Victims' Stories

Victoria's Story

a victim's story: 3rd in a series

The name and photo have been changed to protect the innocent and because of the seriousness of the crime…

I met Victoria 4 years ago. Because of all she had been through she was not talking or communicating with anyone. I was asked to meet with her to see if I could help her to begin talking again.  Here’s what happened: When Victoria was 10 years old she was out walking with some friends. One of her friends led them out to a field where there were gang members. She had no idea her friend was associated with a gang. 

The gang singled Victoria out, kidnapped her then gang raped her for close to a month.  When they were tired of her, they “pimped” her out on the streets and took the money she earned for sex. This went on for about a year. On the streets she met another girl about the same age who she knew from school. She was being prostituted just like Victoria.  They both talked about what was going on, and had the courage to go to the police.  

During the time between contacting the police and the trial, both their houses were assaulted.  Unfortunately for Victoria’s friend, she was killed by the many shots fired into her house.  Victoria was not at home when her house was shot up. Out of fear she came to a shelter and that’s how I met her. I talked with her several times. It was amazing that she talked at all, and amazing that she told me her story. 

When Victoria accepted Christ as her Savior, her entire countenance changed. She smiled and began talking with others in the shelter. Before I left , she gave me permission to tell her story.

The next time I returned to the shelter, she was no longer there and no one knew where she had gone. There are 1,000’s of stories just like this one.  This is one of the reasons God has called me to help these children who can no longer help themselves. Thin Blue Line Ministry Int’l has a mission: to create a safe haven for abused and trafficked children.  

On the Front Lines
Ken Hodgeson
President TBLM Int’l


Maria's Story

a victim's story

(names have been changed)

It's been 6 months, yet I cannot get my mind off the little girl in Honduras. She is in second grade. The government asked me to visit several communities in dire need. One of these communities is located way up in the mountains of Honduras. The parents of the children make a living by selling garbage. Daily they sift through trash trying to find things to sell. The government built a school so the children could learn, have somewhere to go during the day. Well, I had no idea what I was walking into. On top of being asked to speak to a class of second and third graders, I was asked by the police and the teacher to deal with two molestation cases. After school, we drove to Maria's (not her real name) home and confronted the father. I'd already counseled with Maria who drew me pictures of what was being done by her father and uncles. He met us holding a machete, no shirt, and very upset. It was a bad situation because I had seven police officers with me and two of them were looking for any excuse to use their weapons. In the one-bedroom dirt floor house, the heat was stifling; and the smoke from the fire was not helpful. My time with the dad was more like an interrogation session and after two grueling hours of discussions with him; tension began to build on both sides. I had been given the authority by the government to go and assess the situation and do what I could do, So I could not allow anything to go wrong or I would be held accountable.

Now here's where I got stuck. The best thing that I could do for Maria at that moment was leave her with the person who has been raping her and allowing others to do the same. The only places available for Maria and children like her are a state run institution or prison. The police told me in both places she would be abused even more than she was. Walking away from her was tragic.

In reading about Maria, I hope you might be able to understand the deep agony and the darkness that children like her live in. Daily we work to meet the needs of children like Maria.

Anna's Story

a victim's story

(names have been changed)

Anna first came into my life eight years ago. She had been rescued from what they call a gang (which is really organized crime). The gangs in Honduras can actually be referred to as organized crime. They are organized because they have a structure that I can kind of explain to you. The bottom of organized crime are the guys that make things happen. They can be as young as eleven to early 20's. They are the ones that are the gang "members" or gang "associates." The next level are people that would be more like the working man or woman. They organize the house to keep kids, they know where to pick them up and deliver them etc. The next level are the people that know two things: where the kids are and how to get hold of the adults who want the kids. They are the "hook-up" people. Then, they are the ones that turn it into organized crime, the big hitters. These are the people with the money to keep an organization going. They are the ones who collect the profits (usually 100% profit). These people are usually way up in society like a high socialite, a senator, or high ranking official etc. I have just given you an incomplete picture of organized crime.

About eight years ago I saw her first in a police vehicle. She was being transported from a holding house (a holding house is where the traffickers imprison the children) to a safe place. In the process of being transported, I was able to spend some time talking with her through a translator. I had about 45 minutes to an hour the first time I talked with her. She was taken to a safe house where she could shower, eat and begin the process of medical checks and detoxing from whatever drugs they put her on. My next time with her was strange for both of us because she was talking to an American male (a white guy) and she was just rescued from the man who had purchased her for sex, he was also a white guy. That's part of the strangeness and difficulty that she was experiencing. For me it was being willing to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually enter into her world. Prior to actually entering into her world I had no idea what I was getting into. I knew at some point she would begin to trust me and put me in another difficult spot. There was going to be a lot of things that I would hear and see that my mind would not know how to process. That's where I trust in the 30 years I've had of crisis counseling and the schooling I've received. It's also where I take that step of faith and know in my heart that Jesus was with her during her entire time and He knows, therefore I can know. He has answers and if I can stay in the circle of God, I can have answers. But even with all that I know the chances of her life ever being successful are very slim. There is only one program in Honduras that I'm aware of, called Covenant House – that offers her a chance. Covenant house is run by an older guy I have come to love and know in a deep way because we can relate at such a deep level on issues that are unspeakable. This young girl Anna never made it to the one place she could have gotten help. She ended up in a place kind of like a psych ward. It's really where they put children when they don't know where to put them. They are basically locked up. I've been in all of these places and at this time, I'm not going to take the opportunity to talk about them, but they are there!

I saw Anna two times after the initial meeting at the police car. Eventually she returned to the streets. Since returning to the streets, I have lost contact with her. If she's alive, she's living at the bottom of the barrel. When I'm in a third world, the bottom of the barrel isn't the american bottom of the barrel. Their barrel goes much deeper and is much darker, and there are more people in it. Which gives the barrel either a power that is real or it just feels more powerful than the bottom of the barrel in the U.S.A. There are so many more people in that barrel and so few things to get them out. So my hope is that one day I will run into Anna. Since then I have met literally hundreds and hundreds of Anna's. In the future, you'll be hearing more and more about the "Anna's" that I have come to know.

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