Nebraska recognizes January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month

"It's going to be one of those things where we are going to have to continually look for how we can improve our responses so we can do a better job at stamping out this scourge on our society," said Ricketts.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In a press conference this morning, Gov. Pete Ricketts was joined by Attorney General Doug Peterson and Colonel John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol to bring awareness to Human Trafficking throughout Nebraska.

Governor Ricketts signed a proclamation declaring January Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Nebraska.

“Looking at what additional legislation we need to pass to strengthen our laws against human trafficking and then the enforcement side that the attorney general was just talking about.  Then finally one of the other things the attorney general was also pointing out, how can we do more with regard to foster care,” said Ricketts. “Can we do more with regard to supporting these young people before they get involved with human trafficking? There are a number of different opportunities there as there are child advocacy groups across the state that we can be involved with to be able to help them to try and prevent this from happening in the first place.”

According to data from 2021, there were 22 human trafficking cases prosecuted in Nebraska.  Over Aug. 26th and 27th, Nebraska took part in Operation United Front which was an operation across 12 different states to combat human trafficking.  The operation resulted in seven arrests throughout the state of Nebraska as part of the operation.

“It’s going to be one of those things where we are going to have to continually look for how we can improve our responses so we can do a better job at stamping out this scourge on our society,” said Ricketts.

At least 18 men have been sentenced in connection to the Furnas County sex trafficking case, including William Quinn who was sentenced to 176 years in prison on December 22nd.

SEE ALSO: William Quinn faces life sentence for trafficking a minor

Governor Ricketts expressed the importance of being aware of common signs of human trafficking such as someone who doesn’t have control over their credit card, driver’s license, or their cellphone.

The Department of Health and Human Services and Attorney General Doug Peterson are actively working to educate county attorneys, police, state employees, and schools.  In addition to their efforts, the Nebraska Hospital Association has also begun training emergency room doctors to recognize warning signs.

According to Gov. Ricketts, “We had a case where a doctor who had just been trained and was able to spot a supposed boyfriend and his girlfriend who came in, and was able to call law enforcement to be able to help rescue that woman from human trafficking.”

If you know someone involved in or have recognized signs of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733, (text HELP or INFO).

Click here to learn more or file a report online