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Attorney General Andy Beshear created a council of more than 25 survivors in his office in 2017 to advise and assist him on matters related to victims of crime and advocacy.
Now with the two-year terms of these members of the Attorney General’s Survivors Council expiring, Beshear is encouraging victims across the state to have a seat on the council for a 2019-2021 term.
Beshear said council members include victims and survivors of homicide, rape, child abuse, domestic violence, mass violence and other serious offenses, and that their advocacy and voice have been not only a powerful tool for him but for the entire Commonwealth.
“These survivors have persevered through the unimaginable, they have real courage and know firsthand what is needed to seek and ensure justice for victims,” Beshear said. “I want to thank each member for their willingness to devote their time and passion to helping to pave a better way for other survivors who we are hoping will represent the council for the next two years.”
Beshear’s Office of Victim Advocacy provides direct services to victims, free training and technical assistance on victims rights and related issues. The office works directly with the Survivors Council – a first of its kind in any Attorney General’s office nationwide.
Throughout their term, members have worked directly to advise and assist the Office of the Attorney General on matters related to victims of crime, including training, awareness and policy initiatives.
Council members held numerous meetings to develop resources for victims, create guidance for professionals working with survivors, plan awareness and training efforts and develop recommendations for an annual report.
The members were also active in their communities providing education to advocates and law enforcement, as well as participating in awareness events like Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Victim Assistance Conference and Victims Rights Day.
The next members of the council will be selected from an open nomination and application process conducted by the Attorney General’s Office of Victims Advocacy.
Beshear is encouraging victims to participate on the council by clicking on his website – www.ag.ky.gov/survivors-council.
Attorney General Andy Beshear said a cyber-tip from Facebook led his office to arrest a 25-year-old Dry Ridge man for allegedly exchanging sexual images with a Kentucky minor over the Facebook Messenger app.
On Oct. 8, Tyler Lee Day was arrested by Beshear’s Department of Criminal Investigations, Cyber Crimes Unit. Day was charged with 12 counts of use of a minor under 16 in a sexual performance, Class B felonies; two counts of the prohibited use of a communications system to procure a minor for a sex offense, Class D felonies; and two counts of distribution of obscene matter to a minor, Class A misdemeanors.
The arrest stems from a cyber-tip reported by Facebook to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which was received by Beshear’s office and investigated for seven weeks.
Detectives from Beshear’s office submitted multiple subpoenas and search warrants during the investigation, which led to the discovery that Day had sent sexual images of himself, requested sexual images of children and, in some cases, received images from children.
More than 15 children from multiple states were targeted by Day.
“Make no mistake, the internet is a treacherous place for our children and nearly every online platform or app can be exploited by sexual predators,” Beshear said. “We all have a moral and legal duty to report child abuse, and once my office receives a report we work with local, state and federal partners to ensure child predators are caught quickly and that our children are safe.”
An extensive search by Beshear’s detectives led to a Dry Ridge location where Day was taken into custody. He is currently being held in the Carroll County Jail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16 in Gallatin District Court.
The Williamstown Police and Grant County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Cyber Crimes Unit.
When it comes to identifying child predators, Beshear’s office has reached historic levels with more arrests than ever before.
The Cyber Crimes Unit is part of the Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which works to reduce the number of child predators going after Kentucky’s most vulnerable children.
With the ever-changing cyber landscape, the unit is dedicated to educating its detectives on the most current techniques and technologies to keep pace with those seeking to harm our children.
The Office of the Attorney General also makes it a priority to educate law enforcement, prosecutors, parents, children and care givers on the dangers lurking on the internet.
To help keep children safe online, the office has collaborated with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky to offer statewide trainings.
Beshear said the trainings offer a free Internet Safety Toolkit, which he said every Kentuckian could access online to obtain information that can protect children from cyber bullying to online predators.
To report any instance of child abuse to local law enforcement or to Kentucky’s Child Abuse hotline at 877-597-2331 or 877-KYSAFE1.
Attorney General Andy Beshear is calling on federal regulators to allow telephone service providers to block more illegal robocalls being made to Kentuckians.
Beshear and more than 30 state attorneys general detail in their letter that scammers have devised methods to evade a call blocking order issued by the Federal Communications Commission last year.
Beshear said at issue is “neighborhood spoofing,” a technique allowing scammers – no matter where they are located – to appear on Kentuckians’ caller ID as being from a phone number that has the same local area code – 270, 502, 606 or 859.
“Protecting Kentuckians from the constant barrage of unwanted scams and robocalls is an ongoing priority of my office,” Beshear said. “We must strengthen the protections to our citizens when scammers strengthen their ploys to deceive them.”
