Daily Archives: June 3, 2012

Girls victimized by sex trafficking find healing at Freedom Place

Posted: June 3, 2012 at 4:18 am

Kelly Armstrong beamed during her daughter's kindergarten graduation, celebrating the finale to her first year of elementary school.

But in the back of her mind, she was thinking about another young girl, a teenager rescued by law enforcement officials during a child pornography bust, who might be able to have a new beginning.

Armstrong, the executive director of Freedom Place, Texas' first and only safe house for domestic victims of sex trafficking, had been trading messages and phone calls with officials from the Texas Attorney General's Office all afternoon about the girl. Officials were offering her a safe place to stay, a place where she could get counseling.

"We knew we needed to act quickly," she said.

That evening, as she watched her daughter, Armstrong continued to check her cell phone, anxiously waiting to hear from authorities and hoping that teen would agree to come to Freedom Place.

Until last week, there was no place in Houston - or anywhere in Texas - dedicated to helping domestic trafficking victims. Often the options for the girls were incarceration in a juvenile facility, treatment programs that didn't meet their needs, or being placed back into the same unstable homes that may have led to them the streets in the first place, authorities said.

Even more difficult, many of the girls don't feel that they are victims, making them vulnerable to falling back into familiar patterns with abusers, said Associate Harris County Juvenile judge Angela Ellis.

"What we know is that they will return to the system if we don't offer them therapeutic services," Ellis said. She runs a "girls court," designed specifically for young girls who are sex-trafficking victims, offering them intensive supervision and therapeutic services as an alternative to placing them in detention facilities. The court has already referred three girls to Freedom Place, including one who became the program's first arrival.

"Telling someone they are a victim and then being able to do nothing but place them in a lock-down facility is not something we wanted," Ellis said. "So it's a big day."

6 horses and 2 dogs

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Liberty takeover of Sirius could cost Karmazin CEO job

Posted: at 4:18 am

It could be curtains for Karmazin.

John Malones Liberty Media told regulators yesterday it wants to take control of Sirius XM Radio which could put Liberty CEO Greg Maffei in perfect position to run the satellite broadcaster.

That means that Mel Karmazin, the current CEO of Sirius, who famously chafes at being a No. 2, could be headed out the door after more than seven years atop the New York-based company.

Karmazin was the second banana at Viacom but made it clear he didnt like working under chairman Sumner Redstone.

Karmazin, 68, could be tempted to walk after his contract expires Dec. 31 if Liberty is successful in its appeal to the Federal Communications Commission.

Christopher Peterson/BuzzFoto.co

John Malone of Liberty Media is pulling out all the stops in his latest bid to take over Sirius XM, which is run by Mel Karmazin (above), the longtime Gotham-based media boss.

Greg is sick of being a portfolio manager, said a source close to the Liberty Media boss, who oversees a host of companies including Starz, Live Nation, Barnes & Noble and Sirius XM Radio.

Liberty has praised Karmazins management ability and are not seen as aching to push him out but the question is: Will Mel want to stay?

Liberty did not return a call for comment. Sirius declined comment.

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Liberty takeover of Sirius could cost Karmazin CEO job

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WNBA: Catchings, Fever cruise by winless Liberty

Posted: at 4:18 am

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Tamika Catchings scored 16 points to help the Indiana Fever defeat the New York Liberty 91-68 on Saturday night.

Roneeka Hodges scored 15 points, Jeanette Pohlen added 12 and Katie Douglas had 11 for Indiana (4-0). The Fever made 13 of 26 3-pointers while New York made 5 of 17. The Fever made 22 of 27 free throws and committed just 12 turnovers.

Indiana's reserves outscored New York's 52-18.

Plenette Pierson scored 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting for the Liberty (0-5). Cappie Pondexter, New York's leading scorer, finished with 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Pierson and Pondexter were the only Liberty players to score in double figures.

New York's past four losses have all been by double digits, by a combined 82 points. The teams play again Sunday at New York.

Indiana, which entered the game as the No. 2 scoring team in the league, shot 47 percent from the field.

The Fever shot just 6-for-19 from the field in the first quarter but made enough free throws to tie the score at 20 by the end of the period.

Indiana heated up in the second quarter making 10 of its 16 shots to take a 49-36 halftime lead. Catchings scored 14 points in the first half and Hodges scored eight off the bench in the second quarter. The Fever made 6-of-13 three-pointers in the first half.

New York cut Indiana's lead to nine points early in the third quarter before the Fever took control. A three-pointer by Shavonte Zellous pushed Indiana's lead to 60-45 and forced the Liberty to call a timeout.

Catchings disagreed with a foul call, then made contact with an official and was issued a technical foul. New York made all three free throws to cut Indiana's lead to 12.

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Fever keep Liberty winless with rout

Posted: at 4:18 am

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Tamika Catchings scored 16 points to help the Indiana Fever defeat the New York Liberty 91-68 on Saturday night.

Roneeka Hodges scored 15 points, Jeanette Pohlen added 12 and Katie Douglas had 11 for Indiana (4-0). The Fever made 13 of 26 3-pointers while New York made 5 of 17. The Fever made 22 of 27 free throws and committed just 12 turnovers.

Indiana's reserves outscored New York's 52-18.

Plenette Pierson scored 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting for the Liberty (0-5). Cappie Pondexter, New York's leading scorer, finished with 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Pierson and Pondexter were the only Liberty players to score in double figures.

New York's past four losses have all been by double digits, by a combined 82 points. The teams play again Sunday at New York.

Indiana, which entered the game as the No. 2 scoring team in the league, shot 47 percent from the field.

The Fever shot just 6-for-19 from the field in the first quarter but made enough free throws to tie the score at 20 by the end of the period.

Indiana heated up in the second quarter making 10 of its 16 shots to take a 49-36 halftime lead. Catchings scored 14 points in the first half and Hodges scored eight off the bench in the second quarter. The Fever made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the first half.

New York cut Indiana's lead to nine points early in the third quarter before the Fever took control. A 3-pointer by Shavonte Zellous pushed Indiana's lead to 60-45 and forced the Liberty to call a timeout.

Catchings disagreed with a foul call, then made contact with an official and was issued a technical foul. New York made all three free throws to cut Indiana's lead to 12.

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Fever keep Liberty winless with rout

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