Dayton judge launches drug court for women

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A Dayton judge is starting a drug court targeting female defendants to address larger issues that are bringing more women into the justice system.

Montgomery County judge Gregory Singer proposed the idea after years of seeing female victims of abuse and sex trafficking return to his courtroom as defendants, often addicted to drugs.

“Prostitutes, or as I call them, prostituted women, are more victims than perpetrators inasmuch as they are in sex trafficking, they are the product, a human product,” Singer told the Dayton Daily News. “Women in our criminal justice system are pretty well underserved.”

The Montgomery County court program, modeled after one in Franklin County and set to begin later this year, will require police, court officials and treatment groups to work together to address issues facing women.

Those issues include drug addiction, human trafficking, domestic abuse, sexual abuse and mental health problems.