A grandmother from Columbus, Ohio was sentenced to 1 year in prison for her role in human trafficking ring and fraud. The grandmother was convicted of tricking dozens of Eastern European women into the hotel service in Columbus and not allowing them to escape as she took their passports. She claimed the women were in debt to her.
Through the work of the commission, the six sub-committees have created comprehensive reports which have increased media coverage on the issue of human trafficking in Ohio, increased the public’s understanding, helped to support the changes to Ohio’s human trafficking laws, evaluated the services needed for victims, and provided training and identified others who needed to be trained.
During the lame duck session, the House unanimously approved Senate Bill 235 without amendments. The human trafficking bill that was sponsored by Senator Teresa Fedor and Senator Tim Grendell created a stand-alone, second-degree felony for trafficking a person. If a person is convicted of this crime, they could serve up to 8 years in prison for either sex crimes or “involuntary servitude” crimes. The passage of the new human trafficking law will replace the tack on offense for only sex-related crimes that was never used.
With a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Second Chance plans to hire 6 additional staff members, create a center where runaway and homeless teenage girls victimized by prostitution and human trafficking can drop-in, and create a street outreach program that will provide food, personal care items, and condoms to homeless youth. The shelter for teenage girls is expected to open in January in central Toledo and will consist of an eight-bed shelter that will recommend services and mental health counseling for victims and survivors.
There were 29 people who were indicted in a sex trafficking ring by Somali gangs in Minneapolis. The gangs allegedly forced girls 14 and under into prostitution for cash, drugs, or other items in Ohio, Tennessee, Minnesota, and other unnamed places. The sex trafficking ring has been recruiting young girls since January 2000. The Somali gangs had the girls engage in sex acts for liquor, marijuana, or money.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, local police, and the FBI made 80 arrests in the Cleveland area targeting prostitution in an effort to identify and recover children who were sold into human trafficking. During the operation, 36 adult prostitutes were identified or arrested, 44 ‘Johns’ were arrested, 2 pimps were arrested, 32 cars, 2 guns, and $6,000 in cash were seized.
The 7th Annual International Human Trafficking, Prostitution, and Sex Work Conference took place October 7th and 8th at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. With over 400 attendees from Canada, Papua New Guinea, and across the United States and presenters from Nigeria, India, and around the United States, this year’s conference was a great success.
A first-ever National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction was released by the Department of Justice. The report assesses dangers to youth from pornography, on-line predators, sex tourism and commercial sexual exploitation. Specific goals and strategies are established in the report with one of the strategies being the targeting of the 500 most dangerous sex offenders in the country.
The 7th Annual International Conference on Human Trafficking, Prostitution and Sex Work is planned for October 7th and 8th at the University of Toledo Student Union. The Conference Committee is currently applying for Continuing Education Credits and finalizing presenters.
A bulletin from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program examines the effects of federal legislation on the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Urban Institute directed research in 2007 that sought to examine how well existing federal laws against CSEC were being enforced, what successful prosecutions looks like, if penalties for commercial sexual crimes against children have increased and the effects of legislation on service providers.
