ECPAT UK welcomes the conviction today of Anthony Harrison for trafficking a 14 and a 16 year old girl, imprisoning them in his London home before attempting to traffic them to Spain and Greece to be sexually exploited.

This conviction is the first for trafficking children out from the UK and shows the link between trafficking and children going missing from Local Authority care. The UK is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for child trafficking.

Police indicate that Harrison was associated with a convicted trafficker, Kennedy Johnson, taking over when Kennedy went to prison; DNA testing suggests the 2 men may be related. Kennedy targeted council care homes before forcing his victims into sexual exploitation. Harrison worked for a local authority housing association.

The child victims gave evidence in court which helped secure the conviction. It is reported that it took over 2 years for police to persuade the children to give evidence, such was the fear of traffickers and juju, demonstrating that long term intensive support for child victims is essential to the success of prosecutions.

ECPAT UK is calling on the government to provide a system of guardianship for children who may be trafficked to enable them to have one person they can trust and who can act in their best interest and be there for them during the investigation process.

7th July 2011

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Media contact: Christine Beddoe, Director ECPAT UK  Mobile 07906 341 889 or 020 7233 9887.