Franklin County

16 women graduate from CATCH Court, a criminal justice program for victims of human trafficking – Ohio Capital Journal
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16 women graduate from CATCH Court, a criminal justice program for victims of human trafficking – Ohio Capital Journal

Liyah Guilkey was able to leave prison to access CATCH Court, a specialized docket in the Franklin County Municipal Court for women in the system who are victims of human trafficking. “Every person that wrote you off as no good, who viewed you as a commodity and treated you as if you were disposable, made a…

"Tommy Guns" Sentenced to Prison for Human Trafficking and Involuntary Manslaughter
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"Tommy Guns" Sentenced to Prison for Human Trafficking and Involuntary Manslaughter

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced that a Franklin County man has been sentenced to prison for providing a lethal dose of narcotics to a human trafficking victim. “Traffickers exploit vulnerabilities, leveraging addiction to control their victims – evil that will now be restrained by prison bars,” Yost said. Paul Chiles,…

4 indicted in west Columbus human trafficking, drug bust
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4 indicted in west Columbus human trafficking, drug bust

A Franklin County grand jury indicted four people in connection to a human and drug trafficking ring in Columbus, following a yearslong investigation by an Ohio crime investigation task force. The suspects were charged with 44 felony charges for criminal activity that occurred from 2018 to 2022. RELATED: Columbus police arrest 13 gang members during…

Project to house trafficking victims secures funding to move forward – The Columbus Dispatch
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Project to house trafficking victims secures funding to move forward – The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority announced Thursday that it had secured a $15.6 million financing plan that paves the way to begin construction on an affordable housing community to serve survivors of human trafficking. The project, named Harriet’s Hope for slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who helped others escape slavery, is set to be built on the…

Center for human trafficking survivors coming to Ohio
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Center for human trafficking survivors coming to Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Housing for survivors of human trafficking is coming to Columbus in 2023. A 52-unit facility called Harriet’s Hope — after Harriet Tubman, the African American woman who rescued people from slavery in the 1800s — will be a first for Columbus, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority said in a media release. CMHA…

AG: 35 arrested across Ohio following human trafficking sting
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AG: 35 arrested across Ohio following human trafficking sting

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dozens of people across Ohio were arrested over the weekend for trying to buy sex, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Yost said the statewide human-trafficking operation resulted in the arrest of 35 “Johns” seeking to buy sex and 21 others seeking to buy sex from minors. The 21 arrested face…

US Marshals arrest 3 in Columbus human trafficking investigation – 10TV
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US Marshals arrest 3 in Columbus human trafficking investigation – 10TV

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested the three after multiple victims, all underage, were identified through the investigation. COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three Columbus residents were arrested Tuesday in connection to a human trafficking investigation, the Ohio attorney general announced. Twenty-year-old Ka-Auija’e “Unique” Washington, 28-year-old Levrous “Vell” Alfred and 21-year-old Patrice Bigord were indicted by a Franklin…