“Man of Dreams” turns out to be Trafficker

April 3, 2013

Senior year of high school is an exciting time for many teenagers. Student activities, field trips, prom, finals--these are just a few of the things that keep teenagers occupied throughout the year. Many are looking forward to attending college and finding careers. 
 

This was especially true for one senior girl who was particularly excited about going off to college. However, during her senior year, tragedy struck within her family, and as a result she became depressed and lonely and began looking online for a way to distract herself  from the loneliness she felt. During this time she received a friend request on Facebook from a man she didn’t know, but who she thought was cute. So despite not knowing who this person was, she decided to accept his friend request.

Soon after accepting his friend request, they began messaging. They talked about everything from traveling to marriage to family. Over a short period of time, he made her believe that they would live a happy, wonderful life together. It had only been a month, but she believed that she was falling in love with him and decided after graduation to travel to Seattle to meet this “man of her dreams” in person. 

Mutual Friend Abducts Girl into Sex-Trafficking

February 12, 2013

Sacramento, California - How many times have we trusted someone because they were “a friend of a friend?” How many times have we accepted a friend request on Facebook just because that person was friends with one of our friends? Although it may seem harmless to add these people because they are friends with our friends, in actuality this person may not be harmless at all and could in fact be a trafficker looking to prey on naive, young girls.

In the case of a young seventeen year old girl, she trusted someone who was a mutual friend of her friends and,  as a result, was unknowingly forced into human trafficking. 

Must Read For Every Teen Online

July 8, 2011

Online predators and traffickers are infiltrating the internet. From social networking sites to chat rooms, online forums and other communication venues, these predators are using the vulnerability of young people to manipulate them in different ways. They become a young person's "best friend" and make them feel comfortable enough to meet them in person.

You would not believe how easily predators find out just what to say to you, as a teen, to manipulate you and set the kind of trap that teens walk right into both willingly and intentionally. Trapping someone into being trafficked is often done totally with the victim's permission. Predators know exactly what to say, because you tell them exactly what to say.

15 year old Lured into Trafficking via Social Networking Site

June 8, 2011
Tampa Bay, FL - Human Trafficking is nothing new to our world today, though it is surprising how often it happens and where it is happening. A 15 year old girl was lured into sex trafficking via the internet at a vulnerable and lonely time in her life. "Summer" as she is referred to to protect her identity, was taking care of her dying father by herself when she [...]

A Dangerous Statistic - 7.5 million kids under 13 have a Facebook Acct

May 11, 2011

The single largest demographic for traffickers to target is American girls ages 12-14. One of the tools predators use to find young people in on the internet - particularly social media sites like Facebook and Myspace.

"As many as 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 are using the Facebook service, despite the company's official prohibition" - making them more susceptible to internet predators like pimps and traffickers. In a case that was just investigated in San Diego, CA, it was reported that much of the recruiting done by the gang involved was through Facebook. There is no doubt it is a powerful tool - one that can be used for both good and evil.

NYC 11 year old rescued after being trafficked

May 1, 2011

New York City, NY - An 11 year old from the Bronx, NY was found by police after she ran away from her abductors. Her kidnappers had been trafficking her in their Lower East Side apartment for several months. Finally, one night she was able to get a hold of her grandmother who told her to run away when her captors were sleeping.

The little girl could not find her way back home, but was eventually found by police. Both the victims mother and grandmother had been charged for drug possession. She was sent to live with a foster family.

"She met her abductor, a 30 year old male, while sitting on her foster parents' porch when she was ten, and continued seeing him after she returned to her grandmother's care. A few months later, she didn't some home from school. 'He called me the day before and asked me if I wanted to come live with him,' she said."

"Private Investigator Joe Mazzilli says about 40 percent of the missing kid and runaway cases he works on involve pornography or prostitution. 'There are very few cases that involve someone as young as 10 or 11 years old,' he said. 'But on the flip side, once they hit 13, there are thousands of cases like that. It's so sad.'"

The kidnapper was indicted on charges of rape and predatory sexual assault against a child, and his cousin was indicted on charges of rape, criminal sexual assault and predatory sexual assault.

Read the Full Story Here

"Trust" Trailer

The internet has changed everything about the way we communicate in our world today.

"Trust" is a film about a young high school girl who planned to meet who she thought was a young boy her own age. After a long series of internet and phone conversations, she came to find out that he was actually an older man looking for young girls to model.



What started out as a simple relationship online, turned into an exploitative relationship that essentially tore apart this family.

Thousands of domestic minors are trafficked through online services each day. Similar to the "Trust" film, the internet is used so that criminals can gain better access to victims.

Why Can't She Go Home?

She is part of a growing statistic in the U.S. (About 100,000 per year). She is a 14 year old victim of human sex-trafficking known as Domestic Minor Sex-Trafficking. She was forced into prostitution at the age of 12. She has been subjected to extreme violence and has received death threats from her captors on a daily basis. Sadly, she has seen many girls her own age die (the average lifespan of these young girls is 7 years after they are abducted). She has been forced to work upwards of 20 hours a day, with little to no pay. She is usually addicted to drugs and a high adrenaline lifestyle. Most likely, she has started viewing her captors as "family" and has been brainwashed into thinking that she is in love with her pimp.

The only escape many of these girls have is death. If a girl gets rescued, she is a flight-risk to run-away so that she can return to her pimp, or to offer herself to another one who will take her. She does this out of desperation. Pimps are the only people who have offered her what she has been brainwashed to believe is  "love" and "protection."  Because there are so few treatment facilities, rescue for her is the equivalent of jail to you and me.  It does not come with treatment for her trauma.

In the United States there are about 300,000 Americans at risk and 100,000 victims each year, yet there are only about 500 beds nationwide at facilities with specific care for these kinds of victims of Domestic Minor Sex-Trafficking. The primary target of traffickers are teens age 12-14 years old,

Who is she? She is the girl next door. She comes from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Unfortunately, if she is rescued in almost any community in the U.S., one of two things will happen to her. She will either be incarcerated or she will return to her pimp. Any attempt to return her to her family will fail without qualified treatment. Help us to bring qualified treatment options to this ailing nation. Help us be a catalyst to putting an end to the shelter crisis in the U.S.





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Think Freedom Campaign is an initiative of Freedom Youth Project Foundation