Analysis: Bronx Planned Parenthood failed to report child sex trafficking

In Planned Parenthood’s statement released yesterday about the Bronx video they state:

In an interview with the FBI, the two health center workers featured in the video said that they did not hear the words “sex work” or “sex worker,” uttered by the actors.

They would not be saying that they didn’t hear “sex work” or “sex worker” if they thought our reporters were sex workers/traffickers and had reported them promptly. Also, notably absent from Planned Parenthood’s statement is the claim that they promptly reported to local law enforcement.

The problem with the “we didn’t hear sex work” defense is that “sex work” was said twice, once to each employee on the video. The evidence of what the undercover reporters said they were involved in is overwhelming. See:

• At 3.03 our undercover male reporter says “we’re involved in sex work”

• At 3.05 our undercover male reporter says “we have some other girls that we manage and work with”

• At 3.21 our undercover female reporter says “‘cause they’re 14 and 15”

• At 3.52 our undercover female reporter says “they don’t speak English because they just came in”

• At 5.28 our undercover male reporter says “they don’t have like a 9-5 job, you know.”

• At 5.30 our undercover female reporter says “you wouldn’t need to know that they work at night? And whatever, that they do sex work at night?”

• At 5.52 the conversation goes:

Prostitute: Okay, and is there any problem I guess abortion-wise after they have the abortion—how long can until they can be sexually active? Because they have to work –

PP: 2 weeks

Pimp: 2 weeks. What would you recommend for them to do, during that time?

PP: During that time? Well, like, sex-wise nothing can go inside of them, for 2 weeks. No fingers, no, like-

Prostitute: Why is that?

PP: It’s just for the length of recovery process. We have them come back in two weeks for another check-up and make sure everything went okay with the abortion.

Prostitute: So they can’t do like any work?

PP: Mm.

Prostitute: That’s not good.

Pimp: What would you recommend that they do? Cause they gotta work. Like is there something for them to do? Or?

• At 10.30 the conversation goes:

Pimp: We’re involved in sex work-

PP Supervisor: Mhm.

Pimp: We have some girls that are kind of young like, 14, 15, that they might need an abortion.

• At 10.44 the conversation goes:

Pimp: They don’t have insurance, some don’t even speak that good of English ‘cause you know, they just got here.

You can see the full transcript here and you can watch the unedited tape below:

Further evidence that Planned Parenthood didn’t promptly report to law enforcement is their January 18th letter to AG Eric Holder in which they do not list New York as a state in which they suspect Live Action had investigated them in.

In conclusion, the video evidence is clear that Live Action’s undercover reporters communicated that they were involved in “sex work” where they manged girls as young as 14 who knew little English and has just “come in”.

Furthermore, the statement and letter by Planned Parenthood indicate that they did not not think that this was a case of sex trafficking and therefore did not promptly report the incident of child sex trafficking  to local law enforcement.