Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announces local partnership to fight human trafficking in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is partnering with the Child Trafficking Solutions Project to combat human trafficking in Alabama.
CTSP is a state-wide coalition that works to rescue and restore victims of sex trafficking. They work within local communities to raise awareness and prevent trafficking.
'The training and tools that CTSP offers is really helping my department as we work toprevent human trafficking within Jefferson County, specifically children that are caught inthis vicious crime,' Sheriff Mark Pettway said in a statement.
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
A combination of rural area and a robust interstate system make Alabama a prime location for human traffickers, according to Human Trafficking Front. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported Alabama ranked 29th in the United States in 2023 for human trafficking cases identified.
Sheriff Pettway encourages the public to be aware and follow these tips:
Know the signs: Look for signs of physical abuse, unexplained access to cash or expensive items as well as 'attempts to isolate the person from family and friends.'
Be cautious: Be aware of people who promise something that seems too good to be true in exchange for sex or work.
Use safe online practices: Don't share personal information online, accept requests from strangers or share inappropriate pictures.
Report suspicious activity: If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham Botanical Gardens hosting 2025 Fern Expo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Birmingham Fern Society's 2025 Fern Expo will be at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Saturday. The event will last from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., opening with a guest lecture from Richie Steffen, Executive Director of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden. Steffen's lecture, titled 'Victorian Ideas for the Modern Shade Garden,' will focus on different ferns and shade garden plants that can be incorporated into modern gardens. Steffen is the co-author and co-photographer of 'The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns.' Calera elementary teacher indicted on sex abuse charges Throughout the event, the following displays will be featured in the auditorium: Fern Division Spore Viewing The Hardy Fern Foundation Sneak Peak: Fern Plant Sale Fern Crafts Fern Sources and Resources Fern Home Decor Fern Propagation Ferns as Houseplants The event will end with a walk through the Botanical Gardens' Fern Glade, where visitors can preview the ferns that will be available at the annual Hardy Fern Sale on June 14. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Organized group' linked to 10 separate shootings in Tuscaloosa County
TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office announced 75 total indictments for multiple suspects in connection with at least 10 shootings since 2023. TCSO says the group of suspects were funding themselves through financial crimes, including credit and bank fraud. Bank tellers were reportedly helping them and the group's potential loss value is over $1 million. The suspects allegedly committed the crimes as an organized group, which falls under the Criminal Enterprise Act. The following suspects were indicted in the case: Kenneth Duncan, 23 First-degree assault, six counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, two counts discharging into occupied vehicle, discharging into unoccupied building, and four counts of first-degree theft of property discharging into unoccupied vehicle Tommy Summerville, 32 Seven counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, discharging into unoccupied vehicle, discharging into unoccupied building, participating in a criminal enterprise, and criminal enterprise use of a machine gun Donterio Nickson, 23 Three counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, two counts of criminal enterprise use of a machine gun, possession of machine gun Jakilyn Nevels, 23 Discharging into occupied dwelling, discharging into occupied vehicle, three counts of discharging into unoccupied vehicle, and participating an a criminal enterprise Steven Hill Jr, 24 First-degree theft, six counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, discharging into unoccupied vehicle, discharging into unoccupied building Antwone Stowe Discharging into occupied vehicle, three counts of discharging into unoccupied vehicle Fredrick Micken Discharging into occupied dwelling Juvenile charged as adult #1 Three counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, certain person forbidden to possess pistol Juvenile charged as adult #2 Six counts of discharging into unoccupied vehicle, discharging into unoccupied building, certain person forbidden to possess pistol Juvenile charged as adult #3 Six counts of discharging into occupied dwelling, discharging into unoccupied vehicle, discharging into unoccupied building, certain person forbidden to possess pistol Dating back to July 2023, the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit connects individual suspects listed above with the following shootings: On July 8, 2023 | Man was shot in broad daylight while he sat inside a vehicle at a gas station on the West side. Investigation found that the criminal enterprise believed this victim to be related to their gang activity, but they were mistaken. On July 13, 2023 | Tuscaloosa VCU claim members of the criminal enterprise get into a shootout in Alberta with a rival gang member. An innocent man was shot. On January 7, 2024 | VCU alleges members of the criminal enterprise drove to and shot into an occupied residence multiple times over a monetary dispute. January 21, 2024 | The same members of the criminal enterprise allegedly shoot into an occupied apartment with a fully automatic rifle. January 21, 2024 | Members of the criminal enterprise are alleged to shoot into an different occupied apartment in a different complex with the fully automatic rifle and a 9mm pistol. January 22, 2024 | VCU says they shot into an unoccupied residence with the fully automatic rifle. April 12, 2024 | The criminal enterprise allegedly wear masks and get out on a group of individuals. One member allegedly tried to shoot one of them, but the gun did not fire. A shoot out ensues as they leave the complex. April 14, 2024 | Multiple members of the criminal enterprise allegedly get into a large shootout in Coaling, AL. A pistol outfitted with a conversion device was used. One vehicle was shot into, and 3 unoccupied vehicles were shot into. May 22, 2024 | Multiple members allegedly go to an apartment complex and shoot approximately 100 rounds into 6 occupied apartments, 1 unoccupied building, and 1 unoccupied vehicle. May 25, 2024 | Kenneth Duncan, and others, allegedly commit a capital murder in Pickens County AL. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Local law enforcement: Incidents underreported, so scope not fully quantified
