“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. 

Man and Woman Busted in Sex Trafficking Ring

January 15, 2013

For any young girl,  the promise of being provided for and taken care of in a serious relationship can seem like a dream come true. This can be especially true for girls who may be dealing with difficult family circumstances, girls who may be having trouble in school, or for girls who may feel unwanted and unloved. This was the case for one young 17 year old homeless girl who was coerced into sex trafficking by a 27 year old man who promised her money and a serious relationship.

However, what this young girl did not know was that this 27 year old man was actually a violent trafficker who used these “promises” as a means to coerce his young victims into sex trafficking. For two years, this man used violence and all means of coercion to force and seduce girls between the ages of 17 and 21 into his sex trafficking ring. Once the girls had been coerced, he would use both physical and psychological abuse on his victims. He would threaten to kill their families if they did not cooperate with his demands and often threatened to beat girls who resisted. He would also go as far as requiring “his girls” to tattoo his name on their bodies as a symbol of branding and possession.

Nurses Join in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

October 19, 2012

It was near the end of her shift, and the nurse had been on her feet for long hours, rushing from one patient to another in the overcrowded emergency room. She was thinking of home and her comfortable recliner when she pulled back the curtain of the small cubicle.

A young girl was curled up on the bed, clutching her stomach. The middle-aged man hovering over her stepped forward, introducing himself as her husband. Trying not to show her incredulity, the nurse asked the girl her age. The young girl said she was twenty-four but didn’t look a day over fifteen. She was outgoing and even cheerful during the whole visit, but something didn’t ring true. They vanished when the nurse left to get the discharge papers. 

Trafficking Ring Broken

August 2, 2012

Minnesota- Young girls are often naive and unable to recognize signs of deception. Knowing this, traffickers will often use this form of naivety to lure girls into trafficking. Traffickers will often offer girls a wonderful life by indulging them with gifts in order to lure them into the world of trafficking. Girls are often fooled into thinking they are part of some lavish lifestyle or party. The traffickers may offer them guarantees of money, clothes, and shelter. However, for most girls this “guarantee” of a lavish lifestyle turns into a nightmare in reality.

 

Such was the case in Minnesota where girls as young as thirteen were being trafficked. Investigators, along with the help of Brooklyn Center, began their investigation when a young female victim came to police to notify them that she had been forced to participate in prostitution. Investigators began working on the case and within months were able to bust the juvenile prostitution ring. 

Six men arrested in San Antonio for trafficking 12 year old Girl

March 6, 2012 

One of the most important things we can do to put an end to trafficking is to understand how choices made by youth sometimes put them directly in the hands of predators seeking to traffick them. One of the top three choices that puts a young person at risk of trafficking is to become a runaway. The other key pathways are truancy and social networking. As many as 2.8 million youth runaway each year. Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, one-third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution and pornography. Most young runaways have no ability to feed, clothe or shelter themselves as a homeless runaway. Predators seeking to traffick know all too well how to use this to their advantage. Most often, predators are disguised as nice, helpful or friendly persons to a young person in need of a hot meal, bed to sleep in, or money to survive. They are quite skillful at knowing just what to say to eliminate any suspicion or fear from their victims. Sadly, most victims willingly and naively go with their trafficker before they realize they are trapped.

Organization Finds New Way to Reach Out to Human Trafficking Victims

October 12, 2011
The numbers are staggering. There are at least 350 - 400 new victims of child sex trafficking each day in the United States, yet less than 1% of these victims are rescued. Victims live under the reign of their traffickers and if they attempt to escape to the outside world, they are threatened and abused, sexually, physically and mentally. In addition, many victims do not consider themselves victims. They have been trained to believe that there is no one in the outside world who will love them anymore, and that they are worthless once they leave their trafficker. 

This can be seen in the case of Sara*, a young teen out of Washington D.C. who met a man 20 years her senior while hanging out in public with friends. He quickly became her “boyfriend”, and not long after, transported Sara to Maryland and began selling her for sex out of a hotel room.

Unaccompanied Minors Run High Risk of Being Trafficked

September 12, 2011

In August of 2011, three teenage girls ages 15 to 16 years old,  from Irving, Texas were reported missing by family members. The girls were together for a sleep-over when, at one point, they decided to go out together. Three days later, they were found locked in a motel room in Orange County, CA. by local police and the FBI.  The girls were being "trained" to work for a human trafficker.

The three minors did not run away from home by choice, they were lured into a sex trafficking scheme by a 26 year old man who invited them to “go to the beach.” The three teen girls did not realize his actual intentions were to start selling them in his sex trafficking ring. Fortunately, they had not yet been sold.  Unfortunately, teens who are not with an adult are an attractive target for traffickers. Traffickers specifically seek out what are known as “unaccompanied minors” because they are easier to manipulate into a situation where the trafficker is in total “control.”

Three Texas Teens Narrowly Rescued from Trafficking

September 1, 2011

Child sex trafficking victims are not victims by choice. It is their naivete and vulnerability that puts them into the hands of traffickers. Had they realized the steps they were taking to put themselves into the hands of traffickers, they would not have chosen this path.

