Two people were killed and at least 21 others wounded in shootings across Chicago this weekend.

In the latest fatal shooting, a 30-year-old man was killed at his home in South Shore.

Officers found the man laying face down with multiple gunshot wounds about 11:10 p.m. in the doorway of his home in the 7700 block of South Yates Boulevard, Chicago police said. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Neighbors told officers they heard people arguing before shots were fired, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not identified the man.

Friday evening, a 42-year-old man was shot to death while trying to break up a fight in Austin on the West Side.

The man was attempting to break up a fight between two males about 9:10 p.m. in the 1600 block of North Cicero Avenue when one of the males pulled out a gun and fired shots, striking the man in the back and leg, Chicago police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner’s office identified the man as Kenny Winters, a resident of Brighton Park.

In non-fatal attacks, a 34-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting early Saturday in Austin on the West Side.

He was riding in a vehicle about 4:35 a.m. in the 800 block of North Laramie Avenue when someone exited a parked dark blue SUV and fired shots, police said. The man was shot in the chest and taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park in critical condition.

A man and a woman were shot Saturday morning in Englewood on the South Side.

The man, 61, and woman, 46, were sitting inside a parked vehicle about 3:55 a.m. in the 5600 block of South Shields Avenue when someone inside a black SUV fired shots, police said.

The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and the man was struck in the back, police said. They were transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where both were listed in fair condition, police said.

About 10 minutes earlier, another man and woman were shot in McKinley Park on the South Side.

They were being followed by a dark-colored SUV about 3:45 a.m. in the 2000 block of West Pershing Road when the SUV rear-ended their vehicle and caused them to crash into a pole, police said.

The 30-year-old woman, who was driving, was shot when she exited the vehicle to tell the driver of the SUV they were not gang members, police said. The driver of the SUV struck her in the face, shoulder, arm and chest, and she was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.

The gunman then fired shots into their vehicle and struck the man, 41, in the arm, police said. He was taken to the same hospital in good condition. Two other people inside the vehicle were not injured.

Earlier Saturday morning, two men were wounded in a shooting in Englewood on the South Side.

The men, 31 and 41, were standing outside about 1:25 a.m. in the 7000 block of South May Street when someone exited a dark-colored vehicle and fired shots, police said. The 31-year-old was shot in the abdomen and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, while the other man was struck in the groin and taken to the same hospital in fair condition.

Just after midnight Saturday, a 29-year-old man was critically hurt in a shooting in Little Village.

He was driving about 12:30 a.m. in the 3300 block of West Cermak Road when someone inside a passing white-colored SUV fired shots, police said. He was struck in the abdomen and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

At least 13 other people were wounded in citywide shootings between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.

A Clifton man was caught trafficking child porn, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said Sunday.

Detectives from the sheriff’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force arrested James K. Delillo Jr., 30, after finding images of child sexual abuse sent via an alias email account, Berdnik said.

They also seized electronic devices at his Greglawn Drive home that were being analyzed for additional evidence, the sheriff said.

Delillo was sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson on charges of possession, maintaining and distributing child pornography.

Berdnik thanked Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes’s office for its assistance.

updated on 2/6/2021

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that happens all over the world, including in the United States and is especially prevalent in Florida.

In fact, statistics show that Florida is the third highest ranking state where human trafficking takes place.

The Polaris Project provides assistance to victims of human trafficking through the National Human Trafficking Hotline, as well as a variety of other programs that raises awareness for human trafficking to the public.

According to the Polaris Project, more than 460 cases of human trafficking were reported in the state of Florida alone.

More than 300 of those cases of human trafficking were for the purpose of sex trafficking. More than 60 were for labor trafficking.

The top three venues or industries for labor trafficking included domestic work, agriculture and traveling sales crews.

For sex trafficking, the top three venues included illicit spa/massage businesses, residence-based commercial sex and escort services.

Of those trafficking cases, more than 370 were female. Over 60 were male.

In 2018, Polaris worked on nearly 11,000 case of human trafficking that were reported to the organization. Those cases involved more than 23,000 individual survivors, over 5,800 potential traffickers and over 1,900 trafficking businesses.

Polaris says that while those numbers are shocking, they are likely only a fraction of the actual problem because human trafficking is notoriously underreported.

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. You can also text 233733.

Human Trafficking – How to Get Help in Florida

A North Carolina man was arrested on multiple charges, including human trafficking, in Howard County, Maryland, after he arranged prostitution dates at an Elkridge hotel.

