It's often referred to as modern day slavery. The term, human trafficking, is most frequently associated with immigrant crime. A victim proves it can happen to anyone, even in the nicest of neighborhoods.
Theresa Flores is a survivor. From age 15 to 17 she lived under the control of child traffickers who forced her into prostitution. As she details in her book, The Slave Across the Street, Flores was scouted out by a classmate inside the walls of her Michigan high school.
"[He] started acting like he liked me and then just simply asked me if I wanted a ride home from school. I was excited. I was like ‘yeah.’ But he didn't take me home,” Flores said.
Flores says the teen, with the assistance of other men, drugged her, raped her and took pictures threatening to show them to people if she didn't comply with their demands.
"So for two years I worked for them trying to earn them back so nobody would know,” Flores said. "It would be man after man after man and they would let me go."
The cycle only stopped when her dad got a job transfer to another state.
"Really it was a miracle,” Flores said.
She is living proof that "trafficking" can happen anywhere, not just to the immigrant population.
Flores was the guest speaker at a brunch fundraiser Saturday morning at the Barton Creek Country Club. Funds raised go to Stop Child Trafficking Now. The organization goes after the offenders by hiring investigators to assist police departments.
"We contract out special operatives teams. These are men that are trained by the government in counter-terrorism. They may be former Navy seals, FBI agents,” said Sundy Goodnight, spokesperson for Stop Child Trafficking Now.
The organization has assisted the Austin Police Department's human trafficking unit. An APD detective on hand for the event says the unit has taken on 15 cases in the city so far this month.
"It's an epidemic and we don't even know it,” said Flores.
Flores says signs to watch out for with child female victims include: older men hanging around, the child suddenly possessing nice belongings, falling grades, and frequent absences from school.
To learn more, click on the weblinks below.
Stop Child Trafficking Now
Central Texas Coalition Against Human Trafficking
