Republican Politician Charged in Human Trafficking Adoption Scheme

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona elected official ran a human smuggling scheme that promised pregnant women thousands of dollars to lure them from a Pacific Island nation to the U.S., where they were crammed into houses to wait to give birth, sometimes with little to no prenatal care, prosecutors allege.

Paul Petersen, the Republican assessor of Arizona's most populous county, was charged in Utah, Arizona and Arkansas with counts including human smuggling, sale of a child, fraud, forgery and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The charges span about three years and involve some 75 adoptions. Investigators also found eight pregnant women from the Marshall Islands in raids of his properties outside Phoenix, and several more are waiting to give birth in Utah, authorities said.

"The commoditization of children is simply evil," said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes.

Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/oct/15/republican-politician-charged-human-trafficking-ad/