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Nancy Grace
Handicapped 5-Year-Old Possible Kidnap Victim; Bar Running Alleged Sex Ring; 13-Year-Old Stabbed Step-Granddad
Aired August 11, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Live to Oakland and a search, now desperate, for a missing 5-year-old afflicted with cerebral palsy. The boy vanishes from the back seat of a car there just outside a shoe store at a busy suburban shopping center. The little boy, with braces on both legs, can hardly walk. How, how could he just disappear and nobody sees a thing? K-9 tracker dogs, rescue teams and police spread out grid- style across the city of Oakland, police seizing a BMW as evidence. Tonight, where is 5-year-old Hassani?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Worst fear is he`s gone somewhere and he`s lost, he`s frightened, he`s hurt himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oakland police are desperately searching for a missing 5-year-old boy who is disabled, suffering from cerebral palsy. Five-year-old Hassani Campbell was last seen in a family friend`s BMW outside his aunt`s shoe store in a busy section of the city. Reports are the family friend went inside the store briefly, and when he came out, Hassani was nowhere to be found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He frantically searched the neighborhood, asked if people, anybody had seen his son. And nobody could find him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say Hassani could not have gone far. He wears braces on both legs and does not walk very well. Investigators fear he may have been kidnapped, reportedly towing the BMW the boy was last seen in, hoping to discover any clues that could indicate what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s kind of notable to see a young man walking around with braces on his legs (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight: Right under our own noses, waitresses, many of them teenagers, forced into working in a sex ring. And listen, it`s not happening far away in some third-world country. Oh, no. It is right here in ritzy, tony Long Island, home to the stars, celebrities, luxurious beaches, world-class golf courses, restaurants -- and teen waitresses forced into sex rings!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swarms of FBI agents rescued dozens of young women, some just 17 years old, during the overnight hours, all employees allegedly forced to perform sexual acts at a Portuguese and Mexican restaurant in Farmingdale (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The women were reportedly recruited and told they would be working as waitresses. But once they arrived, they were forced to perform sex acts on customers. Those that didn`t obey, they were allegedly beaten and raped.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say the bust started with a tip from a young female victim who stumbled into the job as an unsuspecting waitress. Other victims then came forward, telling agents the three suspects lured them in on the Internet with the promise of opportunity, only to, according to federal court papers, to be beaten, raped, fondled and forced to perform stripteases for and by patrons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three suspects -- Antonio Rivera (ph), his sister, Jasmine (ph) Rivera, and bar manager John Whalley (ph) -- were all were arrested and charged in federal court with sex trafficking and forced labor. They all could face life in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Also tonight, to Milwaukee, a grandfather found dead on a living room floor, stabbed to death. The suspect, his little granddaughter. Motive? Police say she stabbed him literally over spilled milk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 13-year-old girl arrested after police say she stabbed a relative to death allegedly over spilled milk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family and friends say the 41-year-old man that was killed by the 13-year-old girl is Robert Moon (ph). He was the girl`s step-grandfather. Family members told us the girl was arguing with Moon in his home because she wanted what little milk was left in the refrigerator for her cereal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say the 13-year-old girl, enraged when the victim, Robert Moon, uses almost all of the remaining milk, pouring it for the youngest child in the home. After the alleged teen killer curses at Moon, he pours the milk down the drain (INAUDIBLE) allegedly stabbing Moon in the neck, striking his carotid artery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The young suspect is described as a troubled teen and her family can`t understand why this happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A neighbor says the girl ran from the house drenched in blood, yelling, I cut his throat, he`s dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Everyone, very quickly, I want to thank you for all of your calls, your e-mails and your support today, August 11, the release date of my first novel, a murder mystery thriller, "11th Victim." Now, part of my proceeds go to Wesley Glenn (ph) Ministries. It`s a charity that provides a loving home to the mentally handicapped. Again, I want to thank you. And I hope you like the book.
