Almost 200 law enforcement officers and victim service providers from across Kansas will be in Manhattan Tuesday and Wednesday to team up in the fight against human trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Thursday.
“Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery,” Beall said. “It’s here now. It’s happening in communities across Kansas. It’s everybody’s problem.”
Beall is joining with Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center to sponsor the conference, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 12, and 8 a.m. to noon July 13 at the Manhattan Conference Center, 410 S. 3rd in Manhattan.
Craig Hill of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will lead off with a presentation on domestic child sex trafficking. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett will talk about how law enforcement officers and prosecutors work with reluctant victims and witnesses. Tina Peck of Via Christ Health will discuss how Via Christi’s hospitals in Wichita work to identify trafficking victims who seek emergency treatment and offer them help. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart will describe how federal prosecutors are working with the Wichita Police Department to target businesses that are fronts for human trafficking.
Other speakers will include Michael Geiger, a retired detective sergeant from Portland; Chris Baughman, author of “Off the Streets,” Anna Brewer, a retired FBI agent; Deb Kluttz, executive director of The Homestead in Manhattan; Kent Bauman of the Wichita Police Department’s Exploited and Missing Children Unit, Dorothy Sucky Halley and Jeff Wagaman of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office; Katie Cronin of Stinson Leonard Street; and Vivian VanVleet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Registration is required, including a $50 fee. More information is available on the Web athttp://2016htconference.weebly.com/
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