sex trafficking

“We will not tolerate the victimization of vulnerable women here in Shelby County,” said Lieutenant Clayton Smith, commander of the Shelby County Drug Task Force to the press. His comments followed the arrest of fifteen men now accused of soliciting sex. The group reportedly includes former sports writer Robert Aaron Suttles, who left journalism to become the content director for “Yea Alabama,” the name, image, and likeness operation for Crimson Tide athletics. The arrests occurred during a human trafficking sting operation.

The State of Alabama and a coalition of law enforcement and non-profit support groups have issued a new report on human trafficking. The study breaks down the issue into vulnerabilities and efforts at combating the crime, which includes sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The Alabama Public Radio newsroom spent fourteen months investigating this problem in the state.

An Alabama state trooper was among those arrested in an undercover sting operation aimed at catching people who were intending to have sex with minors. The Montgomery County sheriff's office said in a Monday press conference that 11 men were arrested in the sting operation.

Alabama Public Radio is diving into our archives as APR observes forty years on the air. The U.S. State Department recently invited APR to address a delegation from Africa on our fourteen month investigation into human trafficking. Part of that talk was on an experimental database that law officers and victims’ advocates could use at the same time. Here’s that story from the APR archives.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. Advocates, organizations and individuals unite to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking…