One goal of outgoing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is ensuring that there are advocates for domestic violence and human trafficking victims after he leaves office.
One of Cuccinelli’s final acts as A-G is allocating millions of dollars for human trafficking victims.
Cuccinelli says while Virginia has made progress in finding, arresting, and increasing penalties for human traffickers, one of the system’s biggest holes is providing the victims with a sanctuary—a place to get back on their feet.
That's why, as he announced a 20-million-dollar endowment to train local prosecutors, he spoke candidly about allocating six million to create shelters and intensive counseling programs for human trafficking victims.
Cuccinelli says filling this hole is his highest priority. He says he's seen what the crime does to the victims and how traffickers—mostly gang members—are relentless in recruiting and imprisoning victims—often underage girls. The funds for both prosecutors and shelters would come from an Abbott laboratories fraud settlement. The U.S. Treasury Department must approve all such allocations.
