Orono Conference Spotlights Human Trafficking

by WABI-TV5 News Desk · Apr 28th 2010 · See more Local News

The issue of human trafficking brought people together at a conference in Orono on Tuesday.

Those in attendance included local and state police, criminal justice students from Husson University, and concerned citizens.

Organizers are trying to spread the word that human trafficking exists everywhere, even here in Maine.

They say it's a global problem, that requires local action.

"We know that there have been cases.," Said Alex Turallo, the co-chair of the Human Trafficking Awareness Conference. "One of the things that we're learning today is that lots of times we don't know it until we know what we're looking for."

The Zonta Club of Bangor sponsored the conference, which was only the second of its kind held in Maine.

The New England Coalition Against Trafficking estimates that half of the victims of trafficking are minors, and nearly 80% are women.

http://www.wabi.tv/news/11429/orono-conference-spotlights-human-trafficking