In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission received 4.5 million illegal robocall complaints – two and a half times more than in 2014.
Beshear said his Office of Consumer Protection receives more than a thousand complaints each year with respect to illegal calls, including scam calls, telemarketing complaints and robocalls.
Beshear encourages Kentuckians to use the National Do Not Call Registry provided by the FCC.
Beshear and his office are fighting to stop con artists and are asking Kentuckians to report scams and identity theft via his office’s online form.
Earlier this year, Beshear announced nearly 2,200 Kentucky small businesses would get money back from a Michigan-based company that allegedly sold scam services.
Beshear recommends all Kentuckians stay ahead of scammers by signing up for his office’s Scam Alerts. To enroll text the words KYOAG Scam to GOV-311 (468-311) or online at ag.ky.gov/scams and select text message or email alert.
Helping transit employees identify and report human trafficking when they encounter it on the streets of the Greater Louisville area is the goal of a new training effort announced Thursday by Attorney General Andy Beshear.
At Union Station, Beshear and J. Barry Barker, the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) executive director, rolled out human trafficking awareness training and reporting protocols that focus on the specific needs of nearly 400 TARC managers, dispatchers and bus drivers.
Beshear said trafficking occurs in countless locations in every community in this state, including at bus terminals where traffickers try to recruit victims and on busses where victims are transported.
“TARC employees are among those who serve as the eyes and ears of our community, and this training will help ensure they are in a better position to spot potential human trafficking situations and safely assist victims,” Beshear said. “Our partnership with TARC presents a momentous opportunity to confront human trafficking throughout Greater Louisville.”
Beshear said TARC will be a strong partner to help fight one of the nation’s fasting growing crimes because it has more than 15 million customers on 41 routes in five counties in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
“TARC is proud to partner with the Attorney General to bring awareness to and support their efforts in leading the fight against human trafficking,” Barker said. “As an agency that interacts with the public every day, the training provided by the Attorney General’s office positions us to be of great service in recognizing and reporting signs of trafficking in our region.”
Beshear’s Office of Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Prevention and Prosecution is prepared to train TARC employees beginning Oct. 29.
The training includes guidance on the signs of human trafficking, questions to ask suspected victims and reporting protocols. Awareness signage, including window clings for over 200 buses, a wallet card for each driver and brochures will be distributed at the training thanks to Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) Busing on the Lookout program.
Beshear said he is thankful for the support of Truckers Against Trafficking, an organization that his office worked with to train Kentucky commercial drivers and truck-stop employees on how to recognize and report human trafficking.
Beshear also recognized Maryhurst on Thursday, a nonprofit agency that helps survivors of abuse and young women who are vulnerable to human trafficking, for hosting human trafficking training for their staff and leadership.
“Even though trafficking can be difficult to see, there are clear warning signs that anyone can spot with the right training,” said Judy Lambeth, president and chief executive officer of Maryhurst. “The girls who come to us have terribly upsetting stories full of pain and trauma, most often inflicted in secret. We’re supportive of the TARC program because it will empower our system to better expose – and ultimately remedy – situations where trafficking is common.”
Other public and private agencies including all Kentucky Transportation Cabinet highway incident safety professionals, the Kentucky Baptist Convention, hotel and hospitality industry employees, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics have joined Beshear’s fight against trafficking, allowing the office to train more than 5,000 individuals statewide.
Thursday’s announcement is the latest in a string of moves Beshear has taken to turn his office into the leading state agency fighting human trafficking – a crime that often targets children for sex or labor services.
Upon taking office in 2016, Beshear teamed up with Catholic Charities of Louisville to secure a three-year, $1.5 million federal grant to help train law enforcement, increase victim services and hire the state’s first full-time human trafficking investigator.
Beshear’s office currently has 15 open human trafficking cases, and over the course of 2018 the office has been involved in 31 arrests or citations involving the crime. In February, the office secured a 20-year sentence against former Campbell County District Judge Timothy Nolan on numerous felony charges, including human trafficking of adults and minors.
Last month, Beshear joined Rep. Dennis Keene, of Wilder, to announce legislation that would grant the Office of the Attorney General the ability to investigate crimes, like human trafficking that can occur across multiple jurisdictions.
If a human trafficking victim is in immediate danger dial 911 and report suspected human trafficking of a child to 877-KYSAFE1. Victims of human trafficking may call or text the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
A special guest will be in attendance at this Wednesday’s evening service at First Gethsemane Baptist Church. Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear will be joined by Metro Council President David James (D-6) and Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4).
The Attorney General will be on hand to announce the Church is joining Kentucky’s Opioid Disposal Program.
“We hope the people in the community will come out and learn more about how we can make an impact to keep opioids out of the hands of the unsuspecting,” says James. “General Beshear is taking this program out to the people so they can learn how to protect others from these dangerous drugs.”
