Citywide meeting being held to discuss human trafficking in Pittsburgh region Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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WEBVTT SHELDON. SHELDON: THANK YOU. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NONPROFIT GROUPS DESCRIBE SEX TRAFFICKERS AS HUNTERS. THEY AGGRESSIVELY SEEK OUT POTENTIAL TEENAGE VICTIMS. TONIGHT, WE EXPOSE HOW THEY PICK THEIR VICTIMS AND WHAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS DOING ABOUT IT. >> TRAUMATIZED, VIOLENT. I SHOULDN’T BE ON THIS EARTH RIGHT NOW. I SHOULD BE DEAD. SHELDON: BARBARA AMAYA DESCRIBES HER LIFE WHEN SHE BECAME A 12-YEAR-OLD SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIM. THAT WAS IN 1980, AND FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS SHE WAS SOLD FOR SEX IN NEW YORK CITY. TODAY, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANTI-SEX TRAFFICKING GROUPS SAY THE CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE HAS TAKEN ROOT IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. >> THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION THAT EXISTS IN OUR COUNTY, PEOPLE THINK IT IS NOT, BUT SADLY IT DOES. SHELDON: THE VICTIMS ARE GIRLS WHO RUN AWAY FROM HOME, GIRLS STILL LIVING AT HOME WHO CREATE A RISKY SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENSE. >> BE INVOLVED IN ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS YOUR CHILDREN ARE ENGAGED IN, BECAUSE WHAT’S HAPPENING IS THESE YOUNGSTERS ARE PUTTING STUFF OUT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT IS JUST BATE FOR THE PREDATOR. SHELDON: MANY TEENAGE SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS ARE TAKEN TO UPMC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. THIS IS WHERE THEY SPEND TIME WITH DR. ELIZABETH MILLER. OTHERS END UP WITH DR. MARY BURKE, A PRACTICING PSYCHOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR AT CAROLOW UNIVERSITY. SHE LISTENS TO RAW DETAILS OF WHAT TEENAGE SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS EXPERIENCE. >> THE WAY IT CAN COMPROMISE ONE’S SENSE OF SELF AND THEIR ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH OTHERS, AS WELL AS GETTING AWAY FROM REPEATED MEMORIES OF THE EXPERIENCE. A SENSE OF SHAME AND DEPRESSION. >> WITHIN 48 HOURS OF BEING HOMELESS, WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY, ABOUT A THIRD OF YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BECOME VICTIMS. SHELDON: THE FBI SAYS SEX TRAFFICKERS CAN BE SOMEONE THE VICTIM ALREADY KNOWS OR A COMPLETE STRANGER. THEY PUT GIRLS IN MOTELS AND DESIGNATED ROOMS IN PRIVATE HOMES. AS PREDATORS, THEY HAVE THE REMARKABLE ABILITY TO DETECT VULNERABLE GIRLS ANYWHERE IN A PUBLIC SETTING, EVEN A SHOPPING MALL. OUT TO THIS SPOT THESE PEOPLE AND KNOW THEY ARE FAIR GAME FOR SEX TRAFFICKING? >> THEY ARE HUNTERS. CHILLY AND THEN THEY REVEAL THE SUPREME SKILL OF MASTER MANIPULATION. >> THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ABLE TO KNOW, OK, I AM GOING TO CONTROL THIS VERSE AND THROUGH PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANS OR THROUGH PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, AND THEN I WILL CONTROL THEM THROUGH MONETARY MEANS. SHELDON: ONE TACTIC, PAMPER THE VICTIM TO MAKE THEM FEEL SPECIAL. >> BUYING CLOTHES, BUYING JEWELRY, BUYING FOOD, NAIL SALONS, HAIR SALONS, ANYTIHG THAT’LL UPKEEP HER APPEARANCE AND ATTRACTIVENESS. SHELDON: SOCIAL SERVICE GROUPS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SAY IT’S DIFFICULT TO GET VICTIMS TO REPORT THEIR CAPTORS. INTIMIDATION CREATES AN INCREDIBLE LEVEL OF FEAR. >> I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN MORE THAN ONE SITUATION WHERE THE TRAFFICKER IS AWARE OF THE SURVIVOR HAVING A SISTER, SO SAYING I AM GOING TO DO WHAT I AM DOING TO YOU TO YOUR SISTER. THAT IS ALMOST A GUARANTEED WAY TO GAIN COMPLIANCE. SHELDON: THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY POINTS TO REVERSE BRAINWASHING OF THE VICITMS. >> TO GET THEM THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED, GET THEM THAT STABILITY, SO WE CAN HOPEFULY BE ABLE TO HELP THEM IMROVE THEIR LIVES, AND BE A WITNESS FOR US AGAINST THEIR TRAFFICKERS. SHELDON: AMAYA IS DOING HER PART, 38 YEARS AFTER SHE BECAME A SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIM. SHE WROTE A BOOK CALLED NOBODY’S GIRL. >> IT SHARES ABOUT HOW I WAS THE VICTIM BUT IT SHOWS HOW I HAD TO PUT MY WHOLE LIFE TOGETHER. SHELDON: AND PAAR IS DOING THE SAME THING HERE IN PITTSBURGH. THIS IS THEIR DROP IN CENTER TO HELP SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS ESTABLISH NEW LIVES. PITTSBURGH ACTION AGAINST RAPE IS AN ACTIVE NON-PROFIT GROUP. THEY HAVE AT LEAST A DOZEN BILLBOARDS AROUND THE CITY WARNING THE PUBLIC ABOUT SEX TRAFFICKING. PITTSBURGH ACTION AGAINST RAPE IS ALSO KNOWN AS PAAR. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO NEE

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