Drug-Addicted Parents Caught Trafficking Their Own Children in Texas: FBI
FBI officials in El Paso, Texas, have expressed concern over a troubling rise in parents trafficking their own children for sex in exchange for drugs. In a recent interview, Special Agent Jeanette Harper described the situation as heartbreaking, highlighting that many drug-addicted parents prioritize their addiction over their children’s welfare. These parents often invite individuals into their homes or rent inexpensive motels to facilitate these exploitative exchanges.
Nicole Schiff, executive director of a nonprofit organization working with the FBI, noted that El Paso experiences more severe trafficking issues compared to other Texas cities like Houston or Dallas. schiff shared several alarming cases, including one where a father acted as a trafficker and another where a mother sold her daughter for drugs.
The FBI emphasizes the importance of community vigilance and encourages individuals, especially caregivers such as teachers and doctors, to report any suspicious activities involving potential sexual abuse or trafficking. Human trafficking can occur in various environments, from urban areas to rural communities. the alarming trend has prompted calls for greater awareness and action against this growing issue.
FBI officials in Texas recently raised the alarm about an increasing number of parents trafficking their own children for sex in order to make money for drugs.
FBI Special Agent Jeanette Harper said in a Jan. 20 interview with WOAI-TV that the issue has increasingly impacted El Paso, Texas, and described the situation as heartbreaking.
“We do see quite a bit where we have parents that are trafficking their children in sexual acts so they can receive drugs off the street,” Harper told the outlet.
“It’s just hard that the parents are more concerned about getting drugs and basically torturing their children for the rest of their lives,” she added. “The person that you should trust the most as your mom and your dad, and they’re giving you to people for sex.”
Many of the drug-addicted parents tend to welcome people into their own homes to abuse their children or rent a cheap motel for the grisly exchange.
“If their main goal is to get money for drugs, then they’re not going to go to a hotel or a very expensive hotel or Airbnbs,” she said.
Nicole Schiff, the executive director of a nonprofit called the Center for Hope, which works alongside the FBI, said that El Paso has especially severe trafficking relative to Houston or Dallas.
She detailed some especially heartbreaking situations that her organization has encountered.
“We’ve had a case where the dad was the trafficker,” Schiff recounted. “We’ve had a case where mom sold her daughter to a trafficker for the money because she needed it for drugs.”
Harper said that citizens reporting suspicious activity to the authorities is a particularly effective way of combating sex trafficking.
“There are a lot of legal reporting requirements for individuals that are either teachers, doctors, just caregivers in general,” Harper said.
“If they observe their child or they believe that they’re a victim of sexual abuse, they are legally required to report that to somebody within 24 to 48 hours.”
The FBI El Paso Field Office issued a notice last year to raise awareness about the various forms sex trafficking and other types of human trafficking can take.
Sex trafficking occurs “when individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts,” according to the agency.
The trafficking of a minor under 18 years old can be proven without demonstrating that force, fraud, or coercion were at play.
The FBI warned that human trafficking can “occur in any community,” from cities and suburbs to rural areas.
“With the expansive region our office covers, from rural communities to major cities, we have seen that human trafficking can occur anywhere,” John Morales, special agent in charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office, said in the notice.
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