GREEN RIVER — The Green River City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment at its last meeting that addresses loopholes in the current state statues regarding human trafficking and prostitution.
The Council will now consider approval of a the second reading of the ordinance.
City Administrator Reed Clevenger said the issue with the ordinance was presented to the Council during a workshop in July. Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Michelle Hall and Terri Markham of the nonprofit organization Uprising presented information regarding human trafficking and challenges to combat human trafficking due to loopholes in state statutes.
Advertisement – Story continues below…
The issue is that current definitions in the ordinance do not address commercial sex acts involving manual manipulation without sexual intrusion. After that workshop, City Prosecutor Bobby Pineda and Green River Police Chief Tom Jarvie worked to develop city ordinance language to address this concern.
There were no public comments at the last meeting, but there will be a public hearing prior to the decision of the second reading. The Council will meet Tuesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. at Green River City Hall.
To view the full meeting agenda and packet, click here.
