About OUR Rescue
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About Us

We are on a mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation while empowering survivors to heal and thrive.

Financials Trust & Transparency Our team

We talk to people every day who are passionate about rescuing children.

While only law enforcement has the legal jurisdiction to rescue children and individuals trapped in situations of sex trafficking and exploitation, OUR Rescue works to empower their courageous work by providing unparalleled support.

We also strategically partner with other NGOs to both support prevention efforts that make a lasting difference and empower survivors to thrive on their healing journey.

What we do

Since 2013, OUR Rescue, formerly known as Operation Underground Railroad, has been in the fight against sex trafficking and child exploitation worldwide. Our resolve never falters, and we will boldly persevere until those in need are safe.

Operations
The OUR Rescue Operations teams directly respond to international government requests to develop intelligence and assist with rescue efforts.
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Survivor Care
The OUR Rescue Survivor Care teams are committed to empowering survivors, providing tailored support, and working together with other NGOs to provide personalized aftercare services that make a lasting impact on survivor’s healing journeys.
How we help
Education
From quick facts to in-depth stories, our educational resources offer deeper levels of awareness in the fight to end sex trafficking and child exploitation.
Resources

Our process

1

Develop relationships with law enforcement agencies

2

Identify how OUR Rescue can collaborate with them to help

3

Assist with open-source intelligence, strategy, rescue operations, and survivor care

4

Provide legal support, as needed, to prosecute offenders

OUR Rescue assists alongside Ministerio Público República Del Perú

Since 2013

People like you have stood by us in this critical fight to make the world a better place.

A decade strong, we won’t stop until every person is safe.

Statistics
4,000+
predators arrested
6,000+
survivors supported
1,000+
operations supported
View Operations

Where we work

OUR Rescue works with law enforcement agencies all around the globe.

Latin America
OUR Rescue entered in 2013

Operation Success Story, March 2024:

With fake offers of jobs at luxury hotels, an international criminal group was allegedly deceiving and selling eight Colombians for sex. Then, to keep the women from trying to escape, the suspects reportedly lied and said they knew police officers.

On Mar. 22, one of the women managed to bravely escape. Upon request from local authorities, OUR Rescue provided investigational support alongside three other agencies. The experienced team at OUR Rescue helped find multiple bank accounts and home addresses of the suspects, and helped locate where the other women were being held.

Just two days after one woman escaped and notified authorities, two searches were conducted at different homes and the other survivors were able to get out. Authorities say the evidence found will prevent the criminal group, which currently operates in three countries, from expanding into Europe. Arrest warrants have been issued and the OUR Rescue Survivor Care team is providing support to all eight women. In early April, four of the survivors were repatriated back to their homes.
Asia
OUR Rescue entered in 2015

Operation Success Story, February 2024:

$8.36 per underage girl. That’s the price a karaoke bar owner was reportedly charging customers to have sex with employees at their establishment. After discovering questionable social media posts, the OUR Rescue Operations team used open-source intelligence to find information that indicated at least two employees working at the bar were minors.

We quickly alerted the local police’s anti-trafficking department. On Feb. 3, our Ops team went undercover and confirmed that the business employed not just two but three female employees under the age of 18. OUR Rescue work led to a sting operation by authorities, supported by our Operations and Survivor Care teams.

Police arrested the bar owner and rescued two of the minors at a nearby hotel. In collaboration with social welfare, OUR Rescue Asia’s Survivor Care staff took the minors, one boy and one girl, to a shelter for further care and support. The bar owner has been charged with human trafficking and their legal proceedings are ongoing.
Europe
OUR Rescue entered in 2021

Operation Success Story, November 2023:

A transnational sex trafficking organization was dismantled in Europe with assistance from OUR Rescue, leading to 14 survivors and nine arrests. In addition to sexually exploiting them, the traffickers would beat and humiliate the survivors, forcing them to shave their heads, sleep on the floor, and more.

With coordination from Europol and alongside the Romanian National Police, OUR Rescue supported the National Police of Spain in the rescue of two survivors. Simultaneously, search and arrest warrants were carried out in other parts of Spain and Romania.

Alongside Amar Dragoste, a local NGO in Spain, our Survivor Care team worked to support the survivors, empowering them to find peace, happiness, and new beginnings.
Africa & Middle East
OUR Rescue entered in 2021

Operation Success Story, March 2023:

In West Africa, a trafficker lured a 19-year-old into a brothel under the pretense of offering her a job in a nearby country. Instead, upon her arrival, she was kept under lock and key, forced to have sex with customers, and beaten when she refused.

After making a bold escape, a kind-hearted local offered the survivor housing and helped her contact local police. While speaking with authorities, she shared that other teenagers were also being sexually exploited by the trafficker.

Upon request, OUR Rescue’s regional team assisted the local police with strategic advice and logistical support to conduct surveillance on the trafficker and brothel in question. Less than two weeks later, police arrested the suspect. Charged with human trafficking, the offender now awaits trial.
USA & Canada
OUR Rescue entered in 2017

Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Success, December 2023

In Florida, 55-year-old John Downing Jr. was arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). With the assistance of Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Layla, investigators seized multiple digital storage devices from the Florida home.

Sponsored by OUR Rescue and trained through Jordan Detection K9 in 2022, Layla was deployed into the suspect’s home and easily traversed a heavily cluttered room, fitting into tight gaps and corners. The skilled dog located two SD cards that would not have been found via traditional search methods.

Downing Jr. was arrested and charged with 12 counts of child pornography possession. His bond is set at $180,000.Read the impact of another OUR Rescue sponsored ESD K9 in Oklahoma here.

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