A young man who fled the horrors of sex trafficking has detailed his nightmarish journey from South America to the United States.
A 20-year-old foreigner whose identity was hidden said: fox news He says he still lives in fear that his former captors will discover his whereabouts.
“From the time they were born, they were often rejected by their parents.”
After being abused six to eight times a day and beaten regularly, he was rescued at the age of 18 and sent to Bob's House, the nation's first shelter for male sex trafficking victims.・She was taken to Hope.
The man told news outlets that he threatened to kill him if he spoke about the ongoing abuse.
“I saw good people die,” he said.
Bob Williams, founder of Bob's House of Hope, explained that many immigrant victims are sold into sex trafficking by acquaintances, including family members.
“Most of these children are being trafficked by someone they know, whether it's an uncle, a neighbor or someone else,” Williams told Fox News.
He said there is a common misconception that only girls and women are sex trafficked.
“This is a stigma that we have to change. In fact, we believe that up to 50% of human trafficking victims are boys and men,” Williams said.
He said in some cases men were forced into labor trafficking during the day and sex trafficking at night. Victims are not only under threat of violence, but also controlled by addiction.
“This fentanyl problem is so serious that young people are hooked on drugs,” he told Fox News. “That, combined with the fear of threats to their families, dominates their minds.”
“As a survivor, I said I would take anyone who wanted to because immigrant children are protected under federal sex trafficking laws,” Williams added.
Bob's House of Hope welcomes American citizens and immigrants. Fox News noted that Safe House is cooperating with law enforcement.
An August report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to track more than 32,000 unaccompanied minors who crossed the border into the United States.
Williams believes many of these children have fallen into the hands of dangerous traffickers.
“We know that many of these children are trafficked by their families into gangs and human trafficking groups,” he said. “Predators prey on vulnerable children. In one case, a young man who was trying to reunite with his family in Florida was picked up by a gang under the guise of a ride to Miami. But that ride was never given. It didn’t happen.”
Williams called for stronger border security and tougher penalties for human traffickers.
Landon Dickerson, CEO and therapist of Bob's House of Hope, told Fox News: [the victims] They were often rejected by their parents and grandparents, and often sold as money to take them to the United States for further abuse. ”
“They arrive here confused, don't speak the language, and have a hard time navigating our systems, which makes them incredibly vulnerable,” Dickeson added. .
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