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 12 likely victims of human trafficking in Cambria County from 2015-22. There were three in Somerset County. A few legal cases have taken place. In 2017, Barshay Dunbar, of Johnstown, was convicted on charges stemming from operating a sex ring using out of the Super 8 hotel in Richland Township, in which he paid the women with drugs. The case developed when a hotel general manager notified police of suspicious activities. Barshay Reqwan Dunbar Barshay Reqwan Dunbar William Warren was arrested in 2022 and later pleaded guilty to trafficking and other charges. Law enforcement began an investigation after responding to an overdose at his residence, next to the Stonycreek Township Police Department, in which the woman later died. Then, a few weeks ago, a Johnstown man was charged with multiple felonies after allegedly providing a teenage runaway with drugs and using her for sexual favors in exchange for a place to stay. Those were all occurrences or allegations of sexual human trafficking. Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said he has not seen cases of labor human trafficking because, 'We don't really have a lot of migrant workers that come through here.' Without elaborating, Neugebauer said, 'Frankly, we're actively investigating several cases right now.' Those might not seem like a statistically significant number of incidents. But law enforcement officers, legislators, counselors and advocates agree that human trafficking crimes are extremely underreported. 'With human trafficking, 1,000%, those numbers lack reporting, especially in our area,' said Victim Services' Jessica Piro, the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team's co-coordinator. Johnstown Police Department | Chief Mark Britton Johnstown Police Department Chief Mark Britton shown here outside the Public Safety Building on Washington Street in downtown Johnstown on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Johnstown Police Department Chief Mark Britton compared the lack of reporting to the silence that often accompanies other crimes of violence and exploitation. 'It's just like somebody who has been raped,' Britton said. 'You know they've been raped. You know they've been abused. But they don't want to come forward because of the embarrassment, or because they have become so used to the abuse that they encounter – not so much maybe physical abuse, but the mental abuse and the emotional abuse – they don't want to come forward because they're so aligned with that type of behavior that they don't know any other behavior. They don't know how they're going to survive.' 'Definitely happening' About a decade ago, Kelly Callihan attended a Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association conference in Philadelphia during which there was a presentation about human trafficking. 'I just remember thinking, 'Human trafficking, I'm going to half-pay attention. That doesn't apply here,' ' said Callihan, who was Cambria County's district attorney at the time. 'Then once we heard the presentation, I was like, 'Wow, this is definitely happening then in our area.' ' Callihan's experience inspired her to help form the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team in 2016, in collaboration with other individuals and organizations, including Victim Services Inc. Kelly Callihan Kelly Callihan The trafficking response group is connected to the Cambria County Sexual Assault Response Team. Members come from victim services groups, law enforcement agencies and health care providers. The organization works to raise awareness about the issue, develop practices for law enforcement, train people such as medical professionals and hotel workers on how to recognize the signs of human trafficking, and assist survivors. Even with the team carrying out its mission, it is still a challenge to define the scope of how much human trafficking occurs locally. 'It's one of those things that I don't think, necessarily, the amount of cases that are being filed is indicative of what the actual problem is,' said Callihan, who is now the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association's executive director. 'Kind of like a hub' The Pennsylvania Turnpike, Interstate 99, U.S. Route 219, U.S. Route 22, other highways and rails carrying Amtrak trains pass through the local region – providing ways for human traffickers to move among major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Buffalo. 'What we're primarily seeing is that it's kind of like a hub,' Piro said. 'We are in the middle of several key cities, and we're also on what is like a trafficking beltway from D.C. to Ohio.' Greg Neugebauer | Announces Candidacy For Judge Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer answers questions from the media after announcing his candidacy for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas during a press conference at the Young Peoples Community Center in Ebensburg on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Neugebauer recalled one case from a few years ago 'that will always stick out in my mind' involving a person being trafficked through the region. 'Essentially, the victim met this individual at a bar in another state,' Neugebauer said. 'They started hanging out, and before she knew it, she was being basically driven across the country and being severely physically abused. 'They stopped at a local store to get gas and some snacks and the perpetrator basically left her alone for a minute. And she essentially ran out of the car. A store employee saw her, saw that she had what appeared to be fresh physical injuries. That kicked off an investigation that led to us looking at things in other states and all kinds of stuff.' Neugebauer said he does not believe the people had any local connections other than they were passing through the area. The victim later died from underlying health issues, according to Neugebauer.
