...California's status as a destination of choice for rich and poor immigrants has also made it a center for new forms of slavery and human trafficking. We're not talking about illegal immigrants who voluntarily work in substandard conditions for substandard wages, but actual slaves who are brought into this state as indentured servants and-or purveyors of illicit sexual acts, are kept under lock and key by their masters, and are severely punished when those owners are displeased.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is expected this week to sign into law a bill that would increase penalties for crimes such as kidnapping if they aid in human trafficking.  The bill attempts to combat a proliferation in the sex trade in northwest Ohio. It would create a new “human trafficking” specification that prosecutors could attach to related crimes to increase penalties.

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For someone who’s only 18, Shauna Newell is remarkably composed as she describes being kidnapped, drugged, gang-raped and savagely beaten. It is only when she talks about seeing one of the men who sexually assaulted her — free and unafraid of being prosecuted — that she starts to break down.

“I went out to the beach a few weeks ago and I saw the dude who raped me, and he just looked at me,” Newell told NBC News, her voice choking. “Like, hey … you ruined my whole life. You have scarred me for the rest of my life and you're just sitting there going on with your life like nothing is wrong.”

Watch the clip here.

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October 30, 2008 | KANSAS CITY, MO. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges related to the commercial sex trafficking of four female victims and the sexual exploitation of a fifth female victim, who was a minor.

Michael L. Buck, 35, of Kansas City, was charged in a seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. A motion for detention has been filed with the court, seeking to have Buck detained in federal custody until his trial.

“Today’s indictment reflects our commitment to human dignity and freedom,” said Wood. “Our Human Trafficking Initiative is designed to protect and assist trafficking victims and to bring their oppressors to justice.”

Today’s indictment alleges that Buck engaged in the commercial sex trafficking of one victim who was coerced to engage in prostitution, and attempted to engage in the commercial sex trafficking of two more victims, between January and June 2008. Buck allegedly attempted to engage in the commercial sex trafficking of the fourth victim between April 1 and Aug. 19, 2006.

Buck is also charged with attempting to produce child pornography. Buck allegedly engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a fifth victim, who was a minor, and attempted to produce child pornography from March 1 to June 30, 2003.

In addition, Buck is charged with one count of transporting one of his victims across state lines to engage in prostitution, as well as one count of document servitude for confiscating government identification documents, including a victim’s driver’s license.