Jessica was a student at a local Boston high school when she first met Darryl Tavares, the man who would become her pimp. She had run away from home days before and was standing in the snow in skimpy clothes. Tavares convinced her that if she let him be her pimp, she’d never have to be outside in the cold. He failed to mention that he’d also cut her with a potato peeler to mark her as his property, kick her face with his work boots for disobeying, and keep the money she earned from having sex with men in hotel rooms around Boston. But that is what happened to Jessica and the many other girls as young as 13 in a violent child sex trafficking ring in Boston.

After years of abuse, Jessica had enough. She tried to leave her pimp, but he sent several women to find her and they attacked her brutally. So Jessica turned to the police for help and eventually became the first informant for what would be a massive FBI investigation into child prostitution in Boston. In the end, they arrested six pimps, two of whom are awaiting sentencing. Despite the fact that she has deep physical and emotional scars from her time in slavery, Jessica is now a college student. She’s studying to be a social worker to help girls who find themselves in the same situation she did — alone in the snow, making a choice between the home they hate and a smiling wolf offering a warm meal and a place to sleep.

Too often, victims like Jessica never get justice, because the information in a case comes down to her word against the pimp’s. The victim is often very young, traumatized, confused, and may have lied to the police in the past. Pimps are usually older, self-possessed, and can afford a good lawyer.  That’s why evidence is so critical in cases like Jessica’s.

Jessica and the other girls trafficked with her were sold at area hotels around Boston. And while no one is releasing the names of those hotels, a local radio station has speculated that they included some high-end properties where wealthy business travelers would stay. But part of the reason Jessica and the other girls were able to find justice was that the hotels released their records to the FBI, corroborating the girls’ stories. Without those hotels, police might not have been able to prove Tavares and his colleagues had been running a child prostitution ring. Without those hotels, six pimps could still be out on the streets of Boston, luring young girls out of the snow.

Hotels can be heroes in the prevention and reporting of child prostitution and sex trafficking. One excellent tool for them is the Code of Conduct, which gives travel and tourism industry companies a rubric and resources for fighting child sex trafficking. And while many European and Asian companies have signed the Code, few American companies have. Ask Hilton to sign the Code of Conduct and become a leader in the fight against child prostitution.

Photo credit: skelekitten

Boston Hotels Help Bust Major Child Prostitution Ring

But when do aggressive emails and comments cross this line? This has been an issue in so many areas of our modern life. Sure, the occasional controversial academic could get used to attacks, but in the climate change arena, the discourse is getting seriously out of hand.

When a steady stream of vitriolic hate is directed at a whole pack of prominent scientists whenever they dare venture beyond obscure journals, I think this line is surely crossed. Some of it is almost certainly from individual crazies. Others suggest these attacks are orchestrated, and blogger Tim Lambert notes that one high-profile spokesperson for the climate denial machine regularly publishes the email addresses of “target” scientists. Regardless of the source, I fear it is only a matter of time before abusive words translate to abusive actions.

The Guardian in the U.K. has compiled some of this hate mail, much of it directed at scientists whose private email exchanges were published by unknown hackers last year. These scientists were called “Nazi morons” and told to “gargle razor blades” and “rot in hell,” in a small sampling of hundreds of expletive-laden rants, many from anonymous writers. (I actually can’t a imagine a U.S. paper publishing the language in the above link.) They’ve also received many death threats and been told to commit suicide. Phil Jones, the scientist at the center of the “Climategate” scandal, said a few months ago that he has indeed had suicidal thoughts.

These scientists have called out for help, but U.S. local police and the FBI have generally not taken any action, citing free speech rights. Instead, researchers are left fearful and paranoid, which surely affects their ability to concentrate on their job and most certainly colors what they are willing to say in public.

“The effect on me has been tremendous,” Stanford University scientist Stephen Schneider told The Guardian. “Some of these people are mentally imbalanced. They are invariably gun-toting rightwingers. What do I do? Learn to shoot a Magnum? Wear a bullet-proof jacket?”

Earlier today, Change.org blogger Nikki Gloudeman wrote about growing calls for transparency in the climate science process. I wonder how in the world scientists can be more “transparent” when they fear for their lives. Clearly, these anonymous attackers — the original Climategate hacker, likely among them — are not after any real honesty. They are after blood. I truly hope they don’t ever get what they came for.

Photo Credit: Alan_Cleaver2000, Flickr User

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For Climate Scientists, Death Threats Come With The Job