Human Trafficking Survivors Share Their Stories

Appleton, WI - Human Sex Trafficking effects communities throughout the United States. Please watch and hear the real life stories from these survivors.

May. 18, 2019 - 4:17 - Survivors of human trafficking talk about how people get trapped in this abusive trade. (FOX NEWS).

By Perry Chiaramonte, Andrew Keiper | Fox News

Her story began like so many others, with an exploitation of trust. Edie Rhea is a survivor of sex trafficking. Her formative years were largely spent being sold for sex by her mother’s boyfriend. It began when she was 10 and lasted until she was 17 years old.

"A lot of people would purchase me out of the meat store. Sometimes I would have to have sex with them in the meat store, where the frozen meat was at.” — Edie Rhea

“He really did take on that daddy-figure role,” Rhea said. “Then at 10 started sexually abusing me and trafficking me. That literally wrecked my world, my whole life.”

Rhea’s story is unique to her, and no two trafficking stories are identical – but there are common threads that exist among most survivors. Often, traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities of young teenagers who face troubles at home.

“Most of the victims are folks that are in such a vulnerable position they are not able to make their own decisions,” William Sweeney, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York bureau, said. “It’s often targeting the most vulnerable in society.”