Third arrest stems from investigation by Beshear’s office, LMPD of Louisville home Feb. 13
FRANKFORT, KY. (April 18, 2018) – Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced a third human trafficking arrest tied to a joint investigation by his office and Louisville Metro Police Department.
Quentin J. Burris, 26, of Louisville, was arrested yesterday in Louisville on two counts of human trafficking with victims under 18 years of age, Class B felonies.
Burris’s arrest is in connection with the search warrant served Feb. 13 at a Louisville home by Beshear’s Department of Criminal Investigations and LMPD’s Special Victim’s Unit.
The joint operation is active and ongoing. Burris is lodged at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections with a $100,000 cash bond.
Burris along with Abigail Varney and Nigel Nicholas have all been charged in connection to the investigation, which led to the discovery of two 16-year-old female victims who were being sold for sex on Backpage in January 2018.
The Backpage website is a major classified advertising website that promoted prostitution and sex trafficking, including the trafficking of children.
Since taking office, Beshear has worked to change a federal law that prevented the investigation and prosecution of companies like Backpage by state, territorial and local authorities.
In March, congress passed a law to allow these authorities to join the fight to hold accountable those who promote and facilitate child sex trafficking online.
In April, Federal law enforcement agencies seized the Backpage website.
“We are grateful Backpage, which has been used as a means of promoting the rape of children, is no longer active,” said Beshear. “We are monitoring federal actions against the website and want to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
A core mission of Beshear’s is to bring justice to victims of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.
Beshear has established the Kentucky Attorney General’s office as the leading state agency fighting human trafficking.
The office, along with the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations, handles human trafficking cases, and assists local law enforcement and prosecutors on human trafficking complaints.
To learn more about human trafficking and efforts to fight it, contact the Attorney General’s Office of Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Prevention and Prosecution at 502-696-5300 or visit Catholic Charities of Louisville Rescue and Restore program website at http://www.rescueandrestoreky.org. The national human trafficking hotline number is 888-373-7888.
