An Arizona Man Involved in the ‘Purest Form of Human Trafficking’
The commercialization of children is illegal and the commoditization of children is simply evil.
By Ashley Mazerolle, Marketing —
An elected official from Arizona, who also works as an adoption attorney, arranged for 28 Marshallese women to come to America to place their children for adoption. These women from the Marshall Islands are legally unable to travel to the US for the sole purpose of adoption. The Maricopa County Assessor, Paul Petersen, also illegally accessed state-funded medical benefits totaling around $814,000 USD.
Tuesday evening eight Marshallese women were found in at a private residence in Mesa, Arizona. According to the Department of Public Safety’s director, Frank Milstead, there are no plans to charge the women, but it is unclear what is going to happen to their adoption plans. This ‘bust’ came out of a multistate investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Petersen served an LDS church mission in the Marshall Islands several years ago, according to court documents. Petersen has been charged with 11 other felonies including, human smuggling, sale of a child, and communication fraud. Petersen also faces 19 federal charges relating to allegations for illegal human trafficking, bringing 4 adults to live in the US and continue to reside here. Peterson has been arranging Marshallese adoptions since 2005.
Utah attorney general, Sean Reyes, said: “The commercialization of children is illegal and the commoditization of children is simply evil.” Evil indeed. As a woman who has faced infertility challenges, I cannot even fathom what the adoptive parents are experiencing. Expecting to bring home a sweet and healthy newborn, their adoptions are now in question.
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