How organizations and police departments are fighting rising human trafficking in Kentucky

KENTUCKY (WKYT) – National media coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case has shed light on the subject of sex trafficking.

Those who track these types of crimes say sex trafficking and exploitation are on the rise in Kentucky, saying the Commonwealth is in the top ten among other states.

Detective Ricky Lynn runs the kentucky state human trafficking task force. He’s been investigating sex trafficking cases for 19 years and says these types of crimes are on the rise.

Lynn says last year, the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services reported 500 children were trafficked. Research conducted by Detective Lynn shows that the COVID-19 pandemic era contributed to the increase.

“Those numbers in the state of Kentucky went up 40%. Kids were not in school; businesses were not open. So then at that point, it sparked a lot of research in the state of Kentucky, like how bad really is family-based trafficking,” Lynn said.

Detective Lynn recalls solving one case that revealed 36 sex crime victims.

Lynn says there are thousands of children sold online every day. These are websites that are not listed on the dark web.

Jani Lewis is the executive director of Natalie’s sisters, an organization designed to reach out to women who are sex trafficked and exploited. She says three factors play a role in these crimes: poverty, substance abuse and lack of employment.

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“These are women not dressed up on the street corner, these are women who could be a housewife or a student just walking down the street,” Lewis said.

This could be a solution to the problem.

Secretary of State Michael Adams has launched a program called Kentucky Businesses Against Trafficking.

“We’re helping train them and their employees on how to spot the signs of human trafficking and also know how to report it to law enforcement,” said Secretary Adams.

You can find more information about Kentucky Businesses Against Trafficking on the Secretary of State’s website.

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