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White privilege leads to racketeering charges in national college scandal

ROLLINGOUT.COM — The federal government unsealed court documents in Boston that exposed a startling tale of privilege.

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By Mo Barnes

The federal government unsealed court documents in Boston this morning, March 12, 2019, that exposed a startling tale of privilege, elitism and bribery. It all hinged on admission to the top schools in the country and bribes for admission of children of the elite. According to the FBI, those indicted “robbed students of their fair shot at a chance to attend some of the country’s top schools.”

Mo Barnes

Mo Barnes

According to the U.S. Justice Department, at least 50 people have been indicted in a nationwide cheating scandal that saw payouts of up to $6 million to get their children into elite schools. Among those indicted are actress Lori Loughlin, who played Aunt Becky on the ABC sitcom “Full House,”  and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. ABC News reports that the couple “agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC.”

The 200-page charging document included testimony from a cooperating witness, email records and secret recordings. According to federal prosecutors:

“Beginning in or about 2011, and continuing through the present, the defendants — principally individuals whose high-school-age children were applying to college — conspired with others to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to colleges and universities in the District of Massachusetts and elsewhere, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and the University of Southern California – Los Angeles.”

Also indicted was actress Felicity Huffman who prosecutors state “made a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 … to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter.”

According to CNN, the alleged crimes committed by those indicted also include cheating on college admissions exams. Prosecutors allege that third parties took critical exams in place of the students. In addition, it is alleged that records and profiles of ineligible student-athletes were altered in the admissions scheme.

This is a developing story and rolling out will update with new information.

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

Lawmakers Incensed by ‘Watering Down’ of Language in Child Sex Solicitation Bill

After an emotional hearing on July 2, the Assembly Public Safety Committee voted to advance Senate Bill (SB) 1414 with an 8-0 vote. The legislation is an anti-sex-trafficking measure designed to increase penalties for those who purchase sex from children, SB 1414, co- authored by Senators Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), will be reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee after the Legislature break ends on Aug. 5.

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Dr. Stephany Powell, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and current expert on human trafficking survivors, speaks with the media about a bill that would help lock up individuals who buy sex from trafficked children. On Powell's right is Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who co-authored SB 1414 with (not pictured) Sens. Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Susan Rubio. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
Dr. Stephany Powell, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and current expert on human trafficking survivors, speaks with the media about a bill that would help lock up individuals who buy sex from trafficked children. On Powell's right is Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who co-authored SB 1414 with (not pictured) Sens. Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Susan Rubio. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio Ray Harvey

California Black Media

After an emotional hearing on July 2, the Assembly Public Safety Committee voted to advance Senate Bill (SB) 1414 with an 8-0 vote. The legislation is an anti-sex-trafficking measure designed to increase penalties for those who purchase sex from children,

SB 1414, co- authored by Senators Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), will be reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee after the Legislature break ends on Aug. 5.

The legislation has received bipartisan support. However, “critical amendments” were removed, Grove said. She is not satisfied with the language currently in the bill and is pressing members of the Assembly Public Safety Committee to allow key provisions to be restored.

“I am disappointed that they didn’t accept the amendments for all minors to be protected under felony convictions,” Grove said after the committee’s vote.

“I am not going to give up fighting for those 16- and 17-year-olds – and all minors,” Grove stated.  “Now, the district attorneys would have to prove two crimes: that they were bought and sold in order to go back to the perpetrator (trafficker) who initiated the whole process.”

SB 1414 made it off the Senate floor with a 36-0 bipartisan vote on May 23. Before the floor vote in the Senate, the Senate Public Safety Committee amended SB 1414, weakening protections for children ages 16 and 17, Grove said.

The committee’s amendments included charging violators who purchase children 15 and under for sex as ‘wobblers’ (crimes that can be punished as a felony or misdemeanor). According to the current language of the bill, solicitation of a 16- and 17-year-old child is only punishable as a misdemeanor. The second amendment to the bill calls for the felony charge to only carry possible jail time — not time in prison.

Grove and her supporters’ other concern is that a third amendment to SB 1414 states that only perpetrators with a previous conviction of buying sex from a child 15 or under, on the second offense and with over a 10-year age gap of the victim, must register as a Tier 1 sex offender.

Dr. Stephany Powell, a retired Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who has over 30 years of sexual exploitation and trafficking experience gained through law enforcement, testified in front of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

“First of all, there’s no way in the world that (these amendments) are protecting a 16- or 17-year-old,” said Powell, who now assists victims of human trafficking. “Just by the age alone, they are considered to be a victim of human trafficking. That’s your proof right there.”

Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), chair of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), told Grove that he supports SB 1414 and commended her efforts to bring “more accountability to the sex trade.”

McCarty said he is willing to make SB 1414 “stronger,” but he is not willing to allow Grove to buck the rules of the Legislature to push her amendments through.

“That’s not on the table. As the rules, you know, we can’t go change that,” McCarty said of Grove’s amendments request.

On June 2, Anne Irwin, the founder and director of Smart Justice California, emailed California Black Media (CBM) a statement responding to SB 1414. Smart Justice sides with the amendments made by the Democrats in the Senate and the Assembly.

“With the recently adopted amendments, SB 1414 now represents a smart policy solution that prioritizes the safety and well-being of all minors,” Irwin stated. “By allowing felony prosecutions for solicitation of 16- and 17-year-olds when there is evidence of human trafficking, lawmakers have further improved the bill – which was originally overly broad and would have had harmful unintended consequences.”

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Dr. Stephany Powell, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and current expert on human trafficking survivors, speaks with the media about a bill that would help lock up individuals who buy sex from trafficked children. On Powell's right is Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who co-authored SB 1414 with (not pictured) Sens. Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Susan Rubio. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
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Lawmakers Incensed by ‘Watering Down’ of Language in Child Sex Solicitation Bill

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