Washington, DC (December 11, 2020) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) issued a statement with an update in the lawsuit, Charleston v. Nevada.
On December 10, 2020, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Charleston v. Nevada, affirming the district court’s decision to dismiss the case. Plaintiffs Bekah Charleston and Angela Delgado-Williams were sex trafficked due to Nevada’s system of legal brothels and sought to hold the state responsible for protecting the sex trade and enabling slavery.
While the Ninth Circuit decided it could not enjoin Nevada’s existing legal scheme on behalf of people not actively being trafficked, it suggested the plaintiffs may be able to bring the case on behalf of others, commenting: “The Supreme Court has recognized that there may be circumstances where it is necessary to grant a third party standing to assert the rights of another…Third-party standing may be the only practical way to assert the rights of enslaved human beings.”
The plaintiffs are considering next steps in light of the court’s ruling, including re-filing the lawsuit. The NCOSE Law Center is co-counsel in the case with Nevada-based attorney Jason Guinasso of Hutchison & Steffen, PLLC. The legal briefs can be viewed at www.notsafeforwomen.org.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
