MADISON – Representative Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac) released the following statement after the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s office filed criminal complaints yesterday against two adults previously arrested for sex trafficking and child sex-abuse charges. “As Chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Human/Sex Trafficking this particular case is a classic match to the stories we heard from law enforcement, victims, and victim support agencies. This is what law enforcement refers to as the “exploitation of the vulnerable”. Here we have two adults who have entered the country illegally. The Mother of the 12-year-old child sells her daughter to a man for $250. He then commits a series of sexual crimes against the child, as outlined in the complaint filed today. After midnight, this brave young girl is able to escape a vehicle and run to the only house on this low-traffic and housing road where she finds help. If she had not escaped, this incident would have been one of the many incidents that take place in this underground world of misery. This is a classic case because when stacked up against the statistics, more than 40% of children who are drawn into the world of sex trafficking world by their Mothers or other family members. This is beyond heartbreaking. How many of the more than ten million illegal immigrants coming across the southern border can be described as being vulnerable to drug schemes, sex trafficking, or labor trafficking? More than 100,000 unaccompanied minors have entered this country since 2021. Many reports tell us many women and girls pay the cartels for passage to the southern border by women selling both their bodies and their daughter’s bodies as payment for the trip to America. Once here this activity has a high probability of continuing. Shame on the policies and policymakers that have allowed this activity to continue. This is unacceptable. With no plan to process and provide for these vulnerable individuals, and there are many, we will be dealing with the fallout from this failed policy for years. We can all step in and help. If you suspect anyone under the age of 18 may be being trafficked, please contact local law enforcement or call the Wisconsin Dept. of Children Families Hotline toll-free hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Click on this link for a report of the criminal complaint:
