GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On the list of people who Gov. Whitmer pardoned last Friday is Leslie Fontain King. She’s had many people on her side including both Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel and former GOP AG Bill Schuette who both supported her to be pardoned. According to King, she never ended up in prison but she did “multiple stints in and out of jails and institutions” over the years while she was a victim of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
After turning her life around, she is now an advocate for human trafficking victims and those who are sexually exploited. She is on the board of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force and is the founder and president of the non-profit organization in Grand Rapids called Sacred Beginnings that provides shelter and other resources for sex trafficking victims.
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Michigan News Source reached out to King about the news of her pardon and what effect it will have on her life to have her convictions set aside. She said that she will be able to complete college now and get licensed as a social worker. About the pardon, she said, “I’m grateful to God, I’m very grateful. This has been a long fight.”
She asked to thank those who helped her with that fight including Madelaine Lane from Warner Norcross & Judd. She also asked to thank, “The Joseph Project, my family and also the many others that are to many to name that stood alongside me during this long exhausting journey. Special thank you to my husband, William Friday, for speaking nothing but positivity when l felt low during this process.”
She continued, “God is good…people just started coming my way… they assisted me in trying to get an expungement but because of the severity of my record, I wasn’t a good candidate for an expungement. So it was like… it’s a long shot but let’s try for a pardon and I went for it.” She said that all they could say was no – but luckily that was not the case.
The Michigan Parole Board which receives all applications for executive clemency says that a pardon “erases a conviction from an individual’s record.” The Michigan Supreme Court has held that the effect of a pardon by the Governor is such that it “releases the punishment and blots out the existence of guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he (or she) had never committed the offense.”
On the website of King’s non-profit organization Sacred Beginnings, which is a member of the National Survivors Network, it says that the organization is uniquely equipped to reach and support those enslaved in sexual exploitation and human trafficking because they are survivor-led and know what it’s like to live in fear and without hope.
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They go to street corners, alleys, and motels in Grand Rapids to bring “light to the dark” and work with governmental agencies, legislators, law enforcement and health care professionals to help victims. Since 2005, they have served over 2,300 residents in their transitional houses and reached over 20,000 people during street outreach.
While participating in that street outreach, they go into Grand Rapids three times a week, rain or shine, looking for people trapped in exploitation and prostitution. They distribute “Blessed Bags” with personal care items, scripture, food and water as well as hand out contact cards for when the people are willing to leave the streets. They also pray with each person.
Once the victims are off the streets, the organization provides housing and recovery in their two transition homes. The organization’s website says It’s a place to heal – physically, emotionally and spiritually – with detox, trauma counseling, one-on-one peer mentoring, group therapy, life skills coaching, optional Bible study and spiritual discipleship as well as education and career counseling.
King has a bio on the Sacred Beginnings website that says she was “coerced into the lifestyle of prostitution at the tender age of 15 in Grand Rapids, MI. She became trapped in the underworld of prostitution and drug addiction for over 20 years. On July 4, 2000 Leslie miraculously found the strength and the courage to break free. Since 2003, she has been intensely engaged in working with individuals who find themselves trapped in the same horrors that she experienced.”
The bio goes on to say, “In 2005, Leslie utilized her experience, expertise, and inspiring example of a renewed lifestyle to open Sacred Beginnings, a safe haven that offers hope, and healing to trafficking victims. Leslie consults with law enforcement agencies, human service professionals, clergy, and others requesting direction and understanding in working with prostituted individuals. She also speaks at various conferences and academic institutions on the issue of human trafficking.”
The bio concludes by saying, “Leslie is well-respected in the state of Michigan from which she hails and where she is often seen boldly conducting street outreach to sexually exploited people during unconventional hours.”
Her honors and awards include 2005 Grand Rapids Woman of the Year nominee, 2008 YWCA Advocate of the Year, 2011 Rising Hero Award, 2014 “50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan,” 2018 Michigan Liberator Award, 2019 Grand Rapids Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club Certificate of Achievement, 2021 African American Leadership Award, and the 2021 BBB Trust Award.
King also wrote a book last year that was published in 2022 called “When Angels Fight: My Story of Escaping Sex Trafficking and Leading a Revolt Against the Darkness.”
Senita Lenear, Third Ward Commissioner, City of Grand Rapids, said about the book in her review, “The world of sex-trafficking is dark and filled with things you think can only be on television. Leslie helps you to understand that sex trafficking can hit close to home and that any family can be impacted by it.”
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