Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn called on churches and nonprofits to 鈥済et off the bench鈥� and partner with local law enforcement to end human trafficking in North Texas.
Churches are the best vehicle for getting vulnerable children out of trafficking situations and into the safety of a loving home, Waybourn said Thursday. His remarks came during a charitable luncheon hosted by Unbound Now, a Fort Worth-based nonprofit focused on identifying and supporting trafficking survivors.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no walk of life that is not touched by this, and what we need is a good, stand-up 鈥� quite frankly 鈥� ministry to help those people get out of that,鈥� Waybourn told reporters after the event.
Unbound Now partners with the Tarrant County Sheriff鈥檚 Office to offer resources to rescued trafficking survivors. The nonprofit also operates , a 24/7 drop-in center for vulnerable youth ages 10-22 to rest, eat and shower.
Human trafficking occurs when a person is exploited through the use of force, fraud or coercion to perform labor or commercial sex, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Although anyone can be trafficked, law enforcement agencies note specific factors that : economic hardship, substance use, mental health issues, and placement in foster care.
From the stage Thursday, Waybourn told audience members a human trafficker arrested by Arlington police is serving a life sentence in the Tarrant County jail.
As Arlington prepares to host the FIFA World Cup games this summer, Police Chief Al Jones and Sgt. Tarik Muslimovic were honored Thursday for the Arlington Police Department鈥檚 work to curb trafficking through their Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit.
FIFA partnered with international trafficking organization to offer specialized training programs on human trafficking and plans to offer a toolkit for local governments to spread awareness, according to an early version of FIFA鈥檚 .
Waybourn declined to share details with reporters on his office鈥檚 strategy regarding trafficking during the World Cup.
鈥淲hile I won鈥檛 disclose plans, we know that that will be an issue, and we plan to be ready for it,鈥� he said.
From 2019 to 2024, Unbound Now served more than 1,300 confirmed and potential trafficking victims, according to a from February 2025. JPS Health Network, the county鈥檚 public hospital district, identified 1,046 patients 鈥� 86% of whom were female 鈥� as possible trafficking victims from 2020 to 2024, the report states.
Although he didn鈥檛 share specific numbers, Waybourn said he doesn鈥檛 think human trafficking is increasing in Tarrant County, but the attention to the problem might be.
He said that when he took office in 2017 he quickly identified trafficking as a 鈥渂ig issue鈥� that no one had paid attention to. The Tarrant County Human Trafficking Task Force was formed that year with local, state and federal law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations.
Waybourn named pornography as a leading cause for the 鈥渁ppetite鈥� for human trafficking. He urged churches to lead ministries against pornography, targeting such interests within their own congregations.
Increased pornography demand , Unbound Now鈥檚 website states. But the nonprofit notes that many factors including poverty and political instability perpetuate the issue, without labeling a singular leading cause.
Law enforcement can鈥檛 tackle trafficking alone, Waybourn said. Churches often are better equipped with more resources to support victims, he added.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e asked the churches to do is stand up that ministry and have a flagpole where people can quietly go to it because that鈥檚 the only way you鈥檙e going to do it,鈥� Waybourn said.
In Central Texas, a Christian-led refuge center called the Refuge for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking 鈥� more commonly known as Refuge Ranch 鈥� opened in 2018 to serve trafficking survivors with residential treatment and equine therapy. The ranch wasn鈥檛 led by a church but featured a chapel as its campus centerpiece and farmhouse-style cottages for survivors to live in.
Many survivors experienced inadequate care and more traumatic experiences, including alleged sexual misconduct, at the Refuge Ranch in its first five years, according to a .
Asked by reporters for examples of successful church-led ministries aimed at trafficking, Waybourn highlighted HighRidge Church in southwest Fort Worth but didn鈥檛 provide specifics.
Last year, Waybourn of Mercy Culture Church鈥檚 shelter for human trafficking survivors, a project approved for development after years of anticipation despite opposition from hundreds of north Fort Worth residents skeptical of the security and suitability of the location. The shelter is planned to provide 100 beds for trafficking survivors, plus an on-site chapel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the church that is the solution, not the government鈥� to human trafficking, Waybourn said at the time.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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