SAN ANTONIO – The 12 year-old-girl at the heart of an San Antonio human trafficking case involving seven men was first reported as a runaway to the Heidi Search Center, according to Kate Shields, its executive director.
"I'm so glad there's been arrests and possible convictions and that she's getting help," Shields said.
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According to the arrest warrant affidavit for 61-year-old Ernesto Elizondo, the child's alleged pimp, the girl had run away from home in 2008. Besides Elizondo, six other men in their twenties and thirties also charged with sexual assault were arrested in early November.
"Unfortunately, it sounds just about the same as every other missing female juvenile we have," Shields said.
Chris Burchell, the founder of Texas Anti-Trafficking of Persons, said based on his past experience with the Human Trafficking Task Force at the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the average age of young girls in forced prostitution is 12 to 13 years old.
"It's not isolated. It's very prevalent," Burchell said.
As a result, he said there are now numerous websites that serve as helpful resources for the public and law enforcement, plus a national toll-free hotline, 1-888-373-7888.
Burchell said prior to 2007, Texas did not have a human trafficking law, yet now prosecutions are on the rise.
"It's always been there but now people are beginning to look beneath the surface. They're beginning to identify this," he said.
Much like the arrests in the case of the 12-year-old girl, Burchell said, "It's a criminal enterprise just like the drug business."
Shields said what allegedly happened to that child, "really makes you think about how many other children have had to go through when she went through and how we should take this seriously."
For more information on fighting human trafficking, please click here.