CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In the aftermath of a 15-year-old girl becoming a victim of sex trafficking when she disappeared from a Dallas Mavericks game last month, experts in Corpus Christi weigh in on the severity of the issue here and across Texas.
According to a 2016 study at the University of Texas at Austin, New Life Refuge Ministries estimates as many as 79,000 children are trafficked every year--2,900 in Corpus Christi.
“Preventing it is truly our goal," said Tina Canary, operations manager at New Life Refuge. "We love the idea of spreading the message and teaching people how to identify what it looks like, because not all traffickers look the same.”
Experts said the teenage disappearing in Dallas was a miracle to
“There’s things that, red flags, that show up in every area that could be related and we all need to know what they are, so that we can save that one." Canary said. "You know, truly for her to be rescued and found is a miracle because one percent of the kids that go are found, and that leaves the other 99%.”
New Life Refuge and Corpus Christi Police Department recommend parents being upfront with their kids, so they know who to come to in dangerous situations.
“Let your child know that they can talk to them," said Lt. Michael Pena, who works in the Public Information Office. "They can talk to their parents, you know, if they see something inappropriate. Much like adults we tell everybody, if you see something, say something. That should also be for our children.”
Quantifying how many children are victims of sex trafficking is difficult since many do not self-report. According to experts, the ones exploiting the victims can use things like photographs solicited on the internet against them. They also said parents can protect their children by monitoring what they do on the internet.
"You have to protect them sometimes from themselves," Lt. Pena said. "And if that means that it’s a little bit uncomfortable when you have to take their phone from them and look at what they’re looking at, I would much rather that be the issue than having my child come up missing and possibly, you know, trafficked.”
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