(The Center Square) - The girls are getting younger and the traffickers are getting more violent.
That’s the reality in the sex trafficking world in King County, according to those working night and day to rescue the victims.
Kristine Moreland, executive director of The More We Love, is at the center of that rescue mission.
The Renton shelter she runs is at max capacity.
“We took 128 crisis calls in 12 days,” said Moreland in a Tuesday interview with The Center Square.
They currently have 22 women and 29 children at the facility which is fully funded by private donations.
“We create pathways out of homelessness, addiction, human trafficking and domestic violence. We have 32 beds of shelter space that accommodate single women and women with children,” Moreland said.
“We are looking at expanding up to the full capacity of 109 beds. And the real intention is giving the women and children a longer-term stay. We don't want to just be checking boxes and meeting the crisis, but we really want to stabilize and give pathways to employment and housing.”
Mike Dunn of Dunn Lumber is among their donors. Dunn recently paid to put up a sign along a stretch of Aurora Avenue North in Seattle to discourage buyers.
Moreland crafted the message based off interviews she’s had with "johns" over the years about what would deter them from buying sex.
She told The Center Square the only thing that will prevent buyers is the fear of being found out by someone they care about.
One of the signs reads: “My dad was buying girls my age. 16!!! He no longer felt safe to me. (Real Daughter of a sex buyer)”
Sex trafficking along Aurora Avenue North in Seattle is not new. It’s been bad for decades, but neighbors and business owners are fed up and recently held a protest that shut down the busy highway.
As reported by The Center Square, about 300 people showed up in support of pressuring city and state officials to respond to the crime plaguing the area.
“When it comes to sex workers, if you make those arrests, tell me you're not going to find trafficked people?” asked Seattle Police Guild President Kent Loux in a June 12 interview with The Center Square.
“Tell me you're not going to find juveniles. Tell me you're not going to find victims of other crimes that you can help. And tell me that we can't work our way up to the pimps that are running these girls and taking advantage and preying on others.”
On June 11, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and city officials held a press conference in response to mounting pressure about the crime plagued stretch of Aurora, and Tuesday, Wilson’s office released a statement about recent emphasis patrols in the area.
“During the effort, three minors were identified and connected with protective services. Ten adults were transported to access shelter, advocacy, and other support services."
"As part of the effort to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors, investigators identified six individuals seeking to exploit children. Those individuals were arrested and charged with felony offenses,” read the press release.
Moreland said the lack of prosecution for the buyers and traffickers is fueling the trade because they know if they’re caught, it’s little more than a slap on the wrist.
“The fact that you can purchase a human being and that is a misdemeanor charge, rather than a felony charge…..I mean if we just made that one adjustment right there, it could start to lower the demand,” said Moreland.
“Unfortunately, our policy isn't working in the favor of protecting the young girls that are being exploited out here. Just talk to some of these young women who are being violated and victimized at the highest level. It's shameful.”
The Center Square reached out to the King County Council to ask about a budget request made last year by King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion to address the crisis.
Councilman Reagan Dunn’s Chief of Staff Cody Eccles sent a document via email showing Manion requested funding for two additional prosecuting attorneys to handle the backlog of sex trafficking cases in June 2025.
“In King County, an estimated 500-700 children are forced into sex work each year. Every day, approximately 300 people buy sex along Aurora Avenue, which is often recognized as the second busiest buying 'track' in the United States,” wrote Manion in a budget request.
“Every investigation requires multiple search warrants to gather evidence from social media, cellphone extractions, and surveillance to corroborate victims’ experiences, and most investigations include the review of thousands of pages of financial records and other digital material," the request stated.
"Without adequate funding to tackle these serious and heartbreaking crimes, vulnerable victims will continue to suffer at the hands of pimps and traffickers who exploit them for profit.”
The positions were not funded in the final budget, which Moreland says shows a lack of commitment to the stopping the issue.
“What are we prioritizing, right? We should be prioritizing funding to end commercial sexual exploitation of our baby girls,” said Moreland.
Her next mission is to expand their shelter capacity to help the youngest victims.
“We do not have any youth beds or any beds available for young girls who are being exposed to trafficking. We are number two right now in the country for children being exploited, especially out on Aurora," she said.
"I feel it's our responsibility to the community to expand our shelter beds to accommodate youth. So that is our next mission.”
