After a case involving human trafficking hit home last fall, law enforcement, students and local organizations have been turning their attention to curbing human trafficking in the state.
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said Athens has only had one case that he can remember, which came to light in October 2013.
The case involved Glouster woman Aileen Mays, being indicted for allegedly prostituting a 16-year-old girl in exchange for drugs and money.
Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies investigated a residence belonging to Fred Kittle Sr., 69, after caseworkers from Athens County Children Services received a tip that a teenage girl was being used for prostitution.
Mays, 27, was charged with promoting prostitution and trafficking persons. She confessed to setting meetings between a 16-year-old girl and Kittle and was charged with compelling prostitution and importuning.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle attended a human trafficking training session last month, hosted by the Athens County Child Advocacy Center, along with six officers and most of the criminal investigative unit.
“The training itself was to open eyes as far as the age old profession of prostitution and how many people in that profession are actually forced there against their will, and the numbers are pretty astounding,” Pyle said.
In southeast Ohio, the information on the subject is often from other law enforcement agencies from out of town, Kelly said.
“We have not had the opportunity of sitting down with a person and interviewing that person,” he said, adding that the area doesn’t necessarily have a high rate of human trafficking.
Rebecca Miller, child advocacy outreach manager of the Athens County Child Advocacy Center, said the form of human trafficking she has come across at the center is family exploitation.
“I think it is a significant issue and I feel a responsibility to share that information,” Miller said.
The center has partnered with Ohio University End Slavery Movement, which works to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking, said president and founder Megan Gallagher.
The student organization began spring semester of last year. Gallagher said that their partnership allows them to get both the community and the campus involved in their efforts.
Gallager said though statistics may be hard to find on human trafficking, an increase in awareness will help to remedy the problem.
In recent years, Gov. John Kasich and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine have turned their focus to human trafficking as well.
Throughout Ohio, 30 cases of human trafficking were reported in 2013, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking 2013 Annual Report.
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