The Human Trafficking Institute recently released its 2019 Federal Human Trafficking Report and State Summaries, and Ohio was ranked near the top for several human trafficking case statistics.
In 2019, Ohio was ranked 14th out of all 50 states for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through the federal courts at 12, according to the report by the Human Trafficking Institute.
Federal prosecutors charged four new criminal human trafficking cases in Ohio. The report states Ohio ranks 9th in the United States in new cases. Prosecutors convicted eight defendants in criminal human trafficking cases in Ohio, causing the state to be ranked 11th in the country for that statistic, the report said.
The state ranked 20th in the nation for the percentage of defendants ordered to pay restitution to the victim or victims, according to the report.
Texas was ranked first for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts last year with 65 active criminal cases. California and New York ranked second, both with 57 active cases.
Last year on a national level, there were 145 new criminal human trafficking cases with 271 new defendants and 606 total active cases. There were 339 convictions were made in 2019, according to the report.
Similar to past years, In 2019, just over half of victims in criminal human trafficking cases were children, the Human Trafficking Institute reported.
Around the world, there are an estimated 24.9 million people who are victims of human trafficking, according to the organization.
The Human Trafficking Institute’s findings that were reached by the compiled data from every human trafficking case handled by federal courts in 2019 are not meant to serve as an estimate of trafficking in the country, but rather as a summary of how traffickers are held accountable for their actions by the federal system, the organization stated.
To read Ohio’s summary, click here.
To read the full report, click here.
