This article is the first in a three-part series written by Jenna Elfman for WhoSay to raise awareness regarding child sex trafficking in the United States.
I've always associated child sex trafficking with countries like Thailand or Brazil. Never did I consider that something so unthinkable -- selling kids for sex -- was happening in my own community.
But I was wrong. I was naive. I was unwilling to face the facts. Until last year.
Thousands of children are being sex trafficked right now in the United States, including in my hometown of Los Angeles. It's unbelievable.
Child trafficking can take many forms, but let me walk you through something that recently happened:
A pimp became friendly with a 13-year-old girl through social media. She was having a hard time with her family -- her dad had recently left her mom and her relationship with her mom was going through a rough patch -- and she was vulnerable. This guy took the time to "get to know her" via social media and ultimately enticed the girl with a date, telling her he was going to take her to his cousin's house to hang out for the weekend. He picked her up and then went through this whole charade:
"Oh, my phone just died. Can I use yours?" Boom. He took her phone. Now she had no form of communication. They drove for a long time.
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