Login | May 23, 2025
Human trafficking summit to feature abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 9, 2025
According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), at any given time in the United States up to 100,000 people may be reported missing, with the number rising to as high as 600,000 annually.
While many are found alive and well, the whereabouts of others remain unknown, with the tragic disappearances sometimes attributed to human trafficking.
A December 2024 human trafficking report in the Federal Register found more than 27 million people across the world, including thousands in the U.S., fall prey to labor and/or sex trafficking.
For the survivors, the recovery process can be a long road.
On May 15, Akron Municipal Court Judge Ron Cable will host “The Recovery and Survival Summit” at the John S. Knight Center in Akron.
The event, which is free and open to the public, includes a trauma-informed care presentation, a provider and a survivor panel.
It’s expected to draw social workers, nurses, legal professionals, law enforcement and other justice partners looking for deeper insight into how to combat the issue in the region as well as what can be done to assist survivors once they are identified or found.
“With the right treatment team, sexual assault survivors can overcome their traumatic history and start a new life path,” said Judge Cable, who started the RISE (Restore Individual Self-Empowerment) program at Akron Municipal Court in October 2018.
Now a specialized docket, the 24-month program provides services to adult victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution who become involved with the criminal justice system.
Ohio law allows victims of human trafficking to have their related crimes expunged.
The RISE Court team helps them through the expungement process.
“I am proud of the impact RISE has had on our jurisdiction,” said Judge Cable.
Abduction survivor and child welfare advocate Elizabeth Smart will give the keynote address at the summit.
On June 5, 2002 Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in her Salt Lake City, Utah home by Brian David Mitchell.
She was just 14 years old at the time.
Mitchell, a self-described prophet, and his common law wife, Wanda Barzee, held her captive for about nine months before she was rescued on March 12, 2003.
During that time, she was chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape.
Smart, now a married mother of three and a best-selling author is determined to help other abuse survivors.
She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation with her father in 2011, which includes a podcast and a variety of resources.
In the fall of 2022, the podcast featured an episode entitled “How Local Government and Organizations Can Work Together for Survivors,” which contained a discussion between Judge Cable, Hope Meadows Foundation Co-Founder/Community Outreach Director Anne Kichurchak and Hope Meadows Foundation Clinical Director Lisa Borchert that was moderated by Smart.
In addition to the foundation, Smart also launched the website Wholehearted Consent, which has information for parents about talking to their teenagers about sexual consent.
During the upcoming summit, Fox 8 News in the Morning co-anchor Kristi Capel will moderate an audience question-and-answer session with Smart.
The May 15 event gets underway at 8 a.m. at the John S. Knight Center on E. Mill Street and runs until 4 p.m.
While there is no cost to attend, those interested must register in advance to secure a spot. To do so, visit https://akronmunicipalcourt.org/summit.
Continuing legal education credits along with CEUs, Nursing CEs and CPTs are pending approval.