Drug Treatment

Tarrant County 5 Stones January 2023 Meeting
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Tarrant County 5 Stones January 2023 Meeting

Here is our recorded meeting link and chat notes for our 5 Stones January 2023 meeting! Our 5 Stones meeting this January consisted of some law enforcement updates including a special case update by Sgt. White, and a presentation by Sarolyn Morgan, LCSW-S, BCD, with Homeland Security Investigations.  Ms. Morgan discussed the process of survivor recovery and…

California pastor gets jail time for using homeless in benefits fraud scheme – WFIN
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California pastor gets jail time for using homeless in benefits fraud scheme – WFIN

​A California pastor and his wife were sentenced to prison time earlier this month after pleading guilty to a charge related to what federal prosecutors described as a church labor trafficking scheme that victimized the homeless. Victor Gonzalez, the head pastor of California-based Imperial Valley Ministries (IVM), was sentenced to six months in prison and…

Church pastor, wife sentenced after using homeless for forced labor, stealing benefits
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Church pastor, wife sentenced after using homeless for forced labor, stealing benefits

A California pastor and his wife will serve time behind bars after pleading guilty to forcing homeless people to give up their welfare benefits and panhandle for up to nine hours a day, six days a week, in what federal prosecutors call a church labor trafficking scheme. Victor Gonzalez, the head pastor of Imperial Valley…

Philadelphia researcher honored for work on rural opioid crisis
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Philadelphia researcher honored for work on rural opioid crisis

He lives in Philadelphia and his office overlooks a parking lot in suburban Montgomery County, but Glenn Sterner’s roots and his work are rural. Sterner, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, was given the 2022 Rural Health Hero of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for his…

Innocence Sold: Despite law, sex trade flourishes at hotels – Sun Sentinel
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Innocence Sold: Despite law, sex trade flourishes at hotels – Sun Sentinel

First of four parts. The assault spilled into the fifth-floor hallway of the Plaza Hotel on State Road 7 in Fort Lauderdale. Angry that a 17-year-old girl refused to turn over the full $200 take from two sexual encounters with men, Damion Miller allegedly struck her and choked her. She fled the room and ran…

Missing Girl, 17, Likely Victim of Sex Trafficking, Located in Wakefield Motel
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Missing Girl, 17, Likely Victim of Sex Trafficking, Located in Wakefield Motel

By SÍLE MOLONEY A NONPROFIT REPRESENTATIVE located a 17-year-old girl, who police say had been reported missing from Brooklyn, in the Metro Motel, located at 691 East 241st Street in the Wakefield section of The Bronx, on Saturday, July 23, 2022. According to the nonprofit representative, the teen is a likely victim of sex trafficking….

RISE, Hope and Healing: Akron programs working to support survivors of human trafficking – WKYC.com
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RISE, Hope and Healing: Akron programs working to support survivors of human trafficking – WKYC.com

Programs and resource centers in Northeast Ohio are providing help and education to survivors of human trafficking and the wider community. AKRON, Ohio — In Akron Municipal Court, Judge Ron Cable is not just handing down sentences; he’s also giving second chances. One of his specialty dockets is aiming to help those who may not…