As Ryder Cup Approaches, Chaska Police On Alert For Sex Trafficking
CHASKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- When the Ryder Cup comes to Chaska fans will be focused on the golf course but police will be patrolling for a crime playing out behind closed doors.
Law enforcement agencies have teamed up to train officers and community members to spot signs of sex trafficking.
In a city that will soon swell from 20,000 to 80,000 people each day for a six-day stretch, there are plenty of crimes the Chaska Police Department is prepared to see, including selling sex.
"It's a thing people just don't think about," Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight said. "We have to be comfortable talking about it because it is there."
Already, officers are scrolling through websites for solicitations and in neighborhoods where homes are up for rent and in hotels, residents have been told to report anything suspicious.
"If they see obviously underage children or things that don't look right in terms of adults coming and going, we're asking we be called," Knight said.
Hayley King was once one of those adults.
"It was common to make $25,000 a month, just me," she said.
Her boyfriend sold her for sex for more than six years.
"Taking on the world and fitting into the world was not in the cards for me, but he had a plan how to make life work," she said.
King now uses her story to help other women escape at place offering support services called Heartland Girls Ranch. She's also helped to educate law enforcement as part of an unprecedented effort lead by the Ramsey County Attorney's Office to train officers across the state on a crime that doesn't discriminate.
"I feel like I've been to every house to every type of family and every type of guy," King said.
It's why Chief Knight says police will be watching as Chaska takes the world stage, attempting to stop a far from victimless crime.
"It's definitely on our radar," he said.
The Chaska Police Department is working with the FBI, BCA and Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments on this sex trafficking initiative. Chief Knight told WCCO they have not found any online solicitations but he expects that to change soon. The Ryder Cup begins on Sept. 30 at Hazeltine Golf Course.
