AUGUSTA (AP) — A Republican state senator has introduced a bill that aims to further strengthen Maine’s laws against human trafficking. Sen. Amy Volk’s bill would add aggravated sex trafficking to the list of crimes that can turn a misdemeanor sex trafficking charge into a felony if that person has been convicted of two or […]
human trafficking
Posted inMaine
Student in Portland adds vision to song about human trafficking
PORTLAND — When it comes to music videos, you probably don’t expect a high school senior to be a major creative force in production. But that’s exactly what Waynflete School student Mike Rodway, 18, was for a national recording artist’s song about human trafficking. Rodway said he didn’t know much about human trafficking before making […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Human trafficking conference coming to Pineland in New Gloucester
AUBURN — Earlier this month, two men and a woman were arrested in Gorham on sex trafficking charges. The three were accused of arranging for a 19-year-old homeless woman to engage in sex acts with strangers for money through ads on a website. She fled the Gorham home after one of the trio threatened to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Attorney General joins effort to strengthen human trafficking laws
PORTLAND — Maine has joined other states in asking Congress to fund anti-human trafficking measures. Maine Attorney Janet Mills and attorney generals in 46 other states sent a letter asking Congress to fund a measure passed in 2000 designed to protect human trafficking victims and help prosecute people doing the trafficking. The letter says human […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.K. police: 3 women held captive for 30 years
LONDON (AP) — Three women have been freed after spending 30 years held captive in a south London home, including one woman believed to have spent her entire life in domestic slavery, police said Thursday. London’s Metropolitan Police announced the rescues after two people — a man and a woman, both 67 — were arrested […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Democratic chairman apologizes to Volk
AUGUSTA — State Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant apologized Thursday for comments he made about conservative Republican Rep. Amy Volk of Scarborough, who he said last week was attempting to “soften her edges” with a bill aimed at helping victims of human trafficking. “I made several ill-conceived remarks last week about Rep. Volk’s proposed legislation,” […]
Posted inMaine
Republican lawmaker to get another chance to introduce human-trafficking bill
AUGUSTA — A bill that would allow Maine courts to vacate prostitution convictions from the records of those who are victims of human trafficking is likely to get another chance. Lawmakers on Maine’s Legislative Council rejected the bill in a 6-4 vote earlier this week as they attempted to sort more than 400 bills that […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill aims to help human trafficking victims clear prostitution convictions
AUGUSTA — A bill proposed by a Scarborough lawmaker would allow Maine’s courts to vacate prostitution convictions from the records of those who are victims of human trafficking. The move is needed because victims of human trafficking often face difficulty moving on from the situation that saw them exploited, and can be haunted by a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill seeks to aid human trafficking victims
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine lawmaker has introduced a measure that would allow victims of human trafficking to have their prostitution convictions vacated. Republican Rep. Amy Volk of Scarborough is the bill’s sponsor. She said Maine would join 14 other states that have the law. The bill is designed to ensure women who become victims […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine gets mixed reviews in annual human trafficking report
PORTLAND — Maine has made progress in adopting laws to stem human trafficking, but remains in the bottom half of all states in terms of the strength and breadth of those laws, according to rankings released Wednesday by the national Polaris Project. Wednesday’s state-by-state ratings represented the Washington, D.C.-based anti-slavery organization’s fourth such annual report. […]