SAYS YOUR KIDS COULD BE KEY TO
ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN
THE MIAMI VALLEY.... AN ISSUE
IMPACTING PRE-TEEN BOYS AND
GIRLS. IT'S THE SECOND
LEADING CRIME IN THE COUNTRY
AND IT'S HAPPENING HERE. 2
NEWS REPORTER MAYTAL LEVI HAS
THE IMPACT, IN A STORY YOU'LL
SEE ONLY ON 2.
THIS MIGHT COME AS A SHOCK TO
SOME PARENTS, BUT ITS
SOMETHING YOU NEED TO HEAR.
EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL IN THE
MIAMI VALLEY, PRIVATE OR
PUBLIC, WILL BE ASKED IF THEY
WANT TO TEACH THEIR STAFF AND
STUDENTS, YOUR KIDS ABOUT
HUMAN TRAFFICKING.IT'S A FREE
PROGRAM BEING OFFERED RIGHT
NOW..
."WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER I WAS
TARGETED BY A GROUP OF GUYS
AND ENDED UP BEING DRUGGED,
RAPED, AND BLACK MAILED."AT
15-YEARS-OLD THERESA FLORES
BECAME A SEX TRAFFICKING
VICTIM."OVER AND OVER AGAIN AT
NIGHT AND THEN I WOULD GO BACK
TO SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY AND NO
ONE HAD ANY IDEA."NOW AT 51,
FLORES IS RAISING AWARENESS BY
SHARING HER STORY.NO BODY
HELPED ME AND I WANT KIDS TO
BE ABLE TO GET HELP.THE
PROBLEM IS SO BAD - THE
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON NOW HAS
AN ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING
DIRECTOR.TONY TALBOTT HAS
DEDICATED HIS CAREER TO
FINDING A SOLUTION."OAKWOOD,
MIAMISBURG, BEAVERCREEK,
XENIA. EVEN AS FAR OUT AS
JEFFERSONVILLE AND JAMESTOWN.
SO IT'S NOT JUST AN INNER CITY
PROBLEM."TALBOTT SAYS ONCE
PEOPLE REALIZE IT'S HAPPENING
IN THE MIAMI VALLEY - WE CAN
DEAL WITH IT. WE HAVE
IDENTIFIED OVER 300 CASES THAT
HAPPENED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS
IN OHIO. MANY OF THOSE CASES
HAPPENED IN THE MIAMI VALLEY."
THE MAIN TARGET - PRE-TEEN
GIRLS AND BOYS.WE FOUND OUT IF
A CHILD IS PROSTITUTED OR
TRAFFICKED IN THE STATE OF
OHIO THE AVERAGE AGE THAT
FIRST HAPPENS IS 11 OR 12
YEARS OLD.TO STOP IT - TALBOTT
AND FLORES HAVE TEAMED UP WITH
ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE DEWINE.
HOPING TO GET STUDENTS,
TEACHERS AND PARENTS TO LOOK
FOR SIGNS OF TRAFFICKING.I
THINK ITS VERY IMPORTANT TO
EDUCATE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT
HUMAN TRAFFICKING BECAUSE IT'S
NOT LIKE OTHER CRIMES.áá2
SHOTáááDEWINE TELLS ME IT'S A
CRIME WE ALL COULD BE
WITNESSING EVERY DAY AND NEVER
KNOW IT."PEOPLE CAN SEE IT,
BUT NOT RECOGNIZE IT."THEIR
PLAN, TEACH SIGNS OF IT AT 200
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE
MIAMI VALLEY.SOMETHING FLORES
SAYS ISN'T EASY."THEY'RE
SCARED. THE PRINCIPALS ARE
SCARED LIKE OH MY GOSH IT
MIGHT UPSET A PARENT, THEY'RE
GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT SEX,
BUT THESE KIDS THEY TALK ABOUT
THAT EVERY DAY.SO FAR, ONLY
FOUR SCHOOLS HAVE ACCEPTED.THE
FIRST ONE - FAIRMONT HIGH
SCHOOL IN KETTERING.AND EIGHT
SCHOOLS ARE REVIEWING THE
MATERIALS. LEVI: WHAT WOULD
YOU SAY TO PARENTS WHO SAY
THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO MY
KID? FLORES: I'M SURE MY
PARENTS SAID THAT TOO. MY DAD
WORKED REALLY HARD TO LIVE IN
A NICE SUBURB WITH A $300,000
HOUSE. MY DAD WOULD HAVE NEVER
THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN TO
HIS DAUGHTER.FLORES SUSPECTS
ITS HAPPENING TO AT LEAST A
THOUSAND KIDS LOCALLY.SHE SAYS
THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUSINESS
HAS ADVANCED.NOW, TRACKING
KIDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND WHILE
THEIR GAMING.THEY ARE
BEGINNING TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA
AS A MEANS NOT JUST TO
RECRUIT, BUT ALSO TO CONTACT
CUSTOMERS AND SELL SEX VICTIMS
ONLINE THAT'S WHY HE SAYS
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.AND A IF A
SCHOOL TURNS DOWN THEIR OFFER,
IT'S A DISSERVICE FOR THE
COMMUNITY.THE EARLIER WE CAN
DO PREVENTION EDUCATION, THE
BETTER TO PREVENT CHILDREN
FROM BEING HARMED.2 SHOT WITH
FLORESLEVI: DO YOU THINK WE'RE
DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO
COMBAT FLORES: I THINK WE ARE
DOING MORE THAN ANY THERE. IM
PROUD S OO T I
TFID.ELS
I LKI.SK FRE
WHAEN THEER
I GOOGLE THEM.ANYT ABO
ITSTATUTE OF LIMITATIONIS
O SE UT
DEDETH ILOS LI.
THEY HOPE TO HAVE ANSWERS FROM
EVERY HIGH SCHOOL BY THE END
OF THE YEAR.FOR A FULL LIST OF
SCHOOLS BEING PRESENTED WITH
MATERIALS GO TO WDTN DOT COM.
THERE YOU'LL ALSO FIND A HUMAN
TRAFFICKING HELP HOTLINE AND
SIGNS TO SPOT HUMAN
TRAFFICKING.MAYTAL LEVI 2 NEWS
WORKING FOR YOU