BEAUMONT, Texas — The Federal Bureau of Investigation Beaumont is currently investigating 1,600 active cases across the United States.
FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Nicole Sinegar says in the digital age, the youth are more inclined to be lured into pimp culture.
"From the rap songs, and videos, they like the idea of someone giving them gifts," she said.
Selling the dream is how human trafficking perpetrators entice their victims into a life of sexual slavery.
Unfortunately, many offenders target children and teens who are just looking for love, affection or even a friend.
"They are our most vulnerable population," Sinegar said.
In the age of social media and video game chat rooms, it has become easier for a stranger to effortlessly walk into a child’s life.
Sinegar says a pimp can exploits a teens vulnerabilities without them realizing it.
"They take different vulnerability like depression, mental health, even individuals who were never told they were beautiful and they post that on social media," Sinegar said. “Someone will see it and say hey that’s someone who is suffering from low self-esteem let me tell them they’re attractive and see if I can work my way in."
Texas ranks among the worst two states in the country for calls to the national human trafficking hotline, just behind California.
“This is a very top priority by the FBI, especially when a child is involved," Sinegar said.
43% of victims knew their abusers, according to an analysis by the Human Trafficking Institute.
Contrary to what everyone sees in movies, or what many believe, abuse has many faces.
“We had a case out of Houston where young children were recruiting their peers to engage in sex trafficking for the pimp, in addition to the children in that school, the lunch lady was in on this particular scheme," Sinegar said.
A large percentage of perpetrators are family members, boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses.
Even when a victim can be rescued, Agent Sinegar says many hesitate to testify against their abuser because of who that person is.
“The psychological damage that he had made on these women was beyond comprehension, and even with the beatings and restriction of food they were still loyal to him," Sinegar said.
Program Director Demi Schlageter with the Harvest House in Beaumont says many victims think they're in love with their perpetrator and they're willing to protect them at all costs.
The Harvest House is committed to ending child sex trafficking in Southeast Texas.
“We really wanna help build them up, to eventually become their own advocate, because perpetrators can disguise themselves as someone who is safe, someone who is looking out for them," Schlageter said.
Harvest House helps survivors build back their self-esteem, but Schlageter says it's the community that can help prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.
"If you have a relationship with anybody, really the goal should be to be a safe person, and to speak up when something looks off," Schlageter said.
Agent Sinegar stresses that parents should look beyond the surface because not everything is what it seems.
“Educate early, and be mindful of who they associate with, and just make sure you give your children love and let them know that they are a light and that they’re beautiful," Sinegar said.
Sinegar says many of the FBI's trafficking ring busts have come from community tips, when someone saw something strange in the street or at school and reported it.