And now, to Oakland and the search, tonight desperate, for a missing 5-year-old little boy afflicted with cerebral palsy. He vanishes into thin air from the back seat of a car there just outside a shoe store at a busy suburban shopping center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities in Oakland, California, are searching for clues in the case of missing 5-year-old Hassani Campbell, who is disabled with cerebral palsy. A family friend was reportedly with the boy Monday afternoon at a shoe store where Hassani`s aunt works. According to reports, the family friend told cops he left Hassani in his BMW just outside the back door of the store while he went inside the store briefly. When the friend came back out, the boy was gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a lot of foot traffic here. There`s a lot of vehicle traffic. I asked people if they saw him, and no, they didn`t see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The entire area was shut down by investigators as search dogs combed for clues, police fearful Hassani may have been abducted, reportedly taking the family friend`s BMW to the police yard to search for evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walk up to him, talk to him, call 911. The police will come and take custody of him, and hopefully, reunite him with his family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Henry K. Lee, reporter with "The San Francisco Chronicle." Henry, it is very difficult for me to believe, just applying common sense, that a 5-year-old little boy who has cerebral palsy -- he`s got braces on both legs, he can barely walk -- could just walk away from the car and get lost. I don`t see it. And how could others not see him being taken from that car?
HENRY K. LEE, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": That`s right, Nancy. That`s a very good question. So the police are trying to see if, in fact, little Hassani Campbell was taken away from the BMW that belongs to his foster parent. We have now learned that it`s his foster dad that was trying to drop him off at his biological aunt`s shoe store. So the fact that no one saw him either walking around or being kidnapped is of grave concern. We don`t know where he is at this moment, but police are investigating, Nancy.
GRACE: To Sebastian Kunz, anchor and reporter with KNEW Talk 910. Sebastian, thank you for being with us. It`s my understanding police have said the foster dad has been totally cleared.
SEBASTIAN KUNZ, KNEW TALK 910: I understand that`s also the case, Nancy. And in fact, we that understand that the BMW, the vehicle that the boy had been in up to the point of his disappearance, is also being searched. They don`t really have any leads yet. It was just the most recent place that the boy was seen. Thus, that`s sort of how they were starting this search. As you said, a boy with cerebral palsy and who needs to walk with little -- with leg braces like this for support, is not going to be easily missed by any witnesses in the area.
GRACE: And what time of the day or night did this happen, Sebastian?
KUNZ: It was just after 4:00 PM yesterday. So we`ve just had just over 24 hours of searching. The Oakland police were back at it again today, you know, interviewing people. Investigators and detectives are combing the two-block area. They had it shut down -- helicopters, scent dogs, you know, police dogs smelling. And they even went so far as to keep the patrons of a nearby restaurant inside that restaurant, so as to try and not disturb the scent that the dogs were trying to use. They didn`t come up with anything.
GRACE: Back to Henry Lee. A couple of quick question -- Lee joining us from "The San Francisco Chronicle." Who called police?
LEE: Well, what we do know is that the faster dad, whose name we do not have, called police. And other people certainly notified officers that this boy is nowhere to be found. He says...
GRACE: What time?
LEE: ... they went through the store -- about 4:00 PM Monday. This is broad daylight now...
GRACE: What time did they call police? What time did they call police?
LEE: (INAUDIBLE) shortly after the disappearance was discovered.
GRACE: OK. Who, if anyone else -- out to you Matt Zarrell, our producer on the story. Who, if anyone else, saw the little boy in the BMW to start with?
MATTHEW ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, that`s the big mystery at this point, Nancy, because this is a very, very busy area. There`s a lot of foot traffic, a lot of vehicle traffic. As of now, police said they haven`t talked to anyone who has seen the boy. They are interviewing registered sex offenders in the area, so that`s something they could look into.
GRACE: OK, maybe I`m crazy, Marc Klaas, founder of Kids Klaas Foundation, but why did he leave a boy in a car? Why do you leave a child in an unlocked car in a shopping mall?
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: (INAUDIBLE) Nancy. Yesterday, I was in the Bay area, and it was probably the hottest day of the year so far. Temperatures were in the high 80s, if they were anything. So just another reason why none of this story makes sense. I think what we have to do is find the other person that saw that little boy last and start establishing timelines from that point on. I can`t for a minute believe that anybody has been cleared in this situation yet.
GRACE: I`m not understanding the whole scenario. It doesn`t make sense to me...
KLAAS: No.
GRACE: ... the way it`s all unfolding. Everybody, we are desperate, along with police and family, to find a 5-year-old little boy. He has cerebral palsy. He has braces on both legs. And he disappeared from a busy shopping center, a suburban shopping center, outside a shoe store.
With me tonight -- and I know you will recognize him -- Lawrence Carter-Long. He is the executive director for Disabilities Network of New York City. He has cerebral palsy and was once the poster boy, literally, for cerebral palsy. There he is. I remember that very well.
