Combating Human Trafficking and Sex Crime with Melissa Rueschhoff

Melissa Rueschhoff is a Partner with Parlatore Law Group and has been practicing law for over two decades in nine jurisdictions.

Ms. Rueschhoff has spent much of her career working on behalf of special victims. As a Civil Litigator, she is passionate about not only stopping the sex trafficking of adults and children alike, but also holding businesses accountable that are apathetically catering to these networks. Ms. Rueschhoff’s legal career had been focused on Criminal Prosecution in Special Victim’s Units and, most recently, in combating child sex trafficking at home and abroad. In Hawaii, she was an Analyst / Special Prosecutor for the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Unit in the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office and a Legislative Attorney for the Judiciary Chair in the Hawaii State Legislature. 

Ms. Rueschhoff is a resource for groups seeking legislative/lobbying legal analysis across a broad spectrum. From cross-checking conflicts with existing laws, to pulling language from other states laws, to articulating key arguments to elected officials, to creating new and relevant legislation, she is eager to serve as counsel for lobbying and non-profit organizations seeking to make their communities a better place to live. 

Previously, Ms. Rueschhoff directed Arizona’s first ever federally grant-funded DTAP (Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison) program, an experience she uses to help state agencies apply for federally funded grants. Her recent focus is to ensure uniformed officers have adequate training and resources available to recognize and help victims of sexual assault and trafficking in their communities. 

In addition to practicing law, Ms. Rueschhoff has been a law professor at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law, the University of Arizona’s Rogers College of Law, and the University of Hawaii’s Richardson School of Law. She is a Board Member for the Joint Venture Education Forum which brings together the Hawaii Department of Education and the five military branches represented on our islands. Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors and is the Community Relations Co-Chair for Ho’Ola Na Pua, the premier organization working with survivors of child sex abuse and trafficking. She has also been an invited guest speaker for Pacific Air Force command conferences at military bases, DOE schools, colleges and on national podcasts. Ms. Rueschhoff has been featured in Pacific Edge Women in Business as the first military spouse to become a licensed Hawaii attorney under the military spouse reciprocity rule and for her dedication to eradicating trafficking. 

The premier Hawaii non-profit organization combating child sex trafficking, which is opening the first residential treatment facility in the Pacific for girls age 11-17 who are CSEC (commercially sexually exploited children), is Ho’Ola Na Pua at  https://hoolanapua.org/.

The national hotline for anyone who might need help is VictimConnect Hotline at 1-855-4-VICTIM or https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/, which includes domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, child abuse, teen dating violence, etc.

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