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AMES, Iowa (WHO)– A former Ames nurse practitioner is now facing federal charges for allegedly sex trafficking 14 victims and sexually exploiting a minor. On Thursday a federal grand jury issued an indictment charging Carl Markley with 15 counts of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion, one count of sexual exploitation and attempted exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of child

California lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill that would classify child sex trafficking as a serious felony following controversy that briefly stalled the legislation and became a divisive issue among state Democrats. The California legislature passed Senate Bill 14 in a unanimous vote of approval in the state Senate. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has signaled

A bill to strengthen penalties for repeat offenders convicted of sexually trafficking children failed to pass the Assembly Public Safety Committee July 11, with only the two Republican members voting in favor of the measure. Authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), Senate Bill 14 passed the Senate with unanimous bipartisan support and would have added repeat sexual trafficking of a

After a child sex trafficking bill was killed by the Assembly Public Safety Committee July 11, pressure from the public, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and the governor led to an abrupt about-face July 13, with the committee passing the measure in a tense, one-minute meeting. Following a contentious debate on the floor about how to proceed, a change to the rules was made that allowed