Beshear launched the program in August of 2017, and so far it has eliminated more than 2.2 million opioids across Kentucky.
“As we honor and celebrate our seasoned saints this week at First Gethsemane we are delighted to partner with our Attorney General to address the growing problem of drugs, prescription and illegal, getting into the hands of our most vulnerable in our community,” says Dr. T. Vaughn Walker, Senior Pastor. “We as part of the faith community see the absolute necessity of dedicated partnerships from government, the medical community, business and faith families working collaboratively to stop what has become the epidemic cross of racial, cultural, and economic communities.”
With First Gethsemane becoming a partner, the church will distribute 100 safe drug deactivation pouches for use in the community.
“We have seen intense efforts by local, state and federal law enforcement to take drugs off our streets. Now it become our responsibility to make sure the medicine chest in our homes are safe. This program is an effective way to accomplish that goal,” says Sexton Smith.
The Attorney General will be at First Gethsemane tonight, Wednesday July 25th at 6:00pm. The Church is located at 1159 Algonquin Parkway.
Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced a third human trafficking arrest tied to a joint investigation by his office and Louisville Metro Police Department.
Quentin J. Burris, 26, of Louisville, was arrested yesterday in Louisville on two counts of human trafficking with victims under 18 years of age, Class B felonies.
Burris’s arrest is in connection with the search warrant served Feb. 13 at a Louisville home by Beshear’s Department of Criminal Investigations and LMPD’s Special Victim’s Unit.
The joint operation is active and ongoing. Burris is lodged at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections with a $100,000 cash bond.
Burris along with Abigail Varney and Nigel Nicholas have all been charged in connection to the investigation, which led to the discovery of two 16-year-old female victims who were being sold for sex on Backpage in January 2018.
The Backpage website is a major classified advertising website that promoted prostitution and sex trafficking, including the trafficking of children.
Since taking office, Beshear has worked to change a federal law that prevented the investigation and prosecution of companies like Backpage by state, territorial and local authorities.
In March, congress passed a law to allow these authorities to join the fight to hold accountable those who promote and facilitate child sex trafficking online.
In April, Federal law enforcement agencies seized the Backpage website.
“We are grateful Backpage, which has been used as a means of promoting the rape of children, is no longer active,” said Beshear. “We are monitoring federal actions against the website and want to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
A core mission of Beshear’s is to bring justice to victims of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.
Beshear has established the Kentucky Attorney General’s office as the leading state agency fighting human trafficking.
The office, along with the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations, handles human trafficking cases, and assists local law enforcement and prosecutors on human trafficking complaints.
To learn more about human trafficking and efforts to fight it, contact the Attorney General’s Office of Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Prevention and Prosecution at 502-696-5300 or visit Catholic Charities of Louisville Rescue and Restore program website at http://www.rescueandrestoreky.org. The national human trafficking hotline number is 888-373-7888.
Attorney General Andy Beshear, along with a bipartisan group of 48 other state and territory attorneys general asked congress to eliminate federal restrictions that limit their states’ ability to investigate and prosecute the abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries.
The letter sent to U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., in support of their legislation, H.R. 3891, which would expand the authority of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) to detect, investigate and prosecute Medicaid patient abuse in non-institutional settings.
“Our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works hard to protect our most vulnerable Kentuckians from fraud and abuse,” Beshear said. “Kentucky families need congress to change out-of-date laws so that my office can pursue more cases of abuse and neglect of Medicaid patients.”
Currently, Beshear’s MFCU investigates and prosecutes Medicaid provider fraud, resident abuse complaints in Medicaid-funded health care facilities and receives and reviews abuse and neglect complaints through the Elder Abuse Hotline.
In May 2017, Beshear joined with attorneys general from 36 states and the District of Columbia to send a letter, to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. The attorneys general urged the government to expand its policy regarding the use of federal funds to investigate and prosecute Medicaid abuse and neglect cases.
The department concluded that the expanded authority would require a change in federal law that could not be done through the regulatory process. H.R. 3891 was introduced in direct response to the attorneys general letter and subsequent response from the department.
Beshear has made protecting Kentucky families one of his office’s top priorities.
Upon taking office, one of the first steps Beshear took was to expand Kentucky’s Elder Abuse Hotline to 24/7 to help ensure seniors are protected both day and night.
To report any instances of patient abuse or Medicaid fraud to the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Hotline call, 877-ABUSE TIP.
To date, efforts by Beshear’s office through civil settlements and criminal restitution resulted in over $71 million in obligations to the state and federal Medicaid program, Medicare, Tricare, commercial payers and other entities.
