PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Sex trafficking is a growing problem in Maine, as out-of-state pimps target 12- to 24-year-old women, promising them love, money or drugs, and delivering shame, abuse and humiliation. Experts say the crime is difficult to prosecute because victims often are embarrassed or frightened to come forward. They may also have … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — When you look at sex trafficking in Maine by the numbers, it doesn’t seem like that big an issue. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reports getting 180 calls from Maine in the past 5 years. 25 of those are known cases of sex trafficking. That is, officials can prove … Read more
“Sex trafficking? We’re in Maine,” Cumberland County Deputy District Attorney Megan Elam said, describing the sentiment among local law enforcement just a few years ago. “There’s a little shame going around among prosecutors and police officers about how naive we were.” Sex trafficking has been a little-understood crime in Maine, for a variety of reasons. … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Portland’s Preble Street Resources Center is getting a $400,000 grant to help young women escape from sex trafficking. The social services agency will begin receiving the first $200,000 installment of the two-year grant from the Department of Justice this fall. Part of it will be used to develop a statewide network … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – Preble Street is putting together a major initiative to fight human trafficking in Southern Maine — thanks to a $400,000 grant from the federal government. The 2-year grant was announced at a news conference Monday morning. Preble Street reports its informal survey of clients at the Preble Street Teen Center … Read more
PORTLAND – A coalition led by social service agency Preble Street has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to provide services for victims of human trafficking in Cumberland and York counties. With the two-year grant, the Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Coalition will provide outreach, health and legal services, case management and other … Read more
An agency in Portland that assists the homeless and those with low incomes has received a $400,000 federal grant to support a coalition that will provide services to victims of human trafficking in southern Maine. Preble Street Executive Director Mark Swann says sex trafficking and exploitation, along with labor trafficking, are growing problems in York … Read more
Preble Street will use a $400,000 federal grant to establish services for prostitution victims in Maine. Daniella Cameron, supervisor of Preble Street Teen Services, said sex trafficking – usually involving homeless girls coerced by men into prostitution – isn’t something that the victims will talk about unless asked the right questions in the right way. … Read more
Advocates for homeless teenagers and young people with disabilities in southern Maine say a $400,000 federal grant will help dedicate resources for young people who have been coerced into trading sex for money or a place to sleep. The two-year grant from the Department of Justice to Preble Street allocates funds directly to help victims … Read more
As a girl and a survivor of sex trafficking, dee Clarke didn’t have the words to explain what had happened to her. All she knew was “prostitute.” But that wasn’t right. It was years before she said: kidnapped, raped, tortured, trafficked. Now 55 and living in Portland, she has found the language to explain the … Read more
