AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta has become a hotspot in the southeast for human trafficking.

And Monday — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr spoke with News 12 on a new human trafficking prosecution unit expansion in Richmond County.

Since its creation in 2019 — the unit has only had one Atlanta based team.

Starting on May 1 there will be a new team, Carr says, that are highly trained and skilled when it comes to human trafficking.

Joining the Augusta team are two local investigators, William Loomer and Patrick Brown, along with Prosecutor Megan Adams.

The team won’t just work the major roadways like I-20 — they will be online too in hopes of creating an environment where traffickers live in fear, but victims understand help is coming to more cities than just Augusta.

“We are going to have offices not only in Augusta, but in Macon and Atlanta,” Carr said. “I think the strategic point there is because human trafficking is so often a very transit-oriented type horrific industry, where today you may be in Atlanta and tomorrow Macon and the next day you may be in Augusta. This allows us to cover I-75, I-85, I-16 and I-20. So we have the major arteries in the state that we will now have a presence.”

Kari Viola- Brooke with Child Enrichment sees trafficking victims daily and says this will put more eyes in the community to help identify the number of growing cases.

“This is something we’ve been advocating for years, it feels like,” Viola-Brooke explains. “A couple years ago, we had the most confirmed cases of child sex trafficking in the state of Georgia, and we knew that we needed a more dedicated response to be able to combat this. We’re so appreciative of the Attorney General’s Office for not only recognizing this, but taking action, and I think it’s just going to make us a much safer community.”

All of this kicks off on May 1 and Attorney General Carr says with the expansion to Augusta and Macon they feel not only will this help reach more victims, but their hope is they can continue to grow the expansions across the state.

You can read the full release here.

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“I reread ‘The Crucible’ very much with the lens of #MeToo very fresh and affixed to my eyes, and I was like, ‘It’s so crazy rereading this, because it feels like John Proctor is the villain!’ And I heard myself say that…”

And with that sudden flash of inspiration, a White County, Georgia native began a journey leading straight to The Great White Way.

Emory University assistant professor Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor is the Villain” officially opens at the Booth Theatre on Broadway tonight, starring “Stranger Things” standout Sadie Sink as a rural Georgia high schooler whose English class is reading the Arthur Miller classic.

“‘The Crucible’ is kind of this device that is used throughout the play, as this English class is reading it and working on it,” says Belflower of the play. “And then certain parallels come up.”

The White County High School graduate and current assistant professor of dramatic writing in Emory’s theater studies and creative writing programs began writing the play on commission back in 2018; after several acclaimed productions, the move to the Booth Theatre began in earnest with its above-the-title star.

“Sadie Sink read the play and loved it,” recalls Belflower. “And [she] is the smartest, coolest, most wonderful actor, and wanted to do a new play and wanted to do an ensemble piece. And that is so crazy for a 22-year-old star.”

After several weeks of previews at the Booth Theatre, Belflower says she’s feeling fairly calm heading into the play’s official opening night. Still, the playwright says the idea of her work being performed on Broadway is so breathtakingly enormous that — until now — it never even seemed possible.

“I mean, when I was a teenager daydreaming, of course [I thought about Broadway] … but in any realistic sense, no. It seemed like, no, that would be crazy!””

“John Proctor is the Villain” is directed by the Tony Award-winning Danya Taymor — for more information on the play, click here.

Henry Hunter launched a walk-off home run to center in the bottom of the twelvth to win the game and the series for UGA.

Arkansas scored quickly on Sunday, going ahead 1-0 in the top of the first courtesy of an RBI single from Cam Kozeal.

Ryan Black was hit by a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the second, bringing Devin Obee up to the plate. Obee doubled to deep left, scoring Ryan Black from first. Kolby Branch crushed a two-run home run to dead center the next at bat to give UGA a 3-1 lead.

Slate Alford led off the bottom of the third with a towering solo home run into the parking lot to make the score 4-1. Arkansas responded immediately with a solo home run from Ryder Helfrick in the top of the fourth. 

Leighton Finley came out of the game in the sixth, after an incredible start. Finley pitched 5.2 innings of one run, eight strikeout ball. This is the furthest a starter has pitched into a game this season for UGA. 

Things were quiet until the seventh inning when Arkansas added a run on an infield single and an error at first base. With the score 4-3, one out, and runners on second and third, UGA turned to Zach Harris. Harris struck out Logan Maxwell and forced a pop out from Kuhio Aloy to preserve the Georgia lead.

After Devin Obee was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh, the ball was thrown past the first basemen on a pickoff attempt, allowing him to take second. Obee then stole third, setting up Kolby Branch, who hit a sacrifice fly that made the score 5-3. 

Ryder Helfrick hit a solo homer to lead off the top of the ninth, his second home run of the game. Down to the final out, Wehiwa Aloy crushed a game-tying solo home run over the batter’s eye in center. 

Arkansas took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eleventh with an RBI groundout from Charles Davalan. 

Ryland Zaborowski was hit by a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the eleventh, bringing up Tre Phelps. Phelps crushed a double off the wall in left center, and Daniel Jackson (pinch running for Zaborowski) scored from first to tie the game. 

Brian Zeldin retired the side in order in the top of the twelfth inning, giving the Bulldogs another opportunity to end the game. Henry Hunter did just that, crushing a walk-off home run to center to win the game and the series for the Bulldogs. 

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