I would like to take a moment to introduce myself, my mission, and to present you with a few reasons for why I have decided to expand my operation to Southern Nevada. My name is Kevin Malone, and I am a retired major league baseball executive who most recently was the EVP/GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers (back in 2001).

Since my retirement, I have been blessed to travel the world while chasing other passions of mine. During this journey, I have experienced many incredibly uplifting events, as well as seen several unspeakable atrocities committed against other humans. During one of my trips, this time to Thailand, I learned firsthand about children being sold into sexual slavery. Watching young people, children as young as six-years-old, being bought and sold like goods, brought me to tears. I admit that before this experience, I was naive to think this problem only existed in other countries, and that it could not possibly occur in the country that I was born and raised in, and have had the blessing to make a living at America’s pastime.

So, I began to examine the issue. As a father of two, this problem really hit home with me. I became immersed in exploring how, where, and why this was evil was happening right here in the United States of America. After meeting with many American and international survivors, both boys and girls alike, I was heartbroken. It was incomprehensible to me how children were able to be bought and sold on our streets, and not only in the back streets of our most poverty-stricken neighborhoods, but with children from all socioeconomic backgrounds who were being dehumanized right before our eyes. At this point, I realized I could no longer stand by and pretend as if it wasn’t happening, and therefore chose to use my blessings to save our children.

Thus, six years ago, I established the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) in Tampa, Florida with a national focus. Since then, we have created a safe house for boys, generated pathways for victims to connect with services, and have lobbied and advocated for policy changes to not only support and empower victims, but to also punish the traffickers. As a result of these efforts, we have made remarkable improvements in Tampa and in other areas throughout the country. However, after relocating to Southern Nevada, I soon realized that there is a lot more work that needs to be done. I have taken the first steps to expand my efforts, having already met with some incredible stakeholders, but let’s be clear, there is a lot of work to be done.

The challenges that exist in Nevada are unlike any other state. For instance, prostitution is legal in many parts of Nevada, although I am not interested in engaging in a discussion of the pros and cons of adult prostitution. However, what I am hoping to accomplish is to challenge us as a community to set a limit and definitively say, “Not our children!” We simply cannot continue to turn our backs on the reportedly 3,000+ youth being bought and sold on our very own streets. The only difference between the rape of a child and child prostitution is the mere exchange of currency. This must stop, and together as a community, we can establish the change.

The following are recommendations of how we can begin to address this issue. If you agree with all or even parts of our plan, please join us. The more community members we have locked in arms with this fight, the more children we will save.

1. Educate our children on how to avoid being trafficked. While this is much more complex than many of us can comprehend, we must be aware that traffickers are masters at preying on our children’s vulnerabilities. Let’s teach our children to recognize the signs in both themselves and others, to keep them safe.
2. Inform parents on how to recognize the signs that their child may be in trouble and offer strategies and pathways to bring them back to safety.
3. Train our workers throughout the valley including hospitality workers, airline staff, truckers, police officers, teachers, medical staff, etc. on recognizing a child in crisis and how to intervene.
4. Fundraise tirelessly to facilitate providing the appropriate services to help survivors get back on track.
5. Lobby to our locally elected officials to change laws that include making sex with a child a violent offense and to ensure offenders are serving the appropriate time, while no longer allowing plea deals for having sex with a child. We need to stop the demand!
6. Examine best practices and understand what works, and apply it to our unique community. Let’s investigate what other communities are successfully doing to protect children and apply it in Southern Nevada.

While this is obviously an overgeneralized list of things to accomplish, my hope is that my intentions are acknowledged. Likewise, my goal is to recruit as many of you warriors that I can in declaring Kids Not for Sale! I challenge you to join me in this movement! Thank you for your time, and I look forward to uniting you in the very near future.

Respectfully,

Kevin Malone,
Founder/CEO
www.KidsNOTForSale.org