Whether you grow up in Owosso, Durand, or Lansing Michigan, can you still be a target for human trafficking? Yes! One story told by a woman named Jeannie Kennedy who joined a Genesee County Job Corps in Flint Michigan when she was 22 years old. The training program placed her in Las Vegas. She explains that on the first day of her arrival, she was immediately approached by a well-dressed and friendly man. When she notices his luxurious car and the gorgeous woman seated inside, she said that she immediately felt at ease.
Photo Courtesy of Detroit Free Press, Jeannie Kennedy
His personality and luxury lifestyle was one way to deceive her into joining his ‘profitable business’.
As he starts talking to her, she decides to go with him. She states, “We end up at his house where there are eight or nine other women living there and they love him and he loves them, so they think. ” Then he takes her shopping at the local mall and buys her expensive clothes, jewelry, and shoes, “spending $600”. Once he pays for the items, he informs her, “now you have to pay back.”
In her situation, she was very lucky because she had the chance to escape this dangerous life after 3 days of being sexually exploited by the pimp. She realizes how fortunate she was because she says, “The average life span of a prostitute is seven years.”
Did you witness suspicious criminal activity involving abuse or unwanted threats? Contact the local authorities in your city. If you are at a safe distance away, try to capture a snapshot of the incident with your cell phone or take a photo of the vehicle license plate. This can help cops locate or identify the predator or gang member.
Would you like to share your untold story that happened in the Midwest? Email Us: SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
Did you know Michigan is ranked # 2 in the United States for Human Trafficking as of 2017? Do you currently live in Lansing, West Michigan, Flint, or Detroit where sex traffickers are prominent?
Is 32 years old considered too old to abduct and sexual exploit? Apparently not, according to a news story shared by MLive.com earlier this year. In this situation, an older female in her 30’s was shopping at the mall with her friends when a man came up to them and claimed to work for a modeling agency and wanted them to come with him down a hallway. At this point, the woman immediately knew something was disturbing about this situation and therefore decided not to go along with him.
We often think that pimps only target underage youth between the ages of 12-17, but we can see that this is not always the case.
Where do minors get prostituted out? At local truck stops and then sent to hotels in Ohio.
Do pimps and gangs ‘pick up’ victims in public places? Yes! Where at? Super Bowl parties and events such as ArtPrize and the North American International Detroit Auto and Car Show.
1 in 5 children who runaway from home become involved in sex-trafficking
How many cases have been reported of missing kids each month? At least 1000
How do I report a child or adult who is at risk of becoming a victim? Call the Michigan Health and Human Services Department 855-444-3911, or contact the FBI Detroit Branch Office 313- 965-2323 or, email the Michigan State Police Missing Persons Clearinghouse MSP-MissingPersons@michigan.gov
Do you have a story that needs to be told about your experience here in Michigan? Email Us SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
Certain tattoos can help distinguish a victim of sex trafficking. Why is it important to educate ourselves on the exploitation of modern slavery? Because next time you’re shopping in the mall, observing odd behavior in public, or scrolling through content on social media, become aware of suspicious pictures or activity posted on the Internet. Although there is no guarantee that these specific tattoos confirm that a victim is associated with traffickers, it does however illustrate the need for an awareness in the United States.
Photo Courtesy of New York Minute Mag
Have you spotted disturbing photos on social media of women marked with common gang symbols on their bodies? Report it on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter or any social media outlet where it was observed. Then take a screenshot photo and email it to local authorizes or non profit organizations who can take further action to stop these sex traffickers from solicitation. Email Us SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
The second method may be soliciting to wealthy clients who are willing to pay to sleep with these women. In this case, the gang member may post multiple photos of ‘sexy’ females (of any race) to persuade the purchaser (his clients) to buy or ‘shop’ his property.
Below is a possible example of what a human trafficker’s profile page could look like, or that created by one of his gang members. In this example, he clearly solicits these women by stating in the description, “DM for hookup”. He may be attempting to lure rich men to visit this account in hopes of getting contacted by them via DM or Direct Message.
So how can we tell if the black woman in the picture below is a victim of human trafficking and slavery? We may never know for sure, however look closely and you will notice a few tattoos on her body. Specifically a large tattoo of a king’s crown marked on her chest. From published articles across news channels, we can gather that this woman has possibly been marked by her pimp to identify the fact that he owns her.
What hashtags would a pimp use in his posts? In this example, he uses the following: #rich #money #luxury #ass #sexy #boobs.
Why are so many women on his details page dressed in military uniform? Is it possible that this pimps’ goal is to find wealthy clientèle who have a fetish for women dressed up as a soldier?
