Thursday, January 30, 2014

DCF social worker: Demand driving supply in human trafficking


Audrey Morrissey tells her story of surviving sex trafficking at a state Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Connecticut conference at the CT Convention Center in Hartford Wednesday. Mara Lavitt — New Haven Register

By Rachel Chinapen
Register Staff

HARTFORD >> The first time Audrey Morrissey was picked up by a “John,” she got in the car to find a white male flashing his police badge in her face.
Morrissey, then 16, wasn’t arrested. Instead, the officer requested a sexual favor in exchange for her freedom.
The next 14 years of Morrissey’s life were spent in and out of the “combat zone” of Boston, Mass., as she worked for different pimps and strip clubs, gave birth to her three children and battled her addiction to heroin.
About 200 social workers, law enforcement workers, hospital administrators and others listened to Morrissey, 51, describe how she became a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) at the state’s first full-day forum on the issue.

Read more here.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

CT State Police to step up DUI patrols for Superbowl Sunday

From CT State Police press release:

This Sunday, Feb. 2, friends and families will gather to watch the big game and to enjoy festivities
surrounding the Super Bowl.
 The parties and gatherings can make Super Bowl Sunday one of the year’s most dangerous days on the roads and highways of our state due to impaired, driving-related accidents.
 The Connecticut State Police offer some life-saving suggestions to keep everyone safe:
* Act responsibly by designating a sober, non-drinking driver before the game even starts. The game tends to be an all-day event—remember friends never let friends drive drunk! Be prepared to call a cab for a friend or find a sober driver for that friend.
 Connecticut State Police Colonel Danny R. Stebbins noted, “The designation of a sober driver is the best way to avoid a tragedy or injury caused by a drunk driver. Remember: jail time, fines, loss of license, and other penalties can ruin a day meant for being with friends and celebrating.”
 Troopers will be attentive to all roads and highways across the state for the possibility of drunk drivers during and after the big game. Troopers will aggressively enforce all motor vehicle laws.
 During Super Bowl Sunday 2013, Troopers arrested drivers for DUI and issued numerous tickets for speeding and for tickets for unsafe lane changes and distracted driving.

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Monday, January 13, 2014

Connecticut DUI victim turns injuries into action

Shelley Merrill of Norwich poses next to an X-ray of her neck, showing some of the injuries she suffered after a drunk driver crashed into the vehicle in which she was a passenger in 2007.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor

Shelley Merrill said she had a near-death experience after a drunken driver crashed into her, but she survived with a new purpose — to share her ordeal to try to keep people from driving under the influence.
Merrill, of Norwich, is known professionally as “Shelly Martinez” a co-host on a WCTY radio morning show based in her hometown.
Merrill was a passenger in a truck on May 11, 2007, on Route 2 near the Preston and Norwich town lines, when a drunken driver who was trying to pass them clipped the left side of their vehicle. The impact sent their truck out of control, and it rolled over about five times.
“I remember being tossed, and I was in and out of consciousness,” Merrill said. “It happened so quickly. I felt bones break and my neck snap. I thought I was going to die.”

Read more here.

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Sunday, January 5, 2014

Repeat DUI offender leaves Trumbull man in daily pain

Vincent Ramaglia at his home in Trumbull by a photograph of the crumpled remains of a 1992 Honda Civic he was driving on June 1, 2011, when a drunken driver hit him. Arnold Gold — New Haven Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
TRUMBULL >> Vincent Ramaglia was a typical teenager, just going out with friends for ice cream, when a drunken driver crashed into him, inflicting injuries that cause him pain even today.
Ramaglia, now 21 and a senior at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, was 18 at the time of the June 1, 2011, crash in Trumbull.
Ramaglia had just enjoyed dinner with friends. On the way to a Trumbull ice cream shop, Ramaglia pulled over and parked to talk with one of his friends.
Seconds later, he heard a noise, turned and saw a car speeding over a median toward the woods. The car crashed into another vehicle, then ricocheted toward Ramaglia’s car, where he sat in the driver’s seat.

Read more here.

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