Many years ago, I worked with a group advocating for the education and prosecution of Child-Sex Tourism crimes. (yes, it’s a thing)
A local reporter traveled to Mexico to film a story. The reporter introduced herself to the local police chief and got his business card, without disclosing what the story was about. She got a minor to simply stand on the street, wait for someone to approach him with an ‘offer’, and follow the person to the hotel to get a room.
Within minutes, the minor was approached by a white middle-aged man in a red sports hat. The camera on the boy captured it all, video and sound. After the man purchased the room, the reporter and film crew confronted him.
The man ran away. The hotel called the police. The police wanted to arrest the reporter for harassment, but that police chief card earned them a pass. They were told to leave the country immediately.
The reporter tracked the man down. He was a US citizen who lived in Boston with his wife and kids.
The local Arizona station refused to run the story.
Every Boston station refused to run the story.
We couldn’t get any government agency to investigate… despite the PROTECT Act of April 2003 that made it a federal crime, prosecutable in the United States, for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien, to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18, whether or not the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident alien intended to engage in such illicit sexual conduct prior to going abroad and without needing to prove the person went abroad with the intent of molesting children.
We advocated posting signs at the border crossings stating the Protect Act law, similar to the signs posted about it being illegal to take weapons into Mexico.
The government agencies responded that such a statement would make families traveling abroad uncomfortable.
We have very mixed up ideas about when to make people ‘uncomfortable.’
We can do better.