A 13-year-old girl was waiting for her parents to pick her up outside of a movie theater in San Antonio, Texas last month. While waiting, she saw an older couple staring at her and she felt very uncomfortable.
“He started kissing her neck and she was looking right at us. That’s when I started to get freaked out. You normally don’t see anyone who’s looking dead at you,” the 13-year-old said.
The man walked away, and then the woman went over to the teenager and asked her how old she was.
“We told her, we’re 13 and she goes well we were going to ask you to dinner but you’re too young. We’re looking for someone older.”
It’s unclear what the woman’s intention was. Chuck Paul, outreach specialist with the Roy Maas Youth Alternatives Centro Seguro, said it could potentially be that this woman was recruiting. Paul said that it’s called “knocking,” where people approach vulnerable women and teenagers and begin a conversation with them. A trafficker often has a woman do this to seem less threatening.
“These individuals hunt anywhere they can find vulnerable children – that’s skate parks, malls, outside of schools, shopping centers, outside of movie theaters,” Paul said.
How can we keep our children safe from traffickers and predators?
“You need to have open and honest communication with your children ahead of time. Let them know that they can come and talk to you about what’s going on their lives, when they feel threatened and if they feel threatened, they can come and contact you,” Paul’s advised.
O.U.R.’s free online training course will help you become more educated on the signs of human trafficking so that you and your children know what kinds of things to look for. Take the course here.
Original News Src: news4sanantonio.com
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