which last year had about 25 field operatives and was training 20 more, would not put тАШтАШpeople on the ground in Thailand until we get the all-clear from the DSIтАЩтАЩ, although its website continues to appeal for donations to support its main objective of тАШтАШassist[ing] the police in Thailand in locating and rescuing children from trafficking and sexual abuseтАЩтАЩ.
He told The Age that much of the controversy about the charity he founded in 2007 was about тАШтАШcorruption and vested interestsтАЩтАЩ.
The charity says it has rescued dozens of children from prostitution in Asia, the youngest aged 10. It also works on prevention measures such as supporting employment and education programs in an attempt to stop children being trafficked for sexual exploitation. But the charity has had acrimonious disputes with its operatives in Thailand, including police provided with costs to support its operations.
Referring to the hill-tribe-children investigation and the Grey ManтАЩs critics, Mr McBride said: тАШтАШDid we rescue 22 children and did we scam the Australian public? They know they are about to lose that one, so they are using half-truths now to try and discredit us in other ways and they will keep trying.тАЩтАЩ
Police from the Chiang Mai-based transnational crime unit told The Age that 21 hill tribe children from a village in northern Chiang Rai province were not rescued from prostitution as the charity claimed on its website along with appeals for funds. The Department of Special Investigation is investigating claims that the children had never left their homes, had continued to attend school and had suffered as a result of the publicity.
Mr McBride said the Grey Man had provided the department with a comprehensive response to the allegations.
тАШтАШWe are fully co-operating with the inquiry,тАЩтАЩ he said.
Police also told The Age the department is investigating the Grey ManтАЩs alleged use of a fake address in Chiang Mai.
Mr McBride said the address тАШтАШwas a temporary address when we first startedтАЩтАЩ.
In responses to questions from The Age, Mr McBride defended the use of photographs of hill tribe children on its website above references to children being taken to a brothel.
тАШтАШThere donтАЩt seem to be many photos of hill tribe kids. If they were sex trade victims they would have their eyes blacked out,тАЩтАЩ he said.
тАШтАШI suppose people could make a connection between those kids and brothels but it was not our intention. I will discuss it with our people, but I think people realise a site like ours will have photos of kids on it.тАЩтАЩ
The former head of Grey ManтАЩs 10-person Thai investigation unit said Australian volunteers who travelled to Thailand to support operations could provide little assistance because they could not speak Thai and had little knowledge of Thai culture.
Mr McBride said the man did not like working with foreigners тАШтАШso we had to send our volunteers off to do their own tasksтАЩтАЩ.
Operations to rescue sex trade workers in Thailand have become highly contentious. The Empower Foundation, which represents sex workers, said in a report released this month that тАШтАШwe have now reached a point where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practice than there are women exploited by traffickersтАЩтАЩ.
The foundation was not referring specifically to the Grey Man, which is based in Brisbane and has been strongly supported by AustraliaтАЩs legal profession, including judges.
The Grey Man board has appointed former Australian Federal Police agent Colin Rowley to replace Mr McBride, who said he will no longer be involve
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexsl ... z1qAzIFJJP (http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexslave-charity-head-quits-amid-row-20120325-1vsie.html#ixzz1qAzIFJJP)