11/11/2013 (updated 11/12/2013) – Florida based ‘non-profit’ Out of the Life Inc. has removed a controversial video that depicted a murdered Oklahoma teen after negative media attention and take-down demand from OKC attorney.
JohnTV broke the story of the video last week and then worked with local CBS-affiliate KWTV News9′s Lisa Monahan in getting the story out.
Out of the Life Inc. touts itself as a Lake Mary, FL non-profit dedicated to helping exploited women out of a life of prostitution and sex trafficking.
ResourcePoint’s online profile of Out of the Life Inc. describes the organization as;
We are a support group for Women who have worked or are currently working in the sex industry and want to get Out Of The Life.
We understand it is a difficult and frightening process and work to support your decisions as you transition to a more traditional lifestyle. The only requirement is a desire to quit. You do not have to quit in order to participate.
We offer a wide range of support services including referrals for legal services, housing, individual and family counseling, resources for getting job training for a legitimate job or a real career and, most importantly, the support of other women who have the same goal.
Carina Saunders, OKC teen brutally murdered in 2011.
The group posted a video, in Aug. of last year, to YouTube and then linked the video to several social media Websites, their own Twitter account and even a funding effort at GoFundMe.com.
The video, an amateurish public service announcement, profiled several young women and identified them as victims of prostitution.
During the video, Oklahoma City teenager Carina Saunders’ photo is clearly shown – however, everything tied to the photo of Saunders in the video was a lie.
Saunders is identified as ‘Asia’ a young woman living a double life as an aspiring art student by day and the victim of a vicious pimp by night.
The video goes on to state that ‘Asia’ became addicted to pills, at the hand of her human trafficker, and was eventually found dead of an overdose in a hotel room (see screen grabs from the video below).
It is not known if the other profiles contained the video were also complete fabrications.
In reality, Saunders was the highly publicized victim of a brutal murder and dismemberment.
Saunders’ remains were found in one or more duffle bags behind a Homeland grocery store in Bethany, OK on Oct. 13 2011.
One theory widely reported in the media is that Saunders’ murder was done by members of a human sex trafficking organization that randomly targeted Saunders for no other reason than to send a message to those within the organization not to cross them and to earn more money.
This theory has not been supported by any direct evidence despite the media’s fervor to keep reporting it.
Saunders is not believed to have had any direct association with prostitution or human sex trafficking.
Jesse Maley, Exec. Dir. Out of the Life Inc.
Out of the Life Inc.’s executive director Jesse Maley could not be reached by reporters and a representative of Out of the Life Inc. claimed Maley was “out of the country.”
Despite numerous calls, emails and social media posts demanding the removal of the video from the public, the video remained publicized for several days.
After the story aired on KWTV News9, JohnTV’s Brian Bates contacted local high profile defense attorney Scott Adams and asked if he could help the Saunders family get the video taken down.
Adams, a longtime and frequent supporter of local anti-sex trafficking groups such as No Boundaries Int’l agreed to help.
On Friday KWTV News9 reported that Adams sent a cease-and-desist and takedown letter to Out of the Life Inc. and YouTube.
Adams told News9 that if the video was not removed he would file a civil lawsuit against the organization.
Adams also requested that Maley/Out of the Life Inc. formally apologize to the Saunders’ family for the pain and suffering their video has caused.
Within 24 hours of Adams’ demand letter, the video was removed from the organization’s YouTube channel and their GoFundMe page was deleted.
News9′s Lisa Monahan reports that authorities in the Lake Mary area are investigating the matter and state the organization could face criminal charges for their attempt to solicit money under false pretenses.
Authorities in Florida claim Out of the Life Inc. is not a registered or recognized non-profit in that a state as of Sept. of this year.
JohnTV was asked by Adams to download a copy of the video in question, before it was deleted, for use in a possible lawsuit.
Saunders’ murder remains unsolved and the investigation has been turned over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations.
UPDATE: (11/12/2013) On the day that JohnTV posted the article above, KWTV News9′s Lisa Monahan was finally contacted by Out of the Line Inc’s Executive Direct Jesse Maley. News9 ran an update story yesterday evening.
In that update, Maley claims the details they posted were actually about a client her organization has served and that she didn’t think it would be a big deal to randomly pick a photo from a ‘sex trafficking’ online search.
When asked claimed she had not considered it would be wrong to attribute a random picture to another person’s life story.
Maley initially claimed the video was produced in 2010 – but when confronted with the fact Carina Saunders wasn’t murdered until 2011, she retracted that assertion.
Maley also claims she removed the video as soon as she became aware of the problem – However, in reality the video remained online until she received a cease-and-desist letter from OKC attorney Scott Adams.
Maley claims she plans on writing a letter to the Saunders family (we’ll see).
Carina Saunders falsely identified as ‘Asia’
Saunders falsely depicted as a prostitute drug addict.