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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes will testify before Congress Thursday following an undercover child trafficking sting operation he was a part of in October 2014.
Reyes will testify before the House of Representatives subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations in an effort to advance International Megan’s Law. The law would set up a notification system with destination countries about suspected child-sex trafficking in an effort to combat human trafficking.
“I applaud Congressman (Christopher) Smith and the many others who support legislation like this International Megan’s Law,” Reyes said in a prepared statement. “Protecting children and women from exploitation by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders to the government of the country of destination is another powerful step toward stopping child-sex trafficking.”
Weeks before winning his first term as attorney general, Reyes took part in a dangerous sting operation in Columbia with Utah non-profit organization Operation Underground Railroad. Reyes was playing the role of a bodyguard for wealthy investors in a cartel’s plan for a child sex hotel.
The sting operation liberated 54 children who were involved in child trafficking intended for sex slavery. In total, more than 120 children have been liberated through the various sting operations, according to Reyes.
Having witnessed such atrocities with my own eyes last October, I can tell you this deplorable multi-billion-dollar industry continues to flourish and must be stopped.
–Sean Reyes
“Having witnessed such atrocities with my own eyes last October, I can tell you this deplorable multi-billion-dollar industry continues to flourish and must be stopped,” Reyes said. “By advancing Megan’s Law, I am hopeful we can significantly reduce sex tourism and human and child sex trafficking on a nationwide and global scale.”
Operation Underground Railroad founder and CEO Tim Ballard will also testify at the hearing Thursday. Ballard also participated in the sting operation with Reyes and called his being there a "blessing" to the operation.
"He was able to keep the conversation rolling and flowing and talk the talk," Ballard told KSL after the sting operation was made public. "It was just a total blessing on so many fronts to have him there."
The Congressional subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations oversees combatting human trafficking and authorizing sting operations overseas.