Lawrence, as always, thank you for being with us. Lawrence, from what you have learned about his disability, what do you believe about the possibility that he just got out of the car and walked off? And listen, my twins are only 21 months old. When I take them to a store or a -- the grocery store, they will run two different ways, one toward the door, one toward the dairy section, and they can easily try to disappear.
LAWRENCE CARTER-LONG, DISABILITIES NETWORK OF NYC: Exactly, just as any 5-year-old would do. And if you notice by the photograph that you showed there, I was a 5-year-old who wore leg braces, so I know exactly what that`s like. Life is not Hollywood. This is not "Forrest Gump." He`s not going to shuck those braces and run down the street.
I think there`s some things we need to be looking at here that haven`t been asked in the usual media outlets. One of the things I noticed in looking at the establishment is we were told that he was parked in the back so that the child could have easier access to the back entrance, which was accessible. If you look at Google maps or some of the news footage that`s shown the establishment from the front, you`ll also notice that the front entrance is wheelchair-accessible. There`s no step. If both entrances were accessible, why was the child left in back? How long was the child left in back? Those are questions that we need to be asking.
GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls live. Tonight the situation grows more urgent in the search for a 5-year-old little boy, braces on both legs, missing in the Oakland area. Tip line, 510-238-3641. We are taking your calls live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately, there was just, oh, five or six cop cars right after that. It was pretty quick. And at that point, you know, our customers were here. (INAUDIBLE) a number of our regulars ran out to try to see if they could find the little boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than a dozen police officers have fanned out in this area, looking for 5-year-old Hassani Campbell. Alameda County sheriff`s rescue team has joined the search with dogs. Police say around 4:00 o`clock, they received a call for help from the 5-year-old boy`s father. He told officers he drove his son to Shuz of Rockridge, where the boy`s mother works, so he could leave the child in her care. Police say the father left the boy in the BMW in the back lot of the store while he walked around to the front to unlock the door. When the father opened the store`s back door, he told police his son was gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He frantically searched the neighborhood, asking people if anybody had seen his son. And nobody could find him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Hassani couldn`t have gone far on his own, because he suffers from cerebral palsy and wears braces on both legs. Investigators say they fear that he was either kidnapped or is frightened and hiding somewhere. They describe him as African-American, small for his age, three feet tall, and weighs 40 pounds. He has short black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Police are asking people in the area to check their back yards and basements for any signs of Hassani.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can walk up to him, talk to him, call 911 and the police will come and take custody of him, and hopefully, reunite him with his family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a lot of foot traffic here. There`s a lot of vehicle traffic. There`s this business right here, a bar/restaurant, that had a lot of people outside. And that`s one of the first places I went and asked people if they saw him, and no, they didn`t see him. It`s kind of notable to see a young man walking around with braces on his legs and nobody saw him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Look at this little boy`s face. He`s only three feet tall. He has braces on both legs. He can hardly walk. And he is missing. He was apparently taken from a BMW automobile outside of a shoe store at a very busy suburban shopping center. Five-year-old Hassani missing. Right now, the search turning desperate.
We are taking your calls. Out to Ginakay in Mississippi. Hi, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, hi. How are you tonight?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you. I was going to tell you also that I listened to your interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell. It was stunning. It was great.
GRACE: Thank you. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I just have a couple of questions.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ll be very quick.
GRACE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A 5-year-old in a car -- and I think about this. Was the 5-year-old ever really there?
GRACE: I`ve already been wondering that, Gina. OK, I`m writing it down. What`s your next question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Also, why didn`t he just park the car and take the child with him at that moment when he left? Why would he park the car in one area and then go to the back of the store? Why not just take the child?
GRACE: Well, I`m telling you, Ginakay, Mississippi, it doesn`t make sense to me. But I was told as we went to air that they had cleared this foster father, that he was on the up-and-up. And listen, we`ve covered so many stories, Ginakay, where you leave the kid in the car for three minutes, you run into to the 7-Eleven to get a bag of ice. You come out, the kid`s gone. I don`t even leave them -- when I`m at home in Georgia, I don`t even leave them, the twins, in the car in the driveway. I don`t do it. If I have to go back in, I get both of them, one in this arm, one in this arm, like two little footballs, and go back in. Whether they`re kicking and screaming, doesn`t matter. They are not left alone in a car. They`re not left alone without somebody with them.
