Beth Phillips (DOJ)

Beth Phillips, the new U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, has no plans to make any big changes to the office, The Kansas City Star reported. Phillips, who was sworn in Dec. 31., will take her ceremonial oath of office at a 3 p.m. event Friday at the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo.

“I think the office is well suited to pursue the priorities identified by the administration,” Phillips told The Star. “I’m not a great believer in change for the sake of change.” She had been an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the office since mid 2008.

She said that counterterrorism, human trafficking, child exploitation and firearms crimes also will be priorities in her Kansas City-based office. Phillips told the newspaper she also plans to add a new lawyer to the district’s mortgage fraud unit which “will allow us to put an ever greater emphasis on those prosecutions.”

Phillips has a “low-key style,” evident in the fact that she has yet to hold a news conference and prepared statements released by her office have been limited, according to the newspaper.

During an interview with The Star, Phillips, a career trial lawyer, said, “I really enjoy presenting cases to juries.” Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick A. McInerney told the newspaper Phillips’ career as a prosecutor and private plaintiff’s lawyer will translate well to her current job. “The issues in the office are raised in the context of criminal prosecutions and trials,” McInerney told The Star. “That will help her make well-founded decisions.”

Jackson County, Kan., Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar, who supervised Phillips when she prosecuted sexual assault cases described Phillips her as “intelligent and talented.” He told The Star, “It’s extremely reassuring to me to know she will be the United States Attorney,” adding, “She’s an excellent advocate for women and children.”

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri today told members of the Senate Judiciary panel’s Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee that there are not enough law enforcement and social services resources to combat child sex trafficking in the United States.

Beth Phillips (DOJ)

U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips, who worked on child exploitation cases as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, said U.S. child traffickers have “little fear” of arrest or prosecution because victims often won’t cooperate with law enforcement officials. Phillips said there needs to be more specialized services for victims, including secure housing.

“Without secure housing it is difficult for law enforcement officers to maintain the steady contact with victims necessary to build rapport and build trust,” Phillips said. “While general resources might be available at the state level, there are very little resources capable of addressing the full range of trauma experienced by these children.”

The U.S. Attorney, who was sworn into office on Dec. 31, said the Justice Department has employed a number of task forces and initiatives over the last decade to fight child prostitution, including the Innocence Lost National Initiative, begun in 2003, which tries to rescue U.S. victims of child trafficking. The DOJ also has a few, limited grant programs to help state, local and tribal officials save child prostitutes in the United States.

“The Department of Justice is committed to continuing its multi-pronged attack against the victimization of American children,” Phillips said. “Through a training and grant-making perspective, we continue to assist local communities in understanding and responding to this issue. From a law enforcement perspective, our efforts are focused on building capacity through the establishment and training of task forces to successfully apprehend and prosecute offenders who make money off of the backs of children.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced bipartisan legislation last December to create a dedicated grant program that would provide grants to state, local and tribal programs that fight sex trafficking in the United States. The bill, which would authorize $50 million over four years, has not seen any legislative action, however.

“[Child prostitutes] don’t have any power. They don’t have any clout. They don’t have any political action committee,” Wyden said today. He added: “We are not going to tolerate this kind of moral wrong. We are not going to tolerate sacrificing so many of our young people.”