Tag Archives: human trafficking

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department has launched a program that will recognize staffers for their impactful work each quarter. Sheriff Michael Brock told the Van Buren County Commission that staffers can be nominated by supervisors, peers, or citizens. He said nominations will be brought to a three-person committee that will select officers for special recognition. Deputy Cameron Clendenon was ... Read More »

UCDD will host an event Thursday to teach people how to identify and combat human trafficking. Advocate Trent Carter said the training will help people develop an internal radar to detect human trafficking when they see it. He said people often believe the issue does not exist in the Upper Cumberland, but it does. “You know, we have tunnel vision ... Read More »

A local human trafficking expert said more communication is leading to greater public awareness of the issue. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported an increase of more than 400 percent in calls and tips to its human trafficking hotline. WillowBend Farms CEO and Co-Founder Sarah McKinnis said communication between agencies is key to spreading awareness. “How do we facilitate and ... Read More »

The Upper Cumberland will learn more about the region’s part in the human trafficking issue during a Thursday training. Sarah McKinnis is the CEO of the non-profit Willow Bend Farms which restores victims of Human Trafficking, sexual exploitation, and sexual violence. She will make a presentation sharing facts, resources and tools to help the community prevent human trafficking. “You know ... Read More »

January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and human trafficking is a big issue in the Upper Cumberland. That’s according to WillowBend Farms Director of Survivor Services Kelli Germain. WillowBend Farms is an anti-human trafficking nonprofit that helps survivors in the Upper Cumberland get the resources they need. “This is a real crime and it affects people day in ... Read More »

A Smithville man faces charges after a two-day undercover human trafficking operation in Murfreesboro. 20-Year-Old Michael Lee Sovern, one of 12 men arrested and accused of seeking illicit sex from minors. Authorities placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases. The focus was to identify individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex ... Read More »

Three Cookeville men, two men from Sparta and a Celina man face felony charges after an undercover operation aimed at human trafficking. It was a two-day joint operation seeking to identify individuals looking for sex from minors and also recover potential human trafficking victims. Seven people were arrested when authorities placed decoy advertisements on websites with known links to prostitution ... Read More »

An interactive art exhibit is coming to Spencer City Park on Monday to raise awareness about Human Trafficking. Van Buren County Schools Coordinated School Health Director Kelly Lewis said high school students participated in Tennessee’s first Red Sand Project, bringing it back to the county. Lewis said anyone who comes to participate will get red sand to spread in the ... Read More »

Law Enforcement agents this weekend credited a Springfield, Tennessee hotel staff with their training in human trafficking. It led to the arrest of a Livingston man accused of sex with an underage girl. Rana Zakaria is Community Educator for the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Zakaria said training healthcare workers, school staffs and hotels on how to identify trafficking is ... Read More »

A Livingston man was arrested with a child after a human trafficking investigation at a hotel in Springfield, Tennessee. Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking Community Educator Rana Zakaria said rural parts of Tennessee can be high risk areas because of geographic isolation and less job opportunities. However, Zakaria said abduction is not the most common way human trafficking begins. “Most ... Read More »