And I want to clear up the facts. Back out to you, Henry K. Lee with "The San Francisco Chronicle." Ginakay`s right. And I keep asking, who else saw this child, a 5-year-old with leg braces on both legs? Who else can place him in that car ever, other than the foster father?
LEE: Well, that`s a very good question, Nancy. We have no information from the police as far as any confirmed sightings of the boy. Now, in cases I`ve covered before, Nancy, there have been instances in which parents do not want to wake up a sleeping child. That`s not to say that that`s what happened here. But it could be a combination of a sleeping child, scarce parking. But whatever the case is, a relatively safer neighborhood in Oakland, and now this has happened.
GRACE: OK. So what I`m hearing, Henry Lee, translation -- nobody else that you know of can place the child in the car, other than the foster father.
LEE: That`s right. However, sources close to the case are telling me there`s no reason to not believe the faster father`s account.
GRACE: To Sebastian Kunz. Agree or disagree?
KUNZ: Everything I`m hearing, Nancy, is in agreement with Henry. In fact, it`s sort of plays into one of the first questions I got when I reported for work at the radio station this morning, which was one listener said, Why haven`t our Amber Alert pagers gone off? And it may be to the fact that the police aren`t clear on whether or not this is, in fact...
GRACE: What about it Marc Klaas? That`s your expertise. He`s right. Where`s the Amber Alert?
KLAAS: Well, if they don`t have a suspect and they don`t have a vehicle make, model or license plate number, they are not going to...
GRACE: Got it.
KLAAS: ... call an Amber Alert. They didn`t call one for my daughter. They don`t call them for most missing kids.
GRACE: That`s just wrong, Marc Klaas. Look, I know it`s your expertise, but that`s just wrong.
KLAAS: Yes.
GRACE: That`s just wrong. OK, we`re taking your calls live. This 5- year-old little boy, braces on both legs, missing tonight.
Are you guilty of being our show`s number one fan? Plead your case. Send us your story as to why that fan is you. We`re looking for stand-out stories, and if your e-mail or iReport makes air, you win an autographed copy of my new book, "The 11th Victim," and a chance to fly to New York and come to the show live. Get busy with that videocamera and e-mail. Go to CNN.com/nancygrace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are asking people in the area to check their back yards and basements for any signs of Hassani. Investigators say they fear that he was either kidnapped or is frightened and hiding somewhere. Patrons at the nearby Barplace (ph) restaurant and pub say they were asked by police not to leave the establishment for about 30 minutes when the K-9 search got under way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a period of time, they didn`t want anyone leaving any of the businesses because that would have thrown off the scent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight back to Lawrence Carter-Long, the executive director of Disabilities Network of New York City. He has cerebral palsy. Lawrence, what is this child up against with cerebral palsy?
CARTER-LONG: Well, I think what the child is up against is some of the same ignorance and misunderstanding that is out there in the world at large. You know, the questions we really need to be asking ourselves and looking at is, What is really going on with this case? There`s so many unanswered questions that we need to be looking at. The takeaway, though, the lesson, is whether your child has a disability or not, don`t leave a 5- year-old unattended.
GRACE: Straight to the lines. Sheeba, Illinois. Hi, Sheeba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I just love you, Nancy!
GRACE: Hey! We`ve been missing you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just love you! I know, and I missed you. I`ve been ill. But I miss you so much. But I always...
GRACE: Sheeba, get well. We need you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always -- I always watch your show, no matter what. My question is, Nancy, do you think that possibly someone saw what happened and are afraid to talk?
GRACE: Excellent question. To Ron Shindel, former NYPD deputy inspector. What about it, Ron?
RON SHINDEL, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: In case like this, with a 5-year-old missing child, especially a child with special needs, that tends to be a long shot. If people see a child like that...
GRACE: Well, Ron...
SHINDEL: ... they`re going to...
GRACE: ... how many times do you see injustice and people just walk by like they didn`t see anything? Nobody knows anything. Nobody saw anything. I don`t find it that hard to believe.
SHINDEL: It`s a long shot, I think, Nancy. I think most people, with a 5-year-old child, especially one with special needs, will come forward.
GRACE: To Sebastian Kunz. What about it?
KUNZ: I tend to thinks that`s true, Nancy. I mean, this is an area that is a commercial area. There`s potentially some even surveillance cameras in the region, although the problem is that, again, he was pulled up to the back of the shoe store, and that causes some issues if there may or may not have been a surveillance camera (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: And Henry K. Lee, has the foster father taken a polygraph?