Three north Texas teen girls were transported to California by a 26 year old man. The teens were together for a  sleepover when they met the man who said he wanted to take them to California to hang out at the beach. He then took them to California where the girls say they were taken shopping to buy heels and dresses for their new “job” as sex trade workers.  They were also drugged. The man was arrested (date) and charged with transporting minors with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to a release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Another Trafficking Myth Dispelled: All Traffickers are Men

August 3, 2011

4 Sisters and their mother charged with sex trafficking of minors

Sacramento, CA -
A common myth about human sex trafficking is that traffickers and johns are always men. Though statistics prove that more men are caught trafficking than women, the number of women caught trafficking has increased. Women who are victims of sexual abuse, including sex trafficking, were taught at a young age to use their bodies for profit - they continue this cycle by running trafficking rings as adults. Six women out of Sacramento, including four sisters, their mother and another woman, were charged in the federal court with sex trafficking of minors. The women were between the ages of 22 and 43. 

Untold Number of Girls Trafficked in Truck Stops Across America

July 7, 2011

An untold number of young girls are being transported across America's highways by traffickers. Though the destination for many of them is residential brothels and other sex trafficking rings, truck stops have become a popular place for traffickers to take their young victims.

One high school sophomore, Kate*, was asked by a popular boy in her class if she wanted to take a day trip to Oklahoma City. The innocent day trip turned into Kate's nightmare when the boy brought Kate to a truck stop where his father was. His father, a trafficker, then said[...]

Pimps in America: A Look at the Men Behind Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

June 28, 2011

How exactly do young American girls get involved in domestic minor sex trafficking? Also, why are they considered victims if this is the lifestyle they are choosing?

These are common questions being asked among American public today as news of domestic minor sex trafficking in our country is exposed. We hear of foreign victims that were brought to [...]

Former Teenage Trafficking Victim Inspires Lawmakers in MN

June 16, 2011 
Minneapolis, MN - A 35 year old Minnesota woman was 10 years old when her stepfather sexually abused her. Soon after that her mom began telling her she didn't care if she ran away. Amber believed what she heard and began searching for love and protection in other places. At age 13 she met her pimp, a smooth talking man who wore nice things and told her all the things she wanted to hear.

Her pimp got her a fake I.D., transported her to Dallas, and forced her into the sex trade he ran. When she didn't bring back her $1000 a day quota[...]

Shopping Malls Become Scouting Places for Sex Predators

June 14, 2011
San Antonio, TX - Shopping malls and movie theaters may seem like safe places for young people to be, but quite the opposite is true. Parents who drop their children and teenagers off at these public places may be putting them at risk for sex predators and traffickers to prey on them.

Local law enforcement in San Antonio set up hidden cameras in a Northside shopping mall to spot potential victims. In the first 15 minutes of camera footage [...]

21 Year Old Gang Member Indicted for Running a Large Trafficking Ring

June 2, 2011


Washington DC - With $32 billion circulating in the human trafficking industry, it is one of the largest industries in the world. Traffickers exploit the young and vulnerable in our world and completely strip them of their freedom and dignity. An incredible amount of money is flowing through this industry, with much of it happening right here in the United States.

A young gang member in the Washington DC area was caught running a large trafficking ring in the area. The 21 year old male arranged [...]

Woman Accused of Selling 13 Year Old Daughters Virginity

May 24, 2011

Salt Lake City, UT - Human trafficking happens in many forms - for some young people, it happens in their own homes. Instead of living in loving, supportive and safe environment, they are living with deceit and exploitation.

One 13 year old girl out of Salt Lake City, UT became a victim of human trafficking when her mom offered to sell her virginity to a man for $10,000. The young girl at first agreed to do the sexual acts her mother was forcing her into, but later tried to tell her she did not want to.

The woman's boyfriend saw the string of text messages sent to the man and called police, reports say. The woman also admitted to modeling lingerie with her daughter for a man, and taking a picture of her daughter in skimpy clothing to send to another adult male.

Parents Indicted for Trafficking Their Two Teenage Daughters

May 20, 2011


Kentucky - Two parents in Madison County were indicted for trafficking their 13 and 14 year old daughters. One of the girls' teachers reported them to the police after seeing them dressed inappropriately in front of a movie theater.  The incidents reportedly took place between Oct. 10, 2009, and Feb. 24, 2011.

The parents were indicted for “... arranging for their 13- and 14-year-old daughters to provide companionship and affection to male individuals in exchange for money and goods ...,” the indictment reads.

Minnesota man arrseted in child sex trafficking ring

May 9, 2011

St. Paul, MN - The 30th defendant in a massive child trafficking ring was arrested on Monday, May 9. Apparently, the man became involved in 2006 at the age of 18 when he became part of a group selling a 13 year old girl for sex. "The group allegedly called up customers and then dropped her off at apartment complexes in Minneapolis and St. Paul."

"According to the indictment, Jane Doe Two would perform similar "missions," as the alleged gang members called them, at a Brooklyn Center hotel and a Blaine mall."

"All 30 defendants are scheduled to go to trial Oct. 4 in Nashville."

Read the Full Story Here

San Antonio pair admit to trafficking a minor

May 3, 2011

San Antonio, TX - Seven years after an 11-year-old runaway was coerced to enter the sex trade — which would result in her contracting HIV and hepatitis C — a man and a woman both pleaded no contest Monday and admitted being her pimp.

The girl, whose parents died when she was a child, met the pair in downtown San Antonio when she was 11. They asked for rent money from the young girl. The woman said she had an easier way for the young girl to make money, which was sex trafficking. The pair also introduced her to heroin.

They were set to go to trial, but while in the process both offenders plead no contest in exchange for shorter sentences.

This shows again that the demand is right here in San Antonio, and in every city. American girls aged 12-14 are at the highest risk for being trafficked.

Read the Full Article Here

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