Kentucky State Police have charged a 29-year-old man with promoting child trafficking, accusing him of trying to sell a 4-year-old boy for $2,500 at a gas station.
Harry Day was arrested Sunday after police responded to reports of a man trying to sell an African American child at a Speedy Mart in Corbin, Ky.
A 911 caller described Day’s car and license plate, and police said they found the White Nissan parked along Spider Creek Road.
State troopers found the boy at his mother’s house along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. She was identified as Gertrude Henson, 26.
Police said both Day and Henson told officers they’d been using methamphetamine.
Day was charged with promoting human trafficking and driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trafficking charge at his arraignment Monday and was sentenced to one year in jail, according to 360aproko news.
Police arrested Henson on drug charges and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. She is due back in court on Aug. 25, according to the Knox County Detention Center.
Authorities say human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, occurs in every state. Most of the victims are children, and more than three-quarters of them are female.
There were at least 136 human trafficking cases reported last year in Kentucky, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which tracks the numbers in each state.
On a federal level, the Justice Department secured convictions against 475 human traffickers in 2019, according to the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Of those, 454 involved sex trafficking, and only 21 involved labor.
Anyone who suspects human trafficking can call local authorities or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.
