Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear was in Hopkinsville Thursday afternoon to present a check for over $3,500 to the Pennyrile Children’s Advocacy Center to help with medical examinations of children in nine counties who have been sexually assaulted.
Beshear presented the check to Executive Director Candra Barnett to go toward forensic exams of children who have been sexually abused.
Barnett thanked everyone for their support and passion for the victims.
Prior to the check presentation, Beshear says when he became Attorney General it was his mission to better protect our children.
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He notes they are relentless in tracking down these predators. In the first six months of this year, Beshear says they have had more human trafficking arrests than they have ever had in a single year in Kentucky.
Beshear also pointed out that Commonwealth’s Attorney Lynn Pryor has one of the most significant convictions of human trafficking that the state has ever seen. Pryor, who is a founding board member of the Pennyrile Children’s Advocacy Center, says she understands how important this organization is for the victims.
Barnett tells the News Edge the center serves an average of 300 children a year. She notes their medical unit on average sees 49 to 79 children a year, but that number varies.In July, Beshear announced nearly $80,000 in grants to cover costs associated with more than 1,000 child sexual abuse forensic exams that will be shared among the state’s 15 Children’s Advocacy Centers.
The Pennyrile Children Advocacy Center is located as 1102 East 21st Street and serves Christian, Trigg, Caldwell, Todd and five other counties in the Pennyrile.
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