LEE: Police aren`t telling us if he has taken it or not. But certainly, he`s part of the investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two owners and a manager of two Long Island bars have an arrested for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring. Authorities allege dozens of women, some as young as 17, were lured with promises of legitimate jobs and ended up being forced into prostitution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richard Ramos says he worked at a hair salon in the same plaza. He says he didn`t know about the alleged prostitution but says some of his customers are regulars there, saying everyone seems to know it`s the waitresses, not the food, that draws the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that they`re very, very pretty. We know that. But they`re quiet. They keep their mouths shut a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The suspects under arrest, include 34-year-old Antonio Rivera, who is listed on the New York state sex offender registry. Also arrested in the raid, his sister Jasmine and John Wailly, of (INAUDIBLE) who cops say worked at both facilities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It used to be a coffee shop. Actually, a really nice coffee shop. So, I`m surprised.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richard Ramos works at a hair salon in the same plaza. He says he didn`t know about the alleged prostitution but he says some of his customers are regulars there, saying everyone seems to know it`s the waitresses, not the food, that drives the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know they`re very, very pretty. We know that. But.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Straight out to Sofia Hall, a reporter with WCBS Newsradio 880. It`s really hard for a lot of us to take in, Sofia, that right here, right under our noses. I mean this is Long Island. That`s where the Hamptons are, where you always shear about these stars, taking their planes there for the entire summer, living in these big, huge houses like Billy Joel and Jerry Seinfeld.
Huge stars live out there. World-class golf courses. Ritzy shopping and - - the works. And for forced sex rings on waitresses, at a restaurant, right there in a strip center. How?
SOFIA HALL, REPORTER, WCBS NEWSRADIO: Well, let me tell you. I`m told when news photographers tried to take one of the suspects` photo, he yelled, stop. Stop. I`m a family man. But apparently, Nancy, this was a family affair. Authorities say a brother, a sister and a manager of the restaurant/bar, all accused of running this sex slave ring.
And the leader, I`m told, Antonio Rivera, also known as Tony, is a registered sex offender, convicted back in `98, for having sex with a 13- year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Veteran defense attorney, Atlanta, Georgia, Raymond Giudice. High-profile lawyer, Joseph Lawless, author of "Prosecutory Misconduct,` in the Philadelphia jurisdiction.
How? How, Ray Giudice. He`s a two-time loser with two sex offenses under his belt. How is he out and about, forcing teenage girls into a sex ring?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, we don`t know what happened to the sentence whether he completed his pardons and paroles on that case. But the point is, and I guarantee you that there is a network that these people belong to, that`s helping to bring these girls into the country.
GRACE: Put them up. I want to see his face. Does that somehow lessen.
GIUDICE: No, absolutely not.
GRACE: . what he, Tony Rivera, is doing?
GIUDICE: No, no. What a lot of people don`t understand is the thoroughness and the internationalness of these sex trades networks.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa. The internationalness?
GIUDICE: Yes, OK, I`m making up a word.
GRACE: Is that a word?
GIUDICE: It means it`s everywhere. It`s under your nose. You seem shocked that it`s right down the street from where you live. I`m telling you, because I`m out here in the.
GRACE: Honey, I don`t live up in Long Island with all those rich people.
GIUDICE: Come on.
GRACE: Don`t even start that up with me.
GIUDICE: My point is this, Nancy. Don`t be surprised. This is happening everywhere in this country. And worldwide, people are shipping children, young girls.
GRACE: You know what? Fine.
GIUDICE: All around the world.
GRACE: If your argument to me is, everybody`s doing it, fine.
GIUDICE: No, Nancy. Of course, I`m not.
GRACE: What about it, Lawless?
GIUDICE: You know I didn`t say that.
JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT": It is a place to hide something, Nancy. It`s in plain sight. If it`s right under your nose, you`re not going to look at it because you don`t think it`s there.
GRACE: That`s true.
LAWLESS: This is a bar in a strip mall. Who`s going to look for a prostitution ring in a bar in a strip mall?
GRACE: Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer standing by there in Long Island.
Marlaina, I`m having a hard time taking it in. You know, how many of swing by a strip mall for whatever. This has very heavy foot traffic. Car traffic there. And right here, at this little bar/restaurant, teenagers, teen girls, waitresses, forced into sex rings.
