Canadians Want Release Of Two Girls U.S. Holding Teenagers Who Say They Were Kidnapped And Forced Into Prostitution

Provincial officials plan to pick up two B.C. girls held in jail in Oregon who said they were kidnapped and sexually assaulted.

The girls, 13 and 14, were locked up in Portland’s juvenile detention facility because U.S. justice officials feared they would not return to testify against two Bellingham men if the girls were allowed to return home.

The girls are the key witnesses in the case against Adam Jermaine Ingram, 20, and Kevin Roy Woods, 18. They are charged with violating a U.S. federal law prohibiting transporting anyone under 18 across state lines with the intent of engaging in criminal activity.

Assistant U.S. attorney Michael Brown said Friday he persuaded a federal court to detain the girls as material witnesses after Children and Families Ministry officials in Vancouver could not guarantee they would be available for trial in two to three months.

U.S. authorities, including the FBI, said earlier that the girls were in “protective custody.”

Penny Priddy, B.C.’s minister for children and families, said she is appalled the girls, victims of an apparent sex-for-hire ring, are in jail.

“I think it is quite outrageous,” she said. “What we will do is punish the victims more. Excellent justice.”

She said two officials would be sent to Portland to secure the girls’ release.

“Our intention is to bring the girls back with our staff,” Priddy said. “We’ll see what opposition we meet when we get down there.”

Brown said he’s trying to transfer the girls from juvenile jail to a secure counseling facility where they can get help. The facility is full.

He suggested U.S. social workers could offer better resources than the girls have been provided in B.C.

That rankled Priddy.

“How is it going to help a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old who already have challenges not to be in their home province and not be around people they know?” she asked.

Priddy said she also is upset with the apparent prejudice of U.S. officials who said that because the girls were in B.C. ministry care, they were less likely to return to testify.

“What is the difference if you come from a foster home?” she asked.

“If you are in that situation you are obviously troubled whether you come from foster care or from your own home.”

Vancouver police Constable Anne Drennan said one of the girls lived in a Vancouver foster home and the other, who is wanted on a mischief charge, was on the run from a foster home in suburban Richmond.

Ingram and Woods are accused of paying $3,000 to buy the 13-year-old from a Vancouver man and taking her and the other teen toward San Diego, where they were to be forced to work for an escort agency.

The girls told authorities that during the road trip, Ingram and Woods forced them to have sex with them, as well as with other men in Bellingham and Seattle who were willing to pay.

One man who paid for sex took sympathy on the girls when he learned their ages.

He lent the 13-year-old his cell phone to call her mother, who called police.

Portland police picked up the girls Tuesday and arrested Ingram and Woods.