During the stop, OSHP says the officer noticed a young female riding with an older male. Neither the girl or the man had identification on them or spoke English. Police say it was confirmed that the man had forced the girl to perform acts on him and that the girl was being taken to Chicago from New Jersey.
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Two Columbus, OH. men were sentenced for their roles in sex trafficking dozens of women in the Columbus area. Curtis Gossett was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while Jeffrey Bagley received 10 years. Their charges included engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
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Advocates say referrals to a Franklin County specialty docket for people arrested for sex work were down 50 percent in 2018, at least in part because of the suspension and eventual disbandment of the Columbus Division of Police’s Vice Unit.
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The Columbus City Attorney and Franklin County Sheriff announced their offices worked together to shut down a massage parlor that investigators say was a front for illegal sex acts. A months-long investigation revealed a pattern of prostitution at Sunflower Asian Spa in a Hilliard area strip mall.
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The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) recently announced the results of a human trafficking study that analyzed the extent to which youth and young adults are exploited in Ohio. The study identified 1,032 juvenile human trafficking victims in Ohio between 2014 and 2016. Researchers also identified 4,209 youth who were at risk for trafficking victimization.
“We are hopeful that the findings of this study, an inventory of data capacity and tracking, will lead to the creation of tools and systems that will ultimately help identify and respond to victims of human trafficking,” Anderson said in a news release.
“Whether one self-identifies as a sex worker or is a victim of trafficking, I believe we can all agree that these individuals have rights,” said Sen. Kathleen Taylor (D-Milwaukie), who carried the bill on the Senate floor. “All humans, no matter their particular situation, are valuable and deserve safety and access to the justice system, as well as the resources that come with accessing that system.”
Read MoreOhio is getting a clearer picture on the number of victims of human trafficking. A new study from the University of Cincinnati identified 1,032 victims between 2014 and 2016 and another 4,209 individuals at risk of being trafficked during the same period.
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An Ohio State student organization is working to educate the public about the human trafficking crisis shortly after an Ohio grant put the issue more in the public eye.
Why Us? Is a group founded to spread awareness of the severity of trafficking and its impact on college campuses.
The victims range in age from 12 to 66 years old, according to a news release from the Cuyahoga County, OH. Additionally, 227 individuals have been interviewed and given a referral for recovery services.
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The county announced the statistics because the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking recently held its annual meeting, and the county wants to ensure the issue remains in the public’s eye.
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Locally, on January 25th, End Slavery Cincinnati and The Salvation Army of Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky will present the 2019 Anti-Human Trafficking Conference at the American Red Cross of Cincinnati. The conference will educate participants on improving the healthcare response to human trafficking, strategies to aid and provide legal services to survivors, and other topics within a selection of 12 workshops. There will also be a keynote address on advocacy delivered by a panel of human trafficking survivors.
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“I think it was six years I’m in and out of cars right here on these streets of Akron, Ohio until one night I ended up on a street and I remember screaming out to God, kill me or save me but don’t let me live like this,” Angel said. God didn’t leave Angel in that world. She was found her when she was drug addicted and hopeless and sitting in prison. But she’s not in that place anymore.
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A local website is facing backlash after attempting to be humorous about the foreclosure crisis and sex trafficking.
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Attorney Robert Poole pleaded not guilty Monday to 15 charges including human trafficking of a minor and rape. A police investigation into human trafficking charges against prominent conservative activist and former judge Tim Nolan led to a tip about Poole, said Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear Nov. 16 in a news release. The 50-year-old Poole was arrested Nov. 16 at his Erlanger law office. A Kenton County grand jury indicted Poole on sex crimes charges.
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A Norwalk man is headed to federal prison for 20 years after luring two teenage girls by playing the role of a movie producer. Charles Thomas Barbarotta used fraud to convince two minors to engage in commercial sex acts. He told two teenage girls he was a movie producer.
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An Akron, Ohio couple was sentenced to prison on a slew of human trafficking charges, prosecutors said. Darren Townsend, 38, and Pearl Coffey, 35, were charged with multiple counts of compelling prostitution, trafficking in persons, promoting prostitution and corrupting another with drugs, according to the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office.
Read MoreAuthorities announced Thursday that more than 100 charges have been filed against five people in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in Mahoning County.
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A study conducted by researchers at The University of Toledo shows that there is a link between social media and sex trafficking. The traffickers can easily go online and prey on vulnerable youth. Dr. Celia Williamson, UT professor of social work and director of the UT Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute state that it is crucial “educate parents, professionals, and youth—especially our middle school or teenage daughters who may be insecure—about the dangers of online predatory practices used by master manipulators.”
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“They are enslaved, they can’t leave,” Victory said. “You will not see chains and ropes, but the psychological bonds are just as strong.”
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A Toledo man on Wednesday was sentenced to seven years in prison and three years on probation for soliciting nude images from a 15-year-old girl, whom he also molested.
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Authorities say Ronald Hellman’s four counts of ‘compelling prostitution’ are just the tip of a very large iceberg.
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Police in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday claimed their arrest of porn star Stormy Daniels at a local strip club for allegedly touching undercover cops stemmed from a long-term probe of human trafficking, prostitution and other vice crimes at local adult hot spots.
Read MoreCiting the “extensive media coverage” his case has received, one of three Toledo area pastors charged with sex trafficking children is asking the court to move his trial to Cleveland.
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Sitting on stationary rowing machines, the exercise coaches at Orangetheory Fitness, a gym near Whole Foods Market in Akron, tried not to laugh as they started a serious 100,000-meter (about 52 miles) journey to support RAHAB Ministries, an Akron agency that supports female victims of sex trafficking.
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On a typical day, Kendra Ross said she would work as many as 17 unpaid hours in a Dayton restaurant while under the control of what she later claimed in federal court was a cult.
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A man police say have promoted prostitution and human trafficking for years in central Ohio has been arrested.
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Authorities say 34-year-old Oscar Carter and 27-year-old Shelby Summer Brown, both from Tulsa, Okla., have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on multiple sex trafficking charges, including sex trafficking of a child.
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