Attorneys finished their closing arguments Friday and the jury of six men and six women will return Monday morning to start deliberations after more than two weeks of testimony.

This is the first trial from an indictment that alleged 30 defendants, mostly people of Somali descent, were involved in a wide-ranging conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking and operated in Minnesota, Ohio and Tennessee. Other defendants in the case could be tried at a later date.

Defense attorneys argued that the main government witnesses, identified in court as Jane Doe No. 2 and Jane Doe No. 5, were unreliable and inconsistent.

Jane Doe No. 2, who is a Somali female, described during the testimony earlier this month being taken to several apartments around suburban Minneapolis to have sex with other Somali men for money, sometimes as little as $40. She said the sexual acts began at the age of 12.

She later described a trip to Nashville in 2009 with several of the gang members where she was found by police.

Defense attorneys questioned her age because her birth certificate was revealed to be fake. The jury will have to decide whether she was a juvenile when the sexual acts occurred.

Jane Doe. No. 5 testified earlier this month that she was being used to have sex with men in Minnesota when she was around 15 or 16 years old. She said she later moved to Nashville as an adult and said she saw girls and young women being used as prostitutes at a Nashville apartment.

Defense attorneys in closing arguments this week said that Jane Doe No. 5 was mentally ill and was inconsistent on dates and events during her testimony. They argued that prosecutors had failed to present proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants in the trial were part of the conspiracy.

All nine defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion and conspiracy to benefit financially from sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion. Some of the defendants face additional charges of sexual trafficking of children or attempted sexual trafficking of children.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

So since I am writing this post in the morning, and I prefer to get my news from the newspaper most days, I will test my father’s statement on today’s front page of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper at ajc.com as well as other news outlets. NOTE: By listing these stories, I am not saying they are true or false. I am simply using them as examples to support my father’s premise…

1. 1 dead, 2 on the loose in home invasion - According to what I read, this story demonstrates breaking commandments 6 and 1o.
2. Gwinnett Schools Superintendent Wilbanks could face ethics investigation - This seems like a violation of commandment 9.
3. Aimee Michael, mother sent to separate prisons - This story is a tragic depiction of what can be the consequences for breaking commandments 6 and 9.
4. Teen died with stomp; possibility of more involved - Thou shalt not kill…This story also demonstrates how each of us must respect the sanctity of human life or face savage consequences…
5. Ex-Gwinnett planning commissioner charged with theft - He should know better as a church member at all…According to this article, this dude is guilty of stealing and idolizing money as his god rather than serving the one true God. He also coveted what his church had…scandalous!
6. Attacks targeting Iraqi Christians kill 4 in Baghad - An obvious violation of commandment 6…I believe these attacks were incited because of these Christians’ faith in God which is likely a violation of commandment 1.
7. After a personal scandal, a small political upswing - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford famously committed adultery last year…
8. Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post - I believe this employees was fired because of her supervisor thought she bore false witness in her description of him…in other words, she lied on him…(Aside: why would you post comments about your boss on Facebook anyway…she was asking for trouble…dumb)
9. Somali Gangs in Minnesota Traded Girls for Sex - To commit such heinous crimes, these gangs idolized money above all else…
10. Chizik: Newton allegations ‘pure garbage’ – Is he guilty of academic cheating or not…if so, commandment 9 has been broken

Interesting, huh? Those 10 commandments really lay a good foundation for good human behavior…

Any thoughts?

NATO warship sinks pirate ship off Somalia

A NATO destroyer has sunk a pirate mothership in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast after allowing the crew to leave, the alliance said Monday.

Shona Lowe, an anti-piracy spokeswoman, said the HDMS Absalon — the Danish flagship of the three-vessel NATO flotilla in the region — disrupted a pirate operation by “scuttling” one of the large boats used by Somali gangs to transport attack teams to piracy hunting areas far off the coast.

The mothership was fired on and sunk after its crew members were transferred to a smaller boat in tow, which was allowed to return to the mainland, she said.

“NATO is not in the business of firing at skiffs with pirates in them,” Lowe said in an interview from NATO’s naval headquarters in Northwood, near London.

Lowe said no further details were immediately available.

The action occurred Sunday in the Indian Ocean, rather than the adjacent Gulf of Aden where most pirate attacks take place.

See also:
NATO Warship Sinks Somali Pirate Mothership
NATO Sinks Pirate Mother Ship Off Somalia
NATO Disrupts Piracy in the Somali Basin
NATO warship sinks pirate ship off Somalia
Danish NATO destroyer sinks pirate mothership off Somalia
Pirate ship sunk
Absalon Class Combat / Flexible Support Ship, Denmark
Absalon Class Combat / Flexible Support Ship, Denmark
HDMS Absalon (L16)

/it’s nice that NATO is fighting back and sinking pirate ships, but they really need to develop rules of engagement that allow them to detain the actual pirates, rather than just keep releasing them, free to plunder another day