Mark Millican: Kids should never, ever do this

Published 7:45 am Monday, July 10, 2023

The timing felt right. As I was driving to pick up some young men to help me do some scraping and painting at the church, a special guest was welcomed onto the nonprofit WMBW (88.9 FM) radio station broadcast out of Chattanooga. My ears pricked up as Dave Worland of theknoble.com began talking about how predators are luring children into what is called “sextortion.”

Worland explained that kids are approached in online chat rooms and game rooms by an adult pretending to be a child or teenager. The actual adult befriends the child, and since a photo is never shared of the older person, the kid doesn’t realize he’s being sucked into a trap.

As time goes on chatting and/or gaming together, trust is cultivated. The predator, who is not looking for a sexual encounter — at least at this point — will “innocently” gather information about the child which may include address, phone numbers, other media platforms they’re on and where they attend school.

Then the predator talks the child into doing something stupid, something they should never, ever do — parents and grandparents take note and be prepared to talk about this — and that is to take a photo of themselves without their clothes on and send it to them. If they do, the trap is sprung.

At this point, the adult reveals himself or herself and tells the child if they don’t send money, say $200, they will post the photo online on his or her school’s media page and also tell their parents. Of course, the child freaks out and begins to think about how they can get that much money, usually by stealing from their parent(s). and that’s just the beginning; some kids are actually forced into the sex trade to keep their indiscretion a secret. Several children have killed themselves as a result of this sextortion, Worland said.

“It’s not as if (kids) have been abducted, but they’ve been groomed into this,” he explained. “(And) when they do that (share a photo), they’re stuck … (the predators are) master manipulators.”

Worland suggests also visiting the website ourkidsarentforsale.org. He noted every law enforcement agency in 95 counties in Tennessee has reports of human trafficking, and that Chattanooga is the number two city in the Southeast for human trafficking because of its interstate system. What about Georgia? We already know that Atlanta is the number one city in the South and a hub for human trafficking.

Last week, I watched the movie “Sound of Freedom” that was playing in Ellijay and other theaters around the country. By now, most moviegoers and other adults who spend time online know the film is about the human trafficking of children for sexual crimes by adults. Based on the true story of a U.S. Homeland Security agent who quit his job — 10 months before his retirement pension was validated — to rescue children in a South American country, the movie tells the story of the kidnapping of minors as young as 6 years old without getting into the graphic outcomes we can easily infer.

“Sound of Freedom” is a powerful statement about child sex trafficking, the fastest-growing illicit business in the world. Human trafficking in general takes in $150 billion to $200 billion a year, outpacing illegal drugs and the international weapons trade.

Worland said all 95 counties in the Volunteer State have reported cases of human trafficking, and 69% of the tips received by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation involve minors. Worldwide, more than 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery, including sex trafficking, according to the United Nations.

Worland and the work of many others in The Knoble organization have a four-prong approach: fighting human trafficking, child exploitation, scams and elder abuse.

“We mobilize the financial service industry and law enforcement and get them working together,” he said, noting the organization mobilized 30 banks to combat human trafficking around the Super Bowl earlier this year.

What can citizens do locally? Worland offered these tips:

• Use your money wisely. Buy clothes that are not being produced by forced labor. Be a smart consumer; organizations have spotlighted this area on websites. The U.S. Department of Labor is a good starting point — dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods, with downloads for phones, computers or paper.

• Be a voice in your community about human trafficking; teach yourself by visiting sites associated with the movie “Sound of Freedom” and others on the subject.

• Ask legislators, and get bankers to ask their corporate offices, what they’re doing about addressing human trafficking.

After picking up one of the younger men the other week, I told him I needed to talk to him about something. He immediately paid attention when he recognized the seriousness of my tone, and I relayed the information and revelations that were just aired.

Never befriend someone online you do not know, I advised, in a chat room or gaming room. Do not trust anyone who tells you they’re your same age or close in age; in fact, don’t give out any personal information to anyone you don’t know.

And never, ever send a photo of yourself — naked or otherwise — to anyone over the internet. According to Worland, workers in the sextortion trade actually infiltrate communities and neighborhoods and secretly develop profiles of the kids they want to entrap.

The youngster was listening intently. I hope other kids will, too; that is, if responsible adults will take the time to warn them.