Adolph Joseph Scott, 36, was charged with 25 counts of human trafficking, prostitution, drug distribution charges and resisting arrest Friday.

Police said they received a tip Tuesday of “suspicious activity” at a hotel near Dorsey Road and Dorsey Run Road. An unnamed website, known by investigators to be used for prostitution, had advertisements offering sexual services at the hotel.

After investigating the tip, police learned that Scott stayed in a room together with three adult women, two of whom he brought in from North Carolina.

He arranged dates for the women and kept most of the money after each engagement. Scott provided the women with drugs and threatened them to maintain control, according to police.

On Wednesday, police arrested Scott outside the hotel. The three women were referred to HopeWorks, a sexual assault and domestic violence center in Howard County, for assistance.

Multiple suspected drugs were found in Scott’s possession during his arrest, including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. Additional drugs were also found in his hotel room, police said.

Scott is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.

Investigators are asking the public to provide any information on further suspected human trafficking or prostitution by contacting Howard County police at 410-3131-7867 or emailing their crime tips account.

The St. Joseph Police Department, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Saturday that a successful human trafficking operation was completed late Friday night at two St. Joseph, Missouri, travel stop locations.

In a news release from Schmitt’s office, the operation was conducted at the Bucky’s Travel Plaza and Love’s Travel Stop in St. Joseph.

The release said it was a joint operation, organized by the St. Joseph Police Department, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force.

The operation, police said, resulted in three arrests, with an additional arrest pending, and the rescue of six victims – five female and one male.

Two children, a two-year-old and an infant, were also rescued, according to police.

The Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force consists of law enforcement and victim service providers from around the state working together to combat human trafficking, rescue victims and make communities safer.

Sixteen different agencies participated in the operation.

“Last night, my office’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, in coordination with multiple law enforcement agencies, conducted a successful human trafficking operation at two truck stops in St. Joseph, resulting in six victims and two children being rescued and three arrests,” Schmitt said in a statement.

“This operation was successful because of cooperation between my Office, the St. Joseph Police Department, the state highway patrol, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, and 13 other agencies and departments. This unprecedented success should send clear a message to traffickers: you are not welcome in Missouri, and you can’t hide any longer.”

2/6/2021: Saturday

Serial paedophile Mark James Dale from Romford – Credit: NCA

A serial paedophile from Romford admitted downloading thousands of child porn images and stalking online chat rooms for victims. 

Mark James Dale, 45, of Market Place, was convicted of making indecent images of children after downloading more than 14,000 pictures and videos on the dark web. 

When he was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators at his home, he told them: “You know I’ve been on the dark web, close it down.” 

Dale, who has several previous convictions for child sex abuse offences, was caught out when officers managed to link his laptop to a well-known forum for paedophiles. 

It was discovered Dale had been regularly visiting a chat room called ‘tweenfanisland’. 

After seizing a laptop and tablet, officers found he had saved 14,222 photos and videos of children being sexually abused – ranging from category A to C, the most serious. 

NCA Operations Manager Martin Ludlow said: “Every image or video Dale downloaded and viewed depicts a child being exploited

“This is an individual with a history of committing child sexual abuse offences. His willingness to continue with his behaviour, and use of the dark web to try and circumvent those who were monitoring him, shows a total disregard for victims, and the seriousness of his crimes. 

“Working with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure those who pose a risk to children are brought to justice.” 

Dale is a repeat offender and was previously convicted in 2011 and 2019 for similar offences, and his online activity was supposed to be restricted by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). This included having to register any digital devices with the Metropolitan Police. 

He was exposed on two previous occasions when he was caught speaking to first an undercover journalist in 2011 and then a vigilante, who passed his details on to the police, in 2019. They were posing as a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old girl when speaking to Dale. 

He pleaded guilty at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court today (February 5) and will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on February 15

Illinois man kills 9-year-old daughter, himself in suspected murder-suicide

February 5, 2021 | 1:52pm

The home in Briar Ridge Lane in Illinois where a man reportedly killed his daughter and himself.Google Maps

An Illinois man killed his 9-year-old daughter before taking his own life this week, according to new reports. 

Police responded around 2:15 p.m. Thursday to a home on Briar Ridge Lane in the village of Lake Villa, about 50 miles north of Chicago, The Daily Herald reported, citing the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

The child’s mom and dad lived separately but shared custody of their daughter, the paper reported. 

The mother let the girl stay overnight with her father Wednesday, but became concerned when she didn’t show up to school Thursday, according to the report.  

