Call for action after Milwaukee teen lured to Chicago by sex trafficker
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A call for action after a Milwaukee teen is recovering. She disappeared more than a month ago and her mother says she’s a victim of sex trafficking.
Executive Director Jarrett Luckett with the organization Exploit No More works to prevent Milwaukee area sex trafficking and helps victims.
“It happens all the time, all the time,” Luckett said.
He unfortunately wasn’t surprised to see social media led 16-year-old Armoni Chambers to being trafficked miles away.
“That individual on the other end not being who they said they were; manipulation, deception,” Luckett said.
Chambers disappeared on May 17 when she met a man on social media who lured her to Chicago. The man beat her for two weeks before she escaped. But, Chambers was then picked up by two more men who beat and raped her before a disturbing video surfaced on social media. The video shows the teen presumably on drugs while two men assault her and talk about putting her in a dog cage. That video helped her mother and community activist Tory Lowe to finally finding her this week. Lowe worked with community activists in Chicago who helped find the men who had Chambers, and convinced them to let her go.
“They are our children, they depend on us and sick people are taking advantage of them,” Chamber’s Mother Bonnie Bruno said.
Latest numbers from the Medical College of Wisconsin found from 2013-2016 340 people in Milwaukee were victims of sex trafficking, but experts believe the number could be much higher.
“It could happen to anyone, not just a runaway kid, not just a 16 year old, not just an intercity girl, this issue is a statewide issue,” Luckett said.
With teenagers on summer break, Luckett says parents should monitor who they’re talking to online, meet their friends in person and look out for older or overbearing men.
“Know the signs, it may seem small but that's a massive thing,” Luckett said.
As for Chamber’s mother, she’s thankful to have her daughter back in her arms.
“She told me 'Mom if you hadn't gotten me away from those people, I wouldn't be alive',” her mother said. “That was hard for me to hear.”
Chicago Police along with the FBI Trafficking force are investigating this case. They haven’t made any arrests yet.
You can find more resources from Exploit No More here. The organization will also head to classrooms and other locations to talk about warning signs, contact them here.