Ohio on 'Dirty Dozen' list for lax sex-trade laws

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By William Hershey, Columbus Bureau Updated 9:49 AM Thursday, August 19, 2010

COLUMBUS — Ohio may be cracking down on the sex trade and slave labor, but the efforts fall far short of what’s needed, according to a national report released Wednesday, Aug. 18.

State ratings from the Washington, D.C.-based Polaris Project made Ohio part of the “Dirty Dozen” states that have failed to adequately address the growing crime of human trafficking.

“Human traffickers constantly look for places where they can make high profits and where they feel like there is little chance of getting caught,” Bradley Myles, Polaris Project CEO and executive director, said in a press release.

“States that fail to provide critical deterrents — strong penalties, asset forfeiture laws or trained law enforcement — are at heightened risk.”

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, chairman of the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, acknowledged that more work needs to be done.

Cordray said the Polaris ranking “is further motivation and justification for the work we’re doing.”

States in the “Dirty Dozen” either have failed to enact basic anti-trafficking provisions or the provisions they’ve adopted are inadequate, the report said.

Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, a leader of Ohio’s effort to crack down on human trafficking said she hopes to have a bipartisan anti-trafficking bill enacted by the end of the year.

Fedor and Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, co-sponsored Senate Bill 235, which would make human trafficking a second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Ohio now has a human trafficking “specification” that can be used if a person is charged with two sex trafficking related felonies such as abduction or compelling prostitution.

The law mandates prison time of at least 12 months, but is complicated to use, according to Fedor’s office. It does not apply to labor trafficking.

A report from the state commission released in June estimated that at least 6,316 individuals are at risk of human trafficking in Ohio and 1,861 of them are “believed to be trafficked into the sex or slave labor trade.”

Other states in the “Dirty Dozen” were: Hawaii; Massachusetts; South Dakota; West Virginia; Wyoming; Alaska; Arkansas; Colorado; South Carolina; Oregon and Virginia.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608

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