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: That`s right, Nancy. Twenty-three girls, to be specific. Many of them that are 17 years old. I spoke to a store front owner. The person right next to the bar behind me, where this alleged sex ring was taking place. And she told me that this bar didn`t even open up until 9:00 to 10:00 at night, way after these other stores have closed.
And she said that the shades were always down. The shades are down right now. And they never saw any activity. And the activity took place all night long, in the basement of this bar.
GRACE: And you know, a lot of people say women don`t go into prostitution against their will. Many of you have a point. But these -- many of these are teenage girls.
Joining me there in Long Island, Marlaina Schiavo.
Out to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, this is right under our noses. What are the potential penalties for these guys?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Right. Well, Nancy, Antonio Rivera and his sister, Jasmine, as well as their bar manager, John Wailly, are facing some really stiff charges. Sex trafficking. Forced labor. Conspiracy. Those first two charges, each of them individually carries a life sentence.
GRACE: Whatever judge gets this case, we are going to be watching you. And these people better seek justice. They better meet up with lady justice in the courtroom.
With me right now, a special guest, Bradley Myles. He is a human trafficking expert, with Polarisproject.org. Thank you for being with us. How prevalent is human trafficking like this, forcing teenagers into sex rings, in our country?
BRADLEY MYLES, HUMAN TRAFFICKING EXPERT, POLARISPROJECT.ORG: Nancy, it is more prevalent than people realize. I`ll tell you that right now. We operate the national hot line for the country. We`ve learned about 2,500 potential victims over the past two years. The government estimates we have, you know, 14,500 to 17,500 people who are brought across the borders and then held in these modern-day slavery situations.
And it happens to U.S. citizen teens. We have estimates out there, 100,000 to 300,000 U.S. citizen kids at high risk for being held in sex slavery in the United States. These numbers are huge.
GRACE: That`s so hard for me to take in. To Dr. Jeff Gardere, psychologist and author of "Love Prescription" and many other books." Dr. Gardere, for instance, when you go into a restaurant like this, and one of these waitresses waits on you, brings you food or your drink. Why don`t they say something?
JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF "LOVE PRESCRIPTION": Well, because they are being coerced. We found out in this particular case, that if these girls did not want to cooperate with getting involved in these sex acts, that they would beat them. That they would rape them. This is a form of torture.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Brenda in Utah. Hi, dear.
BRENDA, CALLER FROM UTAH: Hi. Thank you for taking my call.
GRACE: Thank you for calling in. What`s your question?
BRENDA: Well, I`m just curious because I saw another program. I won`t mention which one, just recently, saying that even though they`re under- aged children, and they`re prostitutes, they`re still charged with prostitution.
Are these girls, since they`re slaves, in effect, are they going to be charged for prostitution? Or are they going to get the counseling and other kind of help that they need so they can return to their regular life?
GRACE: Excellent question, Brenda. To Sofia Hall with WCBS Newsradio 880. And I saw, pursuant to Brenda`s question, out of Utah, a whole string of ladies, going on to what looked like a government sheriff`s or police bus. What was that?
HALL: Well, they were actually bringing these 23 women out of this bar and restaurant. And they are not going to be charged with anything. In fact, authorities told me they`re actually going to try to help these girls the best they can. Try move on with their lives. It`s going to be hard because, like you said, they were scared to death and lived in horror.
GRACE: They`re scarred forever. They`re scarred forever like every crime victim. Thank God this has been busted. But like Bradley Myles is telling us, there are thousands of similar cases across our country. America. Our beautiful America. This is happening right under our noses. These are little girls. Many of them teenagers.
We`re taking your calls live. Right now, the verdict is in. Tonight`s winner of the show`s number one fan contest for tonight, is Austin, Texas friend of the show, April Awain. She says she`s our number one fan, because not only does she never miss a show, her 6-year-old little girl says when she grows up, she wants to be a crime fighter.
And there`s another family member who never misses the show. The canine viewers. They`re new puppy is named Grace. OK, now how can you say no to this puppy? Hello? A dog picture.
April, congratulations. You get that signed copy of the new book out today. "Eleventh Victim." And I want to thank you, friend. Thank you so much.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 13-year-old Wisconsin girl is charged with murder, after police say she stabbed a relative in the neck, because he allegedly spilled out the milk she wanted for her cereal.
