Thursday, 9 April 2009

Preventing Child Sex Exploitation

NTV
April 9, 2009

A Federal Official that has ties to Kearney and was involved in several high-profile child sex
slave rings, talked to UNK students about child sex exploitation.

It's hard to think about, but certainly a reality overseas and perhaps more and more closer to home. Now one man is telling about his experiences trying to stop adults from having sex with kids.

"He would tie them, gag them, blindfold them, sometimes smother them with a pillow and rape them," Said Gary Phillips.

Phillips talks about his role taking down former US Marine Corps Captain, Michael Pepe. Pepe was convicted of raping seven kids in Cambodia.

"He would perform oral sex to them and have them do it to him and even have them do it to each other...That was one of the worst cases I've ever worked," Phillips said.

Phillips is now giving presentations on his experiences as an undercover agent working for Homeland Security in South East Asia. He caught Americans who traveled to Asia to have sex with kids.

"I was amazed at the amount of Americans that do this in plain sight, to have sex with these kids, some as young as seven," said Phillips.

He says child sex exploitation is hard to stop because of poverty. Parents often sell their
kids to Americans to have sex.

"It's brought on by despair, poverty, pain, suffering. This is the only way they can make money, I don't condone it at all, but this is the reality," he said.

Students listened intently, shocked at some of the graphic pictures, and nature of the issue.

"I liked it, I think it's important for people like Gary to share these experiences with us so we know what's going on in the world," said UNK Senior Jena Lynch.

Not only is this a problem globally, but in America one in four girls and one in six boys will be a victim of sexual abuse. Phillips says that can be prevented.

"Keeping that line of communication open is so important. Talk to your kids about sex. That's the only way you can prevent something like this from happening to your child," he said.

It was quite by accident Phillips gave a presentation at UNK, he ran into a Kearney Professor on a plane during his global travels. He's now in the process of getting his Masters of Biology at online at UNK.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Too bad Gary Phillips didn't tell the folks he was speaking to that he blew the whole Pepe case by violating ethical standards and engaging in a sexual relationship with the Vietnamese interpreter assigned to the case as well.

Due to Phillips' own sexual exploitations, the defense attorneys for Pepe have been able to get their man freed as I understand it.

I don't know if he gets another trial or not but regardless, Phillips and his sex partner cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of investigative work. What a scumbag. I encourage this blog to follow up on this information and discover the truth for yourselves.