They went to a coastal beach far from home to have a picnic. She said it was the happiest day of her life. But the next city in Northern California held a much darker future.
It was there that Emma said she was sold and forced into sex slavery. The trafficking ring controlled her phone, negotiated the deals, determined the costs and picked the locations, she said. All of her moves were controlled by this trafficking ring, headed by the boy who had betrayed her, she said.
The group eventually made it to a motel in San Luis Obispo, where the manager said he recognized men suspiciously coming and going, some with guns.
When they got there, she was terrified and alone, according to Bledsoe. They rescued her and arrested her captors. And a ll defendants have pleaded not guilty in the case against Emma and are scheduled to appear in court for their hearing on Aug.
Sex traffickers use violence, threats, lies, debt bondage and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial sex acts against their will. There are an estimated 27 million human trafficking victims worldwide, according to Sowers Education Group, an anti-trafficking and survivor awareness group.
