Woman trafficked by notorious gang shares her story

Sex trafficking is happening in the communities we call home.

The FBI has about 1,100 active child sex trafficking cases in the U.S., according to Jill McCabe with the FBI Phoenix field office.

Jane was a victim of sex trafficking for 10 years. She now calls Arizona home.

“I am a survivor,” said Jane.

She was kidnapped by the MS-13 gang when she was five years old.

The gang groomed her to sell her body for money and drugs.

“Meth. Coke. Heroin. Oxy” described Jane.

She was first sold for sex at just nine-years-old.

“I was moved from city to city. Most times I didn’t know what city I was in,” said Jane.

If she didn’t execute the job properly, she would be punished.

“It was four walls. That’s how they would discipline me like I said if I didn’t bring the right amount home,” described Jane.

A closet is where she was locked up for up to five days, only receiving food.

Estrella Finch, with the Healing Journey, said sex trafficking is also happening here in the communities we call home.

“I’ve been told well it doesn’t happen. It can’t happen. It’s happening. It does happen. Thank God, not at the rate of Phoenix or Maricopa County or other areas, but it does happen,” Fitch said.

Approximately 78,000 men in Phoenix are online sex ad customers, according to the Sex Trafficking Intervention Research Center at Arizona State University.

Websites like Backpage are alleged contributors to the crime. Its website was shut down in April 2018.

The site was originally created for ads for the “New Times” publication, according to the Arizona Republic.

Instead, the site was knowingly used for prostitution.

There are approximately two dozen laws related to human trafficking in Arizona, according to the Arizona Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith, and Family.

There are approximately a dozen in California, according to Eisner Gorin LLP.

The Healing Journey specializes in helping young girls and boys like Jane, who are involved in sex trafficking.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that one in six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims in 2016.

“There are signs that when you pick up runaways or girls that go from group homes that run from the group homes. They’re usually kind of coerced into a lifestyle that they didn’t have a choice,” said Estrella Fitch, Healing Journey.

In Arizona, the average age for a minor to be sexually trafficked is 14-years-old, according to Fitch.

At that age, Jane had already been sold for five years, but not all cases are like hers.

Finch explains the different signs that parents can look out for.

“When they start seeing certain behaviors like cell phones that they didn’t buy or purchase or a plan and then they all the sudden appear. They start noticing that there’s a lot of lying going on. Like I’m going to go out with my friends this weekend. Then they discover that they never went to that house. There are also signs of, this girl suddenly has an older boyfriend. A possessive type of personality. That the parent might be like who is this guy or they’re very defensive or afraid.”

The Healing Journey offers programs for those at risk of falling into sex trafficking.

The lifestyle that Jane was able to break away from at 20 years old.

“The barcode. It had MS-13 on it and the barcode meant that I was their property,” explained Jane.

The barcode transformed into a butterfly with a strong message.

“She turned it into a very beautiful butterfly,” said Jane. “On the barcode, it now has a chain, so that reminds me that the chain has been broken,” said Jane.

Jane is now working towards her goal to be a social worker and help others who have lived a lifestyle similar to the one she used to know.

“I’ve been able to go to get my GED, got my name changed. I want to get my education after I finish with my GED. I’d like to be a social worker,” said Jane.

Jane leaves those involved in sex trafficking with one final message.

“There is hope. They can survive that too. I know that it’s hard. I know how they’re feeling because I’ve been there,” said Jane.

If you are interested in getting involved in the fight against sex trafficking…there are groups around Yuma and Imperial counties like the Child Sex Trafficking Coalition that started three years ago.

If you or someone you know is being trafficked you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.