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More needs to be done to protect vulnerable teens.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Apr 30, 2021
In a confessional letter allegedly written by the central figure in an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, Joel Greenberg named Rep. Matt Gaetz as a co-conspirator in the sex trafficking of multiple women including a minor who was 17 at the time.
Greenberg — a former county tax collector north of Orlando who stands accused of sex trafficking, stalking a political rival and trying to bribe a federal official, among other alleged offenses — drafted the letter after asking Roger Stone, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, for help obtaining a pardon during the final months of Trump's term, the Daily Beast reports.
In messages exchanged over the encrypted messaging app Signal, which were obtained by the outlet, Greenberg asks Stone if he will accept $250,000 in Bitcoin for the alleged pardon.
"I understand all of this and have taken it into consideration," Stone allegedly replied, "I will know more in the next 24 hours I cannot push too hard because of the nonsense surrounding pardons.
He later wrote to Greenberg, "I hope you are prepared to wire me $250,000 because I am feeling confident." However, Stone claims the messages are out of context and denies seeking a pardon for Greenberg.
He did admit to asking Greenberg to prepare the letter explaining his prosecution. The letter further implicates GOP Rep. Gaetz in the crimes he has already been accused of and denied.
What are the details of Joel Greenberg's letter saying Matt Gaetz "paid for sex with a minor".
Greenberg mentions he and Gaetz soliciting sex from the 17-year-old writing, "On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the congressman from Florida's 1st Congressional District and myself."
Greenberg claims that they believed the child was 19 and were "equally shocked and disturbed" when they learned she was under 18. Greenberg confronted the minor, blaming her for lying about her age
“She apologized and recognized that by lying about her age, she endangered many people,” he wrote, detailing that the pair ceased contact until she was 18 before making contact with her on Gaetz's behalf shortly after she reached the age of consent.
Speculation that Gaetz used Venmo to pay a known sex trafficker to solicit sex from teenage girls arose earlier this month after activity from the Republican rep’s transaction history was disclosed.
Records obtained by The Daily Beast reportedly show that late on the night of May 18, 2018, Gaetz sent Greenberg $900 on Venmo within the course of two transactions.
The following day, Greenberg sent three anonymous women varying sums of money, the total of which came to $900. In the letter, Greenberg confirmed that these transactions were used to solicit sex from the girl after her 18th birthday.
Why are the payments Matt Gaetz made to Joel Greenberg on Venmo being tied to sex trafficking?
The memo for the first transaction from Gaetz, who is already the subject of a Justice Department investigation into allegations of sex-trafficking involving a 17-year-old girl, to Greenberg read only "Test."
The memo of the second read “hit up ___” — only with the nickname of one of the recipients in place of the line. This was the name of the girl the men had previously had sex with as a minor. She had turned 18 less than six months prior.
In Greenberg’s subsequent transfers to three young women, he noted the reasons for the transactions as, “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”
In the recently revealed letter, Greenberg detailed how these transactions were used to bribe these women into having sexual exchanges.
"From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18," he wrote to Stone, "I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman."
Greenberg is expected to plead guilty to sex trafficking charges.
Greenberg, a former local official in Gaetz’s home state of Florida, is already facing one charge of trafficking involving the same 17-year-old girl whose travel Gaetz is accused of paying in order to engage her in a sexual relationship.
It is thought that any plea deal made between Greenberg and investigators in the case could further incriminate Gaetz.
The FBI has also widened their investigation to include questions about a trip to the Bahamas taken by Gaetz and fellow Republicans along with women who were asked to provide sex for the group.
Investigators suspect Greenberg used a website that connects people willing to go on dates in exchange for gifts and allowances to meet women, and then arranged for liaisons with himself and associates, including Gaetz.
Allegations against Gaetz expose the persistent problem of sex trafficking in the US.
If Gaetz, an elected official and member of the House of Representatives, though he would be able to get away with using public platforms like Venmo to engage with victims of sex trafficking, it's not hard to imagine that the prevalence of this issue may be greater than most of us might otherwise think.
Sex trafficking is a problem hiding in plain sight; a multi-billion dollar industry built on the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable women and children that often goes unaddressed and unprosecuted in the US.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines “severe forms of trafficking in persons” as falling into one of two categories:
The first is "sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud."
The second is "coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another for the crime to fall within this definition."
According to national statistics from Safe Horizon, a non-profit organization that provides support for victims of crime and abuse, "3.8 million adults are trafficked for forced sexual exploitation and 1.0 million children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation," with women and girls affected at a disproportionate rate.
Those who most vulnerable are targeted by predatory criminals looking to enslave them into non-consensual sex work.
More services are necessary to better protect vulnerable women and children and prevent homelessness, along with more effective investigation and prosecution related to sex trafficking rings.
To date only one Republican, GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, has called for Gaetz’s resignation.
However, with the increasing allegations mounting against him, it stands to reason that more may be coming soon.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888 or text "HELP" or "INFO" to 233733,
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.