Headlines:
| Two sentenced for human trafficking |
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| Tuesday, 11 November 2008 | |
 Two men, who pleaded guilty to selling a 14 year old girl
as a prostitute to a US
undercover agent, have been sentenced to one year in prison on human
trafficking charges.Norcott Graham,54, and Agon Stephens,52, were sentenced Tuesday before the Home Circuit Court. They are the first to be charged and sentenced for human trafficking in Jamaica. Graham and Stephens were charged in 2006 with human trafficking under the Child Care and Protection Act and selling a minor as a sex slave following a sting operation. It was reported that the men offered to sell the little girl to a tourist for US$900. However, the tourist turned out to be an under cover agent who came to Jamaica to investigate incidents of child prostitution and the trafficking of children. He then contacted the Organised Crime Unit and a sting operation was set-up. The men were caught selling the child to the agent in a room at a hotel in New Kingston. Graham and Stephens had strongly challenged the allegations, but changed their pleas after they were shown a videotape of the incident, which was captured on a miniature camera. |