The recovery of 31 missing North Texas children by federal authorities announced last week was welcome news. 24 of the children had been staying with family or friends.
The U.S. Marshal’s office says they were all returned to their legal guardians. Seven others were involved in sex trafficking rings. While the teenagers are now out of the grips of traffickers, their discovery begs the question: How did they go missing in the first place?
The answer is not only shocking, it involves something many teens have in their homes.
Online video games have become a recruiting tool for the sex trafficking industry.
“That happens a lot now through all the chats that happen during gaming. And they start up a relationship with them online and then convince them to run thinking that this person cares about me and is going to take care of me.” said Dennis Ozment, leader of the not-for-profit 4theONE Foundation. The group includes retired police officers and private investigators who are dedicated to finding missing and exploited children. 4theONE played a pivotal role in helping find the missing children in Operation Missing in the Metroplex, federal authorities say.
The online gaming provides a powerful method for traffickers to directly come in contact with potential victims. The initial meeting between a teen and a sex trafficking recruiter can quickly result in a slippery slope into the world of prostitution with no way out.
“These people, traffickers, are experts at manipulation. They will emotionally compromise that child to the point where they cannot imagine leaving.” Ozment said. “We’ve had some kids where the trafficker knew that they had younger siblings and so the trafficker tells them look, if you run if you try to get away from me I’m just going to get your sister.”
The trafficker could also make threats against the lives of parents or other family members, he said.
Finding missing children is often tougher when the recruitment vehicle is online gaming. Often there are few digital footprints that can be traced because the conversation is never recorded. 4theONE often relies on tips from workers at apartments or hotels who see a situation that does not appear to be right. Online ads are another weapon in the quiver.
It’s a wake-up call to parents to know more about who is on the other end of the game and what kind of influence the sex trafficker may be wielding