Two Line 3 workers arrested for soliciting sex as part of human trafficking sting

The Duluth News Tribune reported Tuesday that two of the seven people arrested in a northern Minnesota human trafficking sting were Enbridge Line 3 workers, “fueling concern that construction of the oil pipeline is bringing a higher risk of sex crimes to the area.”

Arrested were:

• Michael Kelly West, 53, of Rolla, Missouri, who was charged with one count of carrying a pistol without a permit and one count of solicitation to engage in prostitution.
• Matthew Ty Hall, 33, of Mount Pleasant, Texas, who was charged with one count of solicitation of a person believed to be a minor.

The sting involved web ads that engaged potential customers in sex-for-money conversations, the story said. Perhaps of most concern, West told arresting officers he heard about the ads “from rumors at work.”

That means this isn’t an isolated incident; other workers are talking about it.

[Update: StarTribune story here.]

News and Events: MMIW Bill Expected to Pass; Four Sacred Directions Water Walk; New Native Theater Jam Sessions and More

Events in this blog:

• MMIW Bill Expected to Become Law
• Four Sacred Directions Water Walk Friday, May 24
• New Native Theatre Jam Sessions, Workshops, Centered on the Native Rights Movement

Bill to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Moves Through MN House

Mysti Babineau testifies. HF70 author Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein sits to her right.

Mysti Babineau, an enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation, endured horrific trauma growing up, one of many unknown stories of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Babineau is a survivor who lived to tell her story.

“I was raped for the first time when I was 9 by a boyfriend of my foster mom at the time,” Babineau told members of the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Division Tuesday. “When I was 12, I witnessed my grandmother murdered in front of me. I watched her attacker go after my mother and after me. I fought for my life … I have the scars on my hands today.”

“When I was 20, I was kidnapped. I was taken over 60 miles from my home. I was held and I was raped. I got away.”

Babineau and other indigenous women shared their painful stories to gain support for HF70, a bill carried by Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (D-New Brighton) to create a Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), a beginning step in addressing this ongoing crisis.