In December 2006, Judge Sanford “Sammy” Jones assisted Libby Spears of Blu-print Films in the creation of a documentary film on domestic sex trafficking of children.

At the time he was serving as a judge with the Fulton County Juvenile Court, the largest juvenile court in the southeast. Judge Jones had been vital in helping to establish the Juvenile Justice Fund, the nonprofit at the court that helps to identify and serve the special needs of those most underserved youth and family populations in its jurisdiction. CEASE, the Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation, was one of the programs established through the Juvenile Justice Fund.

While Blu-print Films was gathering footage in Atlanta, Judge Jones was instrumental in giving the crew access to the people, places and cases that shone the brightest light on the problem of prostitution and sexual exploitation of girls in Atlanta. He was fully committed to the project and he himself appears in the film.

Judge Jones was taken from this world too soon when he died in a small plane crash on May 15, 2009. When word of his tragic passing traveled, the Juvenile Justice Fund was contacted by Blu-print Films and asked to host the Atlanta premiere of the recently completed documentary, PLAYGROUND, in honor of Judge Jones and the shared work on this project.

In PLAYGROUND, filmmaker Libby Spears unravels the gut-wrenching atrocities that children face in America’s sex trade and trafficking industry. When she began shooting PLAYGROUND, Spears initially focused on international countries but quickly found that the problem of child prostitution was disturbingly in high demand right here in our own country. Through interviews with actual victims, social workers, and even pimps and johns, Libby was able to construct and display just how massive the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children really is in the U.S.

CEASE continues to address the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of girls in the Atlanta metro area and will receive all PLAYGROUND General Admission and Student ticket proceeds from this enlightening event. Proceeds from VIP Admission tickets will benefit the Sanford “Sammy” Jones Memorial Playground that will be built and gifted to the Fulton County Juvenile Court.

For more details about the Center’s work, click here.