6th

Annual Walk

Date: Saturday, April 27, 2024

Times:

8:30am Registration
9am - 10:30am Speakers
10:30am - 12:00pm Walk

Distance: 5k Location/Route:
All participants will register at The Old Ramada Inn, 121 Park Ave S. St. Cloud, 56301 Proceeds benefit Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center

Our first Walk was hosted on Saturday, April 27, 2019. We hold this event during the month of April to honor National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. In 2023 raised a total of $37,672 in sponsorships, registrations, and $10,935 in-kind donations and had over 100 walkers registered and 38 sponsors registered. All proceeds from the event benefit Central MN Sexual Assault Center’s (CMSAC) services to survivors of sex trafficking/exploitation and other forms of sexual violence, including child sexual abuse. Without community support we could not do the work we do for victims/survivors of sexual exploitation/trafficking without the help of generous individuals like you!

The Walk’s goal is to raise awareness and educate as many people as possible in our community about the damaging effects of sexual exploitation in hopes to change society’s attitudes. These efforts hope to end the demand for sexual exploitation as well as eradicate the acts of sexual violence within our communities and society.

Speakers

Nick Riba is a Special Agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension assigned to the Predatory Crimes Section and the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force. In this role, SA Riba primarily investigates human and sex trafficking, internet crimes against children, and predatory offenders. SA Riba also provides training to state and local agencies. SA Riba has been a licensed peace officer since 2001. Prior to the BCA, SA Riba spent 15 years at the St. Cloud Police Department working as a patrol officer, a member of various gang and drug task forces, and a member of the SWAT team.

My focus points will be:

The difference between trafficking and exploitation
What makes us vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking
Who can identify the victims
How trafficking and exploitation look different in metro vs. rural areas
Indicators of trafficking and exploitation
Connection between online activity and trafficking and exploitation

Cassie Bauman, MSW, LGSW is the Safe Harbor Services Coordinator at the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center (CMSAC). She started with CMSAC in the spring of 2021 and provides direct services to survivors of all forms of sexual trauma. Cassie presents training sessions to professionals and community members, facilitates prevention education with students, and has a particular interest in the issues surrounding commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. She believes in centering survivors’ voices, creating a true safe harbor within the state of Minnesota for all individuals who have been or are being sexually exploited regardless of age, walking with those on their healing journey, and dismantling the patriarchy piece by piece. In her spare time, Cassie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, writing, and listening to music.

Walk Route Map