U.S. Attorney’s Office and WV Human Trafficking Task Force offer training

MARTINSBURG – A human trafficking training will be held this week in Berkeley County as a part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with the West Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, has partnered with the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center to offer “Human Trafficking 101: Criminal Justice Response.” The goal of the training is to convey the reality and seriousness of human trafficking crimes. The training will provide practical guidance to distinguish trafficking from other crimes and offer a comprehensive overview of the state and federal anti-trafficking laws. It will also provide information on the identifying and triage of trafficking victims, and more on initiating trafficking investigations. 

The day will include presentations from Criminal Chief Paul T. Camilletti and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar, both of the Northern District of West Virginia; Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Kulpa of the Western District of Virginia; Sgt. Talia Davita of the West Virginia State Police; FBI Special Agent Theresa Hudson, and Katie Spriggs, the Executive Director of the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center.

The event will be held at the Shepherdstown Fire Department on Thursday, April 11, 2019. More than 100 attendees are expected, which includes law enforcement, prosecutors, and service providers. The event is free for those registered.

In 2018, the National Human Trafficking hotline received 52 calls regarding human trafficking in West Virginia. Those calls resulted in the identification of 12 confirmed cases. The majority of those cases were sex trafficking cases.

For more information on human trafficking, go to the West Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force website at https://stophumantraffickingwv.org/.