Have you found suspicious activity on someone’s Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, or Twitter? Report it immediately to local authorities or nonprofit organizations by sending them an email with a screenshot picture of the profile page. Or, you may email us SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
Sex slaves are being branded by their pimp and sex trafficker. What is the purpose of this exploitation? To mark ownership and territory, who owns who. To remind other pimps which minors belong to which group of criminals. It allows gang members to control their women. A gang member marks the body of a young woman that he ‘owns’ because she is his ‘property’. In this case, branding can be in the form of tattoos as the pictures illustrate below.
Courtesy of DailyMail.co.ukAtlantic Daily Article, Image of Former Victim Naticia Leon
These tattoos are clearly identified across the victim’s chest, face, arm, wrist, thighs or the front and back of the neck. In some cases, the tattoo marks the man’s name or gang symbol.
For example, the trafficker labeled his property (the female girl) with a tattoo entitled, “Black’s Beauty”. Another example includes a tattoo across a female’s crotch with the abbreviation “ATM”. A third example includes the bar code sign that was branded across a woman’s wrist. By coercing victims or threatening them to get marked, the ‘bosses’ manipulate teenagers and underage youth into marking their bodies with images, words and symbols to get what they want.
Do you have your own personal abduction story or witnessed an account of human trafficking in Michigan or in the United States?Would you like it posted as a blog on our website? Email us Now: SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
Why are male sex traffickers ‘well-dressed’, ‘handsome’, ‘cute’, ‘thin’ or ‘good-looking’? Is this on purpose in order to entice young girls or teenagers?
So how does date night work between a predator and his or her prey? Without multiple real accounts from witnesses, we can assume that each ‘date’ operates differently. We can read second hand sources told by news coverage or non profit organizations.
Let’s say for instance that a young woman decides to meet this ‘Joe Smith’ on this ‘date’ after their conversation via Facebook or Instagram Direct Message. When she meets up with him, they may have a ‘nice’ time at first and then what? At some point during the date, he kidnaps her. Is it possible that the trafficker’s sidekick or male or female gang member shows up to help with the kidnapping? Is the counterpart waiting around the corner to shove the victim in the car?
We can only speculate and form theories without first hand accounts. However, there are news articles, documentaries, movies, and even a TV episode from Dr Phil retelling the abduction story of a sex slave in detail. Many of them are branded with tattoos of their former pimps nickname. But what about other victims who were exploited but escaped to freedom who have chosen not to tell their story? What happened in their situation? Was it the same as everyone else or completely different? Did the trafficker use a new or different strategical method for his attack to recruit the young female?
Courtesy of Polaris, Human Trafficking Center 2014
What is the reason for having first hand accounts told?
Yes, we sympathize with their stories, but we also get a chance to learn about tactics and strategies on how these criminals use their own form of recruitment to catch their ‘fish.’ Each trafficker probably imposes a unique or slightly different recruitment strategy. If they were all the same, then we would have caught everyone by now, right?
It’s clear that not all young victims come forward with their personal stories. Why? Perhaps they are afraid of getting caught again if they reveal their whereabouts or real name on TV or news coverage, or they may believe that their own experience was their fault, or, it’s just too difficult to talk about. Whatever the reason it’s imperative that we not only hunt down these manipulative criminals but also learn about their strategical methods and tactical ways to recruit minors.
Got an opinion that you would like to share? Help us to spread the word about the serious impact of Human Trafficking as a crime in the United States. Please contact us SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
How are male and female sex traffickers promoting themselves on Instagram? How is human trafficking used on social media? According to dailymail.co.uk, one male gang member (who was 25) used images of cash, fine dining cuisines and luxury shopping to show his rich lifestyle.
In his Instagram posts, he used words and phrases such as “I treat u like royalty” or “babygirl” and “I’m way to too young to be living like this . . . “
The criminal will send a friendly Facebook message to the girl in hopes that she will agree to meet him. In this message, he tells her that she is pretty and if she’s interested in making money. At this point, he takes a chance on whether or not she will ignore his message or reply back and agree to meet somewhere. In some of the Facebook messages sent by male traffickers, you’ll notice their grammar and spelling is exceptionally poor. Whether this is done deliberately, I don’t know. Either that, or they are really bad at English. Either way, this is a red flag!
Why? Because if you, or someone you know, receives a random Facebook message or Instagram DM (direct message) from a strange person who uses poor grammar or compliments you on your physical body, then you should be alarmed. They’re either a creepy stranger, stalker, or dangerous trafficker.
What should you do if this happens? Flag their profile on Facebook (or block them on instagram). Then report it to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline 1-888-373-7888. You can also report it by filling out an online form at the following website: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/report-trafficking
Do you have a personal story, or do you know someone that wants to share their experience?Contact us so we can spread awareness about human trafficking abuse and abduction in the United States! Our email is SkepticalWorld@gmail.com
So how can we tell if the black woman in the picture below is a victim of human trafficking and slavery? We may never know for sure, however look closely and 
