My name is Amber and what started as a modeling opportunity ended up in my worst nightmare. I met Anthony, a modeling scout, after seeing an ad on Instagram. Everything seemed professional at first, he was very friendly and respectful. After he explained the gig, we went shopping for new clothes and even got my hair and nails done. He paid for everything. I was so flattered and felt so special. But instead of taking me to a studio like he said he would, he took me to a hotel where the worst months of my life took place. If it wasn’t for Katie behind the register counter that day I wouldn’t have my Human Freedom.

My name is Katie and I work at a retail store. A few months back, I saw this gorgeous girl that came to our store. She was trying on different outfits and was accompanied by a much older man, which is not uncommon to see. Weeks later, the man was back with another beautiful woman and eventually, he became a familiar face at the store. He would come every now and then, always with younger women and he would always pay for everything. Now you would think he was just dating a lot of different girls, but the weird thing is… He would eventually return with these same women and every time they came back, these girls would look frail and scared. One day, Amber came in looking pale, almost as if she was in black and white. She had lost considerable weight. When I went with her to the dressing room, I asked her if she needed help. Her eyes filled with water and she started to shake. That’s when I called the Sheriff’s Office. As it turns out, it was a case of Human Trafficking.

My name is Donald and this is my human trafficking story.

I heard some of my friends talking about going to a college party after Friday’s football game. I had gone to a few parties before, but never with an older crowd, so I asked my parents if I could go. Without even thinking about it, they said, “NO.” They said they didn’t want me hanging out with older folks. When the day of the party came, I told them I was going to watch a movie premiere with friends and they completely forgot about the party so I went. Once there, I met Sean, an older boy who showed me around and introduced me to everyone there. We exchanged numbers and we began texting. At first, he was cool and understanding, especially when I began having problems with my parents, but our “friendship” didn’t last long. One day, after back-and-forth arguments with my parents, Sean convinced me to move into his condo with him. I was very happy the first month until he started inviting his friends over. Soon after that, he began to ask me to do sexual favors for some of his friends. I had no other choice but to comply after he threatened to tell my parents and my football team about my sexuality. Before long, Sean became aggressive and forced me to have sex with different men almost every day. Until an angel came to the rescue, literally, his name was Angel. Thanks to him, I got my Human Freedom back.

My name is Angel and while attending one of Sean’s many parties, I met Donald, Sean’s new roommate. Sean is known among our group of friends for being 1) A party animal and 2) kind of sketchy. He was a cool dude but weird. We imagined it was because he was probably in the closet or doing something illegal. He never works, yet he lives the lavish life, always throwing parties for rich entrepreneurs and the hottest girls in town. Sean is used to having “roommates,” but for some reason, they don’t seem to last. Unlike the rest, Donald was a cool down to earth guy, we could talk about anything that was sports-related. After seeing him at Sean’s parties a few times, I noticed he went from being an outgoing guy to more quiet and reserved. One night while chilling at Sean’s place, we overheard Donald and Sean arguing in one of the rooms. I went to see if everything was okay and saw Sean pushed Donald in the room and he locked the door with three locks on the outside. Confused, I confronted Sean about it and he yelled: “Mind your damn business.” I found their interaction concerning and his reaction disturbing so I left and put an anonymous tip to the authorities. I distance myself from them and eventually found out it was a case of Human Trafficking.