For Immediate Release NRB Attending Media

“A True Story of Human Trafficking in America” told for the first time at NRB 2011
Provocative new book exposes America’s sex for sale industry
 

Nashville, TN. The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America, a new book exposing the multitude of dangers
facing young people and families through growing commercial sexual exploitation crimes in the United States, will be released by
Sons of Liberty Press for the first time at the 2011 National Religious Broadcasters Convention (NRB), February 27 – March 1.
(Author and Press Conference Schedule is below.) This is a special early release of the book exclusively for media and attendees of
NRB 2011. The general public release is March 21, 2011.
This is unlike any other book on the subject of human trafficking. The result of two years of intense research by author
Raymond Bechard, the epic volume offers a completely new perspective on this complex issue, including the profoundly disturbing
criminal activity so pervasive on social networking sites like Facebook. Along with a small, international group of devoted ‘netizens,’
Bechard has been conducting an investigation of Facebook for several months. He has been reporting their findings in his “Human
Trafficking” column at Examiner.com. But first, the group files complaints with law enforcement and Facebook whenever they
discover evidence of criminal activity involving the exploitation of young people online. Bechard will announce the details of his
investigation at an NRB based Press Conference, Monday, February 28 at 12:00 p.m.
What Bechard has found will shock most readers of The Berlin Turnpike. “This is an important book for every American
family,” says the author. “There are so many dangerous myths surrounding human trafficking in the United States. To protect our
young people I believe it is essential to tell the truth about this issue. And to do that, we have to drop all our agendas and preconceived
notions. We must cast aside what we want to believe; what is easy to believe. To understand and accept the humanity of the victims
this crime leaves behind, I felt it was time explore the entire, often ugly, story of trafficking. And the story takes place in every
community in America.”
Having worked as a writer for ministry and human rights organizations for over two decades, this is Raymond Bechard’s
second book on the topic of human trafficking. His first, Unspeakable: The Hidden Truth Behind the World’s Fastest Growing Crime,
is an expose of child trafficking in all its forms around the world. Both The Berlin Turnpike and Unspeakable come with a warning
from the author. “The closer we look at human trafficking, the uglier it gets. You simply cannot get close to this topic without getting
your hands dirty. For any thinking person, it is impossible to face the truth of it without having it change you. People want to believe it
is something that can be solved easily and quickly. It can’t. The book demonstrates that these specific crimes have been in this country
for two hundred years. Trafficking is an increasingly accepted part of our culture and it will take generations of healing and
understanding to stop it.”
The book’s title is taken from a “twelve-mile stretch of concrete” in the central part of America’s wealthiest state:
Connecticut. With a long and sordid history, the Berlin Turnpike serves as a metaphor for the landscape in which human trafficking,
commercial sexual exploitation, and all forms of prostitution have existed in the US for centuries and continues to flourish today.
The Berlin Turnpike tells the story of a landmark federal trial which took place in Hartford, CT over the course of eight days
in 2007. “The trial of United States vs. Dennis Paris provides a rare and detailed account of how human trafficking is thriving because
it has left the street corners and entered our homes,” explains the author. “This one case contains every element of a crime so reliant
on secrecy; shrouded behind a scintillating veil of growing legitimacy. Yet it is buried just below the surface of our culture’s
mainstream perception.”
This trip to the Berlin Turnpike takes readers to the core of how and where these events take place from the perspective of all
those involved: the victims, the police, and the perpetrators. Never before has one story so accurately represented the dangerously
magnetic commonalities shared by thousands of roadways, neighborhoods, businesses, publications, private homes, and websites.
“When you see what is happening today on the Berlin Turnpike – in all its forms - you will finally uncover what has been lurking in
every American community for so long,” states the author.
NRB 2011 schedule for The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America, by Raymond Bechard
 Press Conference: Monday, February 28, 2011, 12:00 p.m., Media Room
 Book Signing: Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., Main Exhibit Hall
 Private interview availability at Booth #946 and:
o Monday, February 28, 2011, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
 o Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
 All prior media inquiries should be made to: Media@RaymondBechard.com or call 860-339-5387

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