Don’t ask me why, but for years, trafficking victims’ rape kits have not been ‘required’ to be tested and logged into evidence. In a sexual assualt case, they were, but for trafficking victims, they were not.
That’s about to change.
Thanks to legislation proposed by state Reps. Laura Lanese, a Republican from Grove City, and Marilyn John, a Republican from Richland County, in House Bill 390.
According to this breaking story from News 5 TV in Cleveland,
House Bill 390 applies the current law for preserving and cataloging evidence to sexual assault examination (SAE) kits to victims and survivors of trafficking.
Ohio consistently ranks in the top states in the country for trafficking cases, but the Human Trafficking Task Force said it is getting worse.
The state has already reported 450 cases of human trafficking, according to the Bureau of Justice. That, per-capita, makes Ohio the fourth worst state — behind only Nevada, Mississippi and Florida.
By: Morgan Trau
Hopefully, by cataloging and preserving this evidence, it will lead to further prosecutions of human traffickers in the State of Ohio.
