Snow Hill, Maryland – February 1, the commissioners present a proclamation to Ed Thomas, co-chair of the Eastern Shore Human Trafficking Task Force, and Chief Deputy Doug Dods, of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, to retroactively recognize January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Human trafficking is a serious problem in which traffickers use violence, threats, deception, and other manipulative tactics to force and coerce youth and adults to engage in commercial sex acts or to provide labor or services against their will. Between June 2013 and May 2020 there were reports of child sex trafficking in every Eastern Shore County, but thanks to prevention efforts from law enforcement and groups including the Eastern Shore Human Trafficking Task Force, more than 127 human trafficking victims have been rescued in Maryland.