The mother tried to reach the father — and when he didn’t answer, she called the cops to conduct a wellness check. 

Responding cops found the girl, and her 36-year-old father, dead inside the home, WGN-TV reported. 

“Based on the facts and circumstances obtained thus far, this is being investigated as a murder-suicide,” police said, according to the report. “Preliminary information suggests the father took his daughter’s life before taking his own.”

Authorities are still probing the incident. 

“This is an incredibly tragic set of circumstances and our deepest condolences go out to the family of the child,” Lake Villa Chief Craig Somerville said in a statement. “I want to reassure the Lake Villa community that there is no evidence to suggest there is a threat to the public.”

A human-trafficking sting that was focused on online prostitution led to the arrests of 64 people, California authorities announced this week.

The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force arrested 61 men and one female for solicitation of prostitution and two other men on other prostitution and solicitation charges January 24-28, authorities said in a statement released Tuesday.

Task force officials said investigators set up stings at sites known for sex trafficking and targeted businesses that had previously been reported for illegal sexual activity.

In addition to the arrests, task force officers found two women believed to be victims of sex trafficking who were being forced to engage in prostitution against their will.

The arrests were part of an annual effort by local, state and federal authorities to combat sexual slavery and human trafficking in California, according to the statement.

Last year, 518 people were arrested, while 87 victims, including 11 children, were recovered during the effort, it said.

Human trafficking is a worldwide problem. The U.S. State Department and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have reported that between 25 million and 40 million people are trafficked around the globe each year.

Many of those victims — 99% of whom are women or children — are being trafficked specifically for sex, according to the ILO. It also said about one in four victims of trafficking is a child.

Trafficking also picks up during high-profile events that draw huge out-of-town crowds, such as this weekend’s Super Bowl, which is being held Sunday in Tampa, Florida.

To prevent trafficking, the National Football League, which highlights local organizations at the Super Bowl site each year, has designated a community grant for the Hillsborough County Commission on Human Trafficking, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Florida ranks third among U.S. states in volume of human trafficking victims, according to the Human Tracking Hotline.

2/4/2021 : Thursday

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday announced the arrest and charges for 22 alleged members of an international human trafficking ring based in Bergen County that would force women into sexual slavery, and had operated in the county for as many as six years, authorities said.

In a virtual press conference Thursday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced that 22 people were arrested and charged for their alleged involvement in the human trafficking ring that victimized more than 50 people, many of them Mexican immigrants, by forcing them into prostitution. More than 1,500 clients of the forced prostitution were identified, said Robert Anzilotti, the office’s Chief of Detectives.

Through a months-long sting, dubbed “Operation Hope in Darkness,” the Prosecutor’s Office arrested 21 people and charged them with multiple crimes that include prostitution, racketeering, money laundering and human trafficking.

On Wednesday morning, more than 100 detectives from the Prosecutor’s Office executed 19 search warrants in Bergen and Hudson Counties, and arrested 21 people. The trafficking ring’s operation spanned Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Passaic Counties, even crossing the Hudson River, operating in Rockland County and Queens County, New York.

Among the individuals charged with crimes is Nancy Rincon, 61, one of the alleged ring-leaders, who is currently on the run in Colombia, said Anzilotti. The office is working with the Department of Justice to locate, arrest and extradite Rincon to face justice in New Jersey, he said.

The human trafficking ring was an international, highly organized operation that victimized women from ages 18 to mid-30s. In local apartments and condominiums across New Jersey and New York, the women were paid to service as many as 40 clients a day for 12 hours at a time, said Anzilotti.

The trafficking ring would recruit mostly young Mexican women, luring them with the possibility of coming to the United States, only to force them into prostitution, said Anzilotti.

The drivers would be paid $200 a day to bring the victims to clients, in what’s called out-call service prostitution. The ring would bring victims to the clients as opposed to in-call service, where a client visits a massage parlor or motel to pay for sexual services, said Anzilotti.

The ring-leaders would charge $35 to $40 per 10 to 15 minute session for sex acts, Musella said in a statement. The trafficking ring netted hundreds of thousands of dollars every month through the forced sex slavery, according to the statement.

The victims would receive 50 percent of the money earned through prostitution, said Anzilotti, with the ring-leaders taking the other half. A majority of the money the victims would receive ended up back in the hands of ring-leaders to pay back victims’ alleged debt for being brought to the United States.

Operation Hope in Darkness seized more than $250,000 in illegal assets and properties in Teaneck and Florida, said Anzilotti.