South Carolina AG requests $10 million for child victims of human trafficking

Only one South Carolina facility can house children who are victims of human trafficking, but a legislative push led by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office aims to secure $10 million to open new facilities to address this shortfall.

It is part of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s pledge to be the “tip of the spear” in stamping out human trafficking in the Palmetto State.

Wilson announced the effort at a State House news conference Wednesday marking the release of the 2023 Annual Report from the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force. Flanked by First Lady Peggy McMaster, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel and more than 50 legislators, law enforcement officers, federal prosecutors and task force members, Wilson described the funding push as one of his “major initiatives this year.”

Last year, the number of human trafficking victims increased, according to SLED’s data. The agency opened a total of 357 cases of human trafficking involving 498 victims. Of those, 460 were children, according to data from SLED. All but 15 of those cases involved sex trafficking, according to SLED’s data. In 2022, SLED reported opening 440 cases with 416 victims.

The problem affects the entire state, Wilson warned. Last year, trafficking cases were filed in 40 of 46 counties in South Carolina, according to SLED data.

But a few counties stood out. The National Human Trafficking Hotline, which contributed data to the report, received the most reports of human trafficking from Greenville and Horry counties in 2023, with 16 complaints made from each county. In second place was Charleston County, with 10 reports of human trafficking. Richland and Spartanburg counties had the third highest number of reported instances of human trafficking, with seven reports each, according to the hotline’s data.

The hotline’s numbers reflect the reports it received, not the number of cases SLED investigated.

One notable victory last year, Wilson said, was the conviction of Jason Pope, also known as DJ Kidd, for five counts of trafficking of minors under the age of 18. Pope, 43, was arrested in Florence in 2019. He pleaded guilty to the charges on the day his trial was set to begin in August and was sentenced to 30 years, suspended to 19 years in prison following a negotiated plea deal.