Resident Amanda Hughes tells commissioners sheriff’s deputies did not adequately address trafficking concerns; commissioners say oversight limited to budget

Amanda Hughes, a Tuscarawas County resident, told the Board of Commissioners on June 1 that she was dissatisfied with how the Sheriff’s Office handled her concerns about human trafficking and that she and her son have not received the help she requested.

"I have done everything in my power to keep my son and myself safe. I feel as if I have been treated like a criminal. I am the victim," Hughes said, describing what she called a lack of professionalism and an investigation that she believes did not fully consider her information.

Commissioner Kristin Zemis said the commissioners had read the documentation Hughes provided and had contacted the Sheriff’s Office on her behalf. "We have reached out to Sheriff Campbell on your behalf, and the rest is up to them," Zemis said, stressing the board’s limited oversight. She added that the Board's authority over the Sheriff’s Department is budgetary, not operational, and that the Sheriff is an elected official whose department determines whether there is cause for an arrest warrant.

County Administrator Kris Lowdermilk and Commissioners Pace and Ress also contacted the Sheriff’s Office, according to the discussion, and the Sheriff’s Office informed county officials that its investigation — including work by Detective Fisher — did not produce grounds for an arrest warrant.

Hughes said she has connected with the Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition for support and pressed the commissioners to explain why Sheriff Campbell would not speak with her; Zemis replied the commissioners could not compel that communication. No formal action or policy change was taken by the Board during the session.

The Board recessed and then resumed to continue the agenda after the discussion.