Oklahoma
“What the general public often doesn’t realize is that the average age of recruitment is between 12 and 14,” Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa
Ohio
Two cousins were walking to a neighborhood Wendy’s when they were abducted and forced into prostitution. They were rescued after a driver at a Michigan truck stop suspected they were trafficking victims.
California
A Los Angeles 12-year-old reported being forced to watch as a girl who attempted to escape was burned to death in a California desert. A young girl can be expected to reach a quota of $500 each night — at least eight sex acts — to avoid brutal violence.
Louisiana
A former sex trafficking victim in Louisiana was abducted and raped by her captors at 12, then shuttled around cities in the South to work as a prostitute at large-scale events… like the Super Bowl.
Connecticut
More than 20 victims were lured into a trafficking operation with promises of modeling contracts and a glamorous lifestyle. They were then forced to work a grueling schedule that entailed dancing and performing sex acts at strip clubs in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Victims were abused for not following rules, such as being slashed with a box cutter or threatened with death after putting a pistol into the victim’s mouth.
Wisconsin
After hundreds were arrested in a trafficking network involving kids: “These traffickers are great at reading people. They look at these victims and quickly assess, ‘Do they need an older boyfriend? A protector? A supplier? Do they just want to feel cool?”
North Carolina
A five-year-old tip eventually led to the arrest of 40 people running 25 brothels throughout the state that sexually exploited women and children smuggled into the country with the promise of legitimate jobs.