Human Trafficking

Ohio Atty. Gen. Dave Yost said a new statewide hotline for human trafficking has launched, and a new law is set to go into effect that will allow expungement of prostitution from criminal records.

Ohio will soon have its first hotline to direct tips on suspected sex and labor trafficking.

Ohio is one of the top states for human trafficking reports. Experts say more education and support for victims is needed.

House Bill 230 in Ohio would recategorize the felony classifications for trafficking certain amounts of drugs, such as cocaine, fentanyl or heroin.

Federal authorities say 37-year-old Cordell Washington, of Pickerington, ran a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Columbus.

The University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute is developing a screener to identify victims of human trafficking. It’ll be used statewide to develop intervention strategies.

Community Shelter Board CEO Shannon Isom said only 32 out of about 1,300 residents have found permanent housing since being forced to moved from the condemned apartment complex at the end of 2023.

Survivors of trafficking say they are often re-victimized when they get out of that situation because they cannot get their criminal records expunged in Ohio.

Harriet's Hope, named for abolitionist Harriet Tubman, will have 52 apartments and available wraparound services like substance abuse disorder treatment.

Columbus police arrested 62 people from Sept. 25 to 30, which was the most arrests in any jurisdiction in Ohio.