Newell’s mother, Lisa Brant, didn’t like the idea, but after weeks of lobbying by her daughter, Brant met with the girl and the man she said was her father to make sure her daughter would be safe.īut the girl’s “father” was really a convicted felon, and the girl, who had a record of prostitution in Texas, was an accomplice in the abduction. She’s gone public to warn other girls about how easy it is to be kidnapped and trafficked.Ī typical 16-year-old in a middle-class home in suburban Pensacola, Fla., Newell’s nightmare began innocently enough: A new friend she had met in high school asked her to come to her home for a sleepover. Thanks to her mother and Klaas’ organization, which organized a search for her, she was rescued after three days. So we find this situation where we find these young victims, these young girls that all of a sudden are being treated and looked upon as criminals.”Īt least in that regard, Newell was fortunate when she was abducted two years ago. But what happens is when they’re trafficked, they’re turned into hookers they’re turned into prostitutes. “First of all, many of these kids are missing children. When they are forced into prostitution, the young people are the ones who are prosecuted, Klaas told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Thursday in New York.
Like Newell, many are treated by law enforcement authorities as runaways, said Marc Klaas, who founded the advocacy group KlaasKids after his own 12-year-old daughter was abducted, raped and killed.
You have scarred me for the rest of my life and you're just sitting there going on with your life like nothing is wrong.”Īs shocking as Newell’s story is, it is not unique, TODAY’s Natalie Morales said Thursday in a special report entitled “Sex Slaves in the Suburbs.” Advocates for girls and young women who are forced into prostitution by people who approach them in various ways, including on the Internet, claim that thousands of American youths are victims of human traffickers. Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case to hear evidence from the boy.“I went out to the beach a few weeks ago and I saw the dude who raped me, and he just looked at me,” Newell told NBC News, her voice choking. The man told the psychologist: “I’m not that kind of person and I’m disgusted with myself. However, the psychologist added that he found no evidence of any interest in paedophilia. He said a report from a forensic clinical psychologist found the man to be immature and introverted and that he has difficulty recognising his bisexuality. She added he is deeply ashamed of what had happened and is willing to accept any punishment that came his way.Ĭolm Smyth, defending, said his client is from a very respectable family who is shocked by what had happened. The accused man’s sister gave evidence that, up until this incident, her family never knew he was homosexual. In a later interview with gardaí, the man admitted that when the boy answered the door to him, he thought he was aged “16 or 17”. The boy’s mother came home unexpectedly and witnessed the sexual encounter. The garda said that when the boy was interviewed by specialist interviewers, he claimed that the man forced him to give him oral sex. Garda Malcolm Hooks told the court that while the boy’s Gaydar profile said he was aged 19, another part of his profile read: “I’m not a porn star, I’m a 13-year-old.” The offence occurred on April 13th, 2015. The man has appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to the defilement of a child under the age of 15 years. The man, who was aged 30 at the time, arranged to travel to the boy’s home. The boy downloaded the Gaydar app and put up a profile of himself claiming to be 19.Ī man contacted the child a short time later and was told the boy’s mother would be out for two hours.