Minnesotan Becomes First To Sue Over Child Sex Tourism

Panyia Vang, a 22-year-old woman originally from Laos, is seeking $450,000 from the Hmong man from Minnesota who she says traveled to her country and enticed her with promises of movie stardom when she was 14.

Instead, Vang says the man raped her, resulting in a pregnancy. Allegedly, he threatened to deny her visitation rights to their child if she didn’t continue to have sex with him.

Vang’s lawsuit was first reported by David Chanen in the Minnesota Star Tribune, in a story that notes child brides in abusive relationships are an “open secret” among Minnesota’s large Hmong community.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Chanen about the story.

Guest

• David Chanen, courts reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He tweets @chanenstrib.

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