On Monday October 26, 2020, an operation called “Autumn Hope” rescued 45 children from human trafficking. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, over 175 individuals connected to human trafficking have been arrested in Ohio during the month of October. Over 100 human trafficking survivors have been rescued during the operations; 45 of those were missing children.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost explained the difference between prostitution and human trafficking, or “modern day slavery,” as he referred to it.
“The difference between simple prostitution and human trafficking is the difference between two and three. Prostitution is simply a John and usually a woman, the person who is selling sex. Human trafficking involves a third person, who is typically taking a cut of the money. And that’s what elevates the simple prostitution into the evil of modern day slavery.”
In a CBN News report, former Army Ranger Jeff Tiegs who leads All Things Possible Ministries, provided a startling discovery regarding who traffickers are targeting. Tiegs whose ministry helps law enforcement identify who the traffickers are said, “There are particular traffickers that will target Christian girls,” all for an ego boost. The former Army Ranger continued, “To get the girl that comes from a broken, abusive relationship, that didn’t stroke his ego. But for him to be able to pluck a pretty young woman from a Christian family in the suburbs and turn her out to sell her body for sex through him, to be trafficked, that was an ego boost for him.”
Tiegs encourages parents to talk to their children about what is out there. “Parents have to talk to their daughters very candidly about what’s out there,” Tiegs said, “especially in this Christian bubble that we live in we don’t fully appreciate the evil that’s out there and the evil that’s trying to work its way into our lives.”
This isn’t the only rescue that has happened this year. In August a bust called “Operation Not Forgotten” that covered 20 counties in the Atlanta area saw 9 suspects arrested and 39 children rescued.
Respected former NFL athlete Tim Tebow and his wife Demi-Leigh fight human trafficking through the Tim Tebow Foundation. This year in honor of his 33rd birthday, his foundation launched a public initiative called “Rescue Her” for the sake of building awareness in hopes of it resulting in building an army of people who will fight against human trafficking.
Tebow says, “Every person on this earth is created in the image of God—uniquely, beautifully, and perfectly. Their value is priceless, and they are not for sale.”