A relative told police, the victim, Robert Moon, sarcastically told the teen, she could have the rest of the milk after he poured a glass for the youngest child. The teen suspect then allegedly cursing at the victim and Moon spills the milk down the drain.
In a rage, the teen grabs a knife and stabs the man in the neck.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The milk that wasn`t hers. It was Robert`s stepdaughter. She told us she could get some after his stepdaughter got some but she got mad and just pulled a knife in and stabbed him in the neck.
Robert was a nice person. Every time I bring my baby over, he would be, like, you know -- he would, like -- he was a nice person. She shouldn`t have did that to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Kathy Chaney, investigative reporter, joining us out of Chicago, a 13-year-old stabbing her step-grandfather, literally over spilled milk? What happened?
KATHY CHANEY, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, apparently -- it appears that there had been some type of tension that has been growing between the 13- year-old and the step-granddad. And it all boiled over over this spilled milk. She wanted some cereal.
I guess he tormented her with that last bit of milk. He poured it down the drain. And I guess it just sent her over the top and she sliced his throat.
GRACE: Clark Goldband?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: This is what we know from law enforcement and witness accounts, Nancy. The 13-year-old girl and the step-grandpa are there in the kitchen. Step-grandpa is pouring milk for the youngest child in the home.
There`s apparently just a drop left. He says wait a second. You`ll get the milk for your cereal when I`m done. She apparently raises her tone with him. He gets upset and pours that last drop of milk down the drain in the kitchen. He leaves with the glass of milk. Heads into the next room so the child can drink the milk.
The 13-year-old girl takes off after him. She allegedly knocks the milk out of his hand. Grabs a paring knife from inside the sink in the home. And stabs him allegedly in his carotid artery. He yells, she stabbed me, she stabbed me, falls to the ground and dies.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Lori in Alabama. Lori, thank you for calling. What`s your question, dear?
LORI, CALLER FROM ALABAMA: I wanted to know, did she come from a violent past, is why she`s living with her grandparents?
GRACE: Excellent question. Out to you, Kathy Chaney. What do we know? This girl is just 13 years old. She`s a tiny, petite girl.
CHANEY: Yes. You know, all the details are coming forth about what the living arrangements were. I know that her mother did show up in court with her today, as well as the -- both of her grandmothers. But we`re still getting the details of what the living arrangement was.
GRACE: Have there been any allegations of child molestation, Kathy Chaney?
CHANEY: There have not been thus far. But again, we are still trying to get those details. I mean there has to have been something that has pushed this girl over the edge because this isn`t the first time allegedly, that she`s pulled a knife on the step-grandfather.
GRACE: Out to the lawyers, Raymond Giudice, Atlanta, Joseph Lawless out of Philadelphia. I don`t know about that. We want to assume. And we do this, for instance, when a mother kills the child. We want to assume there`s more to the story. But that isn`t necessarily true, Joe.
LAWLESS: No. But, Nancy, families have fights. Children throw tantrums. Normal children don`t pick up a knife and strike out. So there could be something going on in this girl`s background. Psychologically. Psychiatrically. We don`t know about yet. We know there was an act committed. We don`t know the intention. We don`t know state of mind. And that`s going to take a while to figure out, unfortunately.
GRACE: To Dr. David Posey, medical examiner, forensic pathologist with the Glenn Oaks Pathology Medical Group. What do you make of the particular wound? Was there any way he could have been saved?
DR. DAVID M. POSEY, MEDICAL EXAMINER, GLEN OAKS PATHOLOGY MEDICAL GROUP: If direct pressure had been applied right away, yes. But the carotid artery is the major artery in the neck. The major artery in the neck.
GRACE: Show it to us. Where is it?
POSEY: Right along here. And it`s carrying blood, you know, oxygenated blood from the heart being pumped into the blood system and it`s taking that to the head and brain. And the artery is about the size of your little finger, maybe a pin and it only takes seconds to pump out large volume of blood.
Maybe every time the heartbeats, you might lose, say, six to eight ounces of blood, within minutes. A minute or two, you`re going to have enough blood loss. The patient goes into irreversible hypogleamic or loss of blood shock. And there`s nothing that can be done to help the patient.
GRACE: So unless someone with some type of training, really, had applied direct pressure, with, for instance, a towel or a rag, to the carotid artery, that would have been the only way to save him? And how long would that -- would they could have saved him until the police or an ambulance got there?
