Taney County human trafficking sting: Nonprofits say demand reduction is key to ending exploitation

Taney County human trafficking sting: Nonprofits say demand reduction is key to ending exploitation

Eight people arrested as advocates push to cut the demand that fuels trafficking

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - Eight suspects face charges following a human trafficking demand reduction operation in Taney County.

The operation was conducted in partnership with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, multiple law enforcement agencies, and two nonprofit organizations working to combat exploitation.

Missouri Attorney General Hanaway announced the arrests alongside the Stone County Sheriff’s Office, the Taney County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Missouri Information Analysis Center, Our Rescue, and the Pathways Project Coalition of the Ozarks.

Nonprofits: Arrests are about reducing demand, not just enforcement

Human trafficking advocates say operations like this go beyond making arrests.

Our Rescue helped train and equip investigators in Taney and Stone Counties to identify victims and investigate trafficking cases. Nate Davis, vice president of North America operations for Our Rescue, said no community is immune.

“There’s not a community in America where I’m not going to get people responding to an ad and showing up with money,” Davis said.

Davis also addressed a widespread misconception about how trafficking occurs.

“One of the biggest misconceptions of human trafficking is that it’s someone coming into your home at night and stealing your children and forcing them to go work on the street,” Davis said. “The majority is done by familial relations.”

Survivors’ advocates: Buyers often don’t know victims are being controlled

Pathways Project Coalition of the Ozarks works directly with trafficking survivors. Nikki Kinney, director of development at Pathways, said many buyers do not recognize the reality of the situation.

“These buyers who are looking for a prostitute don’t understand that that girl is probably being trafficked,” Kinney said.

Kinney said reducing demand directly reduces opportunities for traffickers to exploit victims.

“We had eight women who weren’t exploited that night,” Kinney said. “Even if we had one person who wasn’t exploited that night. It was worth it.”

Those arrested

The operation resulted in the following arrests:

- Clarence Wayne Haney — Enticement of a Child, Patronizing Prostitution, Supplying Liquor to a Minor (held with no bond)

- Nick E. Ward — Patronizing Prostitution, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unlawful Use of Drug Paraphernalia (held with no bond)

- David Benton Dennis — Patronizing Prostitution, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (held with no bond)

- Jason Wayne Still — Patronizing Prostitution (bond set at $50,000)

- Bryan Justin Mason — Patronizing Prostitution (bond set at $50,000)

- Desmond Jerome Melton — Patronizing Prostitution (bond set at $50,000)

- Brandon Blake — Patronizing Prostitution (bond set at $50,000)

- Reginald Dean Kelley — Patronizing Prostitution (bond set at $25,000)

How to report suspected trafficking

Both Our Rescue and Pathways Project Coalition of the Ozarks encourage anyone who suspects human trafficking to contact law enforcement or reach out through the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888.

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