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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- People need to know that human sex trafficking can happen even in rural states like South Dakota, officials said at a conference aimed at discussing the nationwide problem.
• University of South Dakota professor Elizabeth Talbot, who conducts research into human trafficking, said trafficking is a problem in South Dakota and the nation. South Dakota's children are at risk, she said.
• "It's unfortunate, and nobody wants to think that it is, but it is a problem," Talbot said.
• Talbot, law enforcement officials and others discussed human trafficking Friday at a conference sponsored by USD, the Civil Society of St. Paul, Minn., and Argosy University of Chicago. About 180 people attended the day-long event to discuss ways in which investigating and prosecuting such crimes are evolving, particularly to support victims.
• South Dakota officials recently set up a task force and have taken other steps to fight human trafficking.
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Koliner, who has secured convictions in more than a half dozen trafficking cases since 2009, said trafficking in the nation is a $9 billion-a-year criminal enterprise, with an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 victims.
• A meticulous investigation is needed to prosecute such cases, Koliner said. Traffickers are men with a talent for identifying young women to recruit into prostitution, he said.
• Victims often come from abusive homes, Kolinger said.
• "I've heard it said that child sexual abuse is boot camp for prostitution. I think that is probably accurate," Koliner said.
• Those at risk include immigrants who are not adept at adapting to a new culture, minors with children of their own and women with criminal records. Koliner and Pastor Susan Omanson of the Sioux Falls nonprofit group Be Free Ministries, said those women sometimes turn to prostitution simply to find lodging.
• Omanson said she is working to help those who have been sexually exploited.
• "We've had women who have been brutally beaten, have suffered permanent physical damage and will never be able to have children," Omanson said.
• Sioux Falls Police Officer Marty Hoffman, a member of the state task force, said trafficker often coerce into prostitution women and children who feel painted into a corner.

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