POSEY: Yes. If a direct pressure would have been applied immediately, within the first few seconds, the chances are, he may have been saved. Now we`re hearing it`s one carotid artery. Maybe both sides were cut. If both sides are cut, you know, then it`s lights out because there`s no way to get blood to the brain.
The brain will die without any blood because there are -- there is blood coming back here through the vertebral arteries, but that doesn`t give you enough blood over a long period of time to get the patient to the hospital and the arteries reconnected. There would be severe brain damage. So I think it`s a very serious wound.
GRACE: To Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta, Georgia. The good news for her is that, according to our U.S. Supreme Court, nobody 16 or under.
GIUDICE: That`s right.
GRACE: . can be put to death, can get the death penalty. But if she`s charged as a juvenile, she may not be looking at anything more than 18 months to 5 years.
GIUDICE: That`s right.
GRACE: She can treated as an adult but not the death penalty.
GIUDICE: Well, that`s right. And she has those protections and her defense counsel is going to start exploring some of the issues that your callers have called about. Has she been exposed to violence? Has she been exposed to any domestic violence or sexual abuse.
I agree with you. Sometimes.
GRACE: Hey, why don`t you just throw in video games, too, Ray.
GIUDICE: Listen, Nancy.
GRACE: You left that one out.
GIUDICE: You`re right. Sometimes there`s nothing there. But her lawyer`s job is to flesh those issues out. And if they`re there, bring them to the court`s attention in the juvenile court.
GRACE: Jeff Gardere, we need a shrink. Weigh in.
GARDERE: All right. Well, her defense attorney needs to show that she didn`t know right from wrong. So when they do an assessment, they`re going to look at IQ to see if there was some sort of borderline retardation. And they`ll look at whether there was any psychosis, as far as hallucinations, so she didn`t know what her actions were really about.
GRACE: OK. Good try, Jeff.
Kelly, Wisconsin, what`s your question, dear? I think I`ve got Kelly in Wisconsin. Do you have a question?
KELLY, CALLER FROM WISCONSIN: Yes, I do, Nancy. I think the last caller asked a question about if she had any psychological past, any problems. But since the last caller asked that question, I just want to take this time to just -- I am so encouraged with your new book and you`re going to make my Christmas very easy.
I`m going buy each person, every family and friend, that book. So I want to thank you and congratulations on your new book, Nancy. I love you to death.
GRACE: Kelly in Wisconsin, thank you so much. I`ve been working on this book nearly 10 years, believe it or not. And in addition to thanking Kelly in Wisconsin for her kind words, a special thank you to the "Today" show host, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb for having me on this morning, not only about the twins, but about my novel, out today, "Eleventh Victim."
And thank you to friend of the show, Headlines News` Jane Velez-Mitchell, for having me as a guest tonight as well. Thank you to everyone at "GMA," especially host Robin Roberts for having me on. Also to my -- oh there`s Sam Champion, longtime friend. He gave the twins little raincoats when they were born.
And to my friend and competitor Bill O`Reilly on F-O-X Network for having me on as a guest. Not only about our show here on Headline News and the cases we cover, but the book, "Eleventh Victim."
Everyone, thank you so very much.
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GRACE: I want to thank you so much for all of your calls and your e-mails about my book, "Eleventh Victim." It comes out on August 11th. You were the very first to see it right now. Of course after Lucy, pictured here, who grabbed it first.
It`s about a prosecutor who tries her best to give up criminal law and start a new life. But when her friends are murdered, one by one, the NYPD hones in on her.
It took me years to write this book. I started when I first left felony prosecution. And I missed it so much. Since then I wrote another book and published it. Launched this show with my producer, Dean. Got married. Got pregnant. Gave birth. Nearly died. Didn`t. And finished the book.
I hope you like it. Part of my proceeds go to a charity, Wesley Glenn, who takes care of the mentally handicapped that need a loving home. You can find this book on our Web site.
Again, everyone, thank you.
Let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Gueringer, 20, Lake Charles, Louisiana. From a long line of family serving the military. Set for a second tour to Afghanistan. Loved football. Remembered for love of family, sense of humor. Dreamed of college at McNeese State University. An organ donor, wanted to give someone the gift of life. Leaves behind parents William and Sandra, sisters Gay and Jacquelyn.
Daniel Gueringer, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you. A special good night from California, New York, and Florida friends of the show, Eleanor, Alexander, Joe, and Kim. Aren`t they beautiful?
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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