Annual Human Trafficking Report finds most cases ever in Ohio

Story by Hannah Reed and Mark Gockowski
Video by Krandall Brantley

Human trafficking is defined as the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. According to the U.S. Department of State, approximately 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked into the U.S. every year.

On Jan. 26 Attorney General Mike DeWine released the 2014 Human Trafficking Annual Report.

The report stated that last year, law enforcement identified more potential cases of human trafficking than ever in Ohio and helped more victims get access to the right resources.

DeWine addressed Ohioans at the start of the report.

“In the past year, we have taken several actions in our continued fight against the horrendous crime of human trafficking,” DeWine wrote. “My office focused on strengthening protections for victims, creating stiffer penalties for traffickers and continuing to educate Ohioans on what human trafficking is and what can be done to help end it.”

The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission  is made up of six sub-committees focused on helping end human trafficking in Ohio: law enforcement; legal and legislative; prevention, education and awareness (PEA); research and analysis; demand reduction; and victim services.

According to data collected in 2014 from House Bill 262, which requires local law enforcement to collect data on human trafficking investigations and forward it to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a reported 85 human trafficking investigations lead to 98 arrests and 17 convictions. Young, white adults were the most frequent among victims.

Judge Amy O’Grady said these recent investigations had unexpected results.

“You have situations where women are unfortunately victimized, but you also have men and young children,” O’Grady said. “This isn’t your typical, run-of-the-mill investigation.”

 

The investigation also found facts about transportation and risk factors. The report said that as trafficking includes movement of victims across cities, states or the country; motor vehicles were reported most often used as means of transportation. It stated that the risk factor most common among victims was dependency to alcohol or drugs. However, in nine of the cases last year, a risk factor that was determined by law enforcement was runaways and homeless youth.

“The issue everywhere is that we need to prevent the problem,” said Major Lurlene Johnson, divisional secretary for Great Cleveland Area Services at the Salvation Army. “In America, 98.9 percent of the youth that are classified in human trafficking are runaways.”

The Salvation Army in Cleveland, Ohio is strongly committed to the current-day fight against human trafficking and the forms of commercial sexual exploitation that are linked to sexual trafficking. Today, the Salvation Army anti-trafficking efforts focus on four key areas: legislative and policy initiatives, awareness-raising, education and training, prevention efforts, and the development and provision of trafficking survivor services to provide.

Johnson feels that the state of Ohio is making great strides to put an end to human trafficking throughout the state.

“I think law enforcement and the legislatures are doing a really great job, especially in Ohio, with in changing our laws,” Johnson stated. “You have to make it where human trafficking isn’t worth it for the person buying the product.”

On June 20, 2014, Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 130, the End Demand Act that removed the need to prove that the victim was compelled to engage in sex for hire. The End Demand Act also increased the penalty for those who solicit sex from a minor.

“Our work is not done, and nothing is more important than protecting Ohio’s children and families from harm,” Attorney General Mike DeWine wrote. “I look forward to continuing our work in the coming year to help end human trafficking.”