Instead, the trafficker – a long-time member
of a notorious and well known gang – forces the young girl into the commercial
sex trade the very next day. For more
than 3 months, he will hold her captive, coercing her to have sex for money
multiple times a day at a variety of businesses, homes, apartments and hotels.
Across the U.S., in another city, 4
girls who are 13 and 17 with disabilities are befriended by some men and
thereafter lured to a house. Some of them are gang raped and all are then
trafficked.  Meanwhile, in another city,  a
girl gets into an argument with her mother and leaves her residence. The girl
sees a young couple who she knows and agrees to get into their car. They then take this girl, who also
has mental health issues and has gone off her medications, and force her to
work as a prostitute 24 hours a day including on her  birthday.

These exploiters who are called “guerilla pimps,” kidnap girls
on the street who look vulnerable. There are also “Romeo pimps,” who pretend to
romance victims before exploiting the young child.

When asked, most people will associate slavery with what has
happened in the past. However, there
are more people in some form of slavery today worldwide than at any time in
human history.

And these victims of modern day slavery have often ended up as
witnesses in our criminal justice system. Young
and afraid, the child will sit with a prosecutor who notices the
child’s  black eyes and bruises which the
child tries to cover up by their clothing. The child may not even look at us as
we try to interview them. But often when we ask if the defendant caused their
injuries, the child will say no but their eyes will start to water. And although this child sits with a
child advocate and is clutching onto a new toy close to their chest, the child
has been manipulated into compliance, isolation and fear by their exploiter. The child’s self esteem is low or non-existent. They
have been told that they are a “throwaway child” i.e. that they are worth
nothing “as no one wants them”. Very often
the child has runaway from physical or sexual abuse within their family and
feels that there is little or no social safety net for them. If you’ve had
unsafe people around you when you’re growing up, you don’t necessarily know
what safe people would be like, or how to recognize it. These children try to
survive on the streets the best way they can and often trade sex for food,
drugs, money, or a place to stay.

The child sitting in a prosecutor’s office may also be from a
affluent family but feel unloved by members of their family. The Defendant may be one of the first person’s in their
life who has paid attention to the
child and made them feel good or beautiful.

The child may also be uncooperative and not even recognize
themselves as victims. While clutching their toy,
the child may look at you with fear as they have been brainwashed into
viewing law enforcement and adult service providers as their enemy. They believe that they must protect
their exploiter and their commercial sexual enterprise as that is the only
“family” the child has known.

And assuming that the child is cooperative and we have filed
charges against the exploiter, we often see members of the public who do not understand that the child is a
victim. Prosecutors have been known to be discussing a trafficking case with a
defense counsel who will argue that we should know that our victim is a
“prostitute” at which point we will lean over,
and looking them straight in the eye, point out that they should know
that the child was only 12. But it is apparent that the attorney may never see
this young survivor as just a victimized child.

So we prepare for trial building our case by corroborating the
victim where we can by gathering witnesses, motel records, phone records,
computer records, photos, and medical records which may show prior injuries as
well as DNA as it is common for exploiters to have sex with their victims. If we find the victim and
exploiter’s DNA at the location where
the child states the exploiter kept them, or on implements or tools, it can
help prove physical or sexual abuse in our criminal case.

And once we are before a jury,
we must be aware that potential jurors may also believe that they cannot
trust the child as a witness as the juror believes that the juror would have
gotten away or fought off the predator. Jurors do not understand the coercion,
violence and fear that has resulted in a small injured child huddling in a
chair in the corner of our office trying to find some safety in a otherwise
dangerous world. The child is scared to testify in court, face their exploiter
and “tell on” someone that they know has a gun or other weapon which they have
used on the child repeatedly in the past. Finally,
jurors may not understand the physical injuries which may have resulted
in brain trauma or the emotional scars which will alter how a child reacts to
events or how they even recall it. It is our job to educate the public and the
jurors about what the child has endured and to appreciate the courage that it
took the child to live through and survive such abuse.

And as a prosecutor, you also know that simply filing charges
against these predators without providing additional services to the victim is
not going to work. It is our job to try to get the child individual attention
and special services or they will be victimized again. It is our job to perhaps
be the first advocate that the child may have known and to do everything in our
power to begin the healing process and path to recovery for the child. Our
reward? That will always be a hug and a thank you from the child after the
trial is over”.

About Linda
Witong: Full biography. President of Soroptimist International of Marin County,
California, Linda served as a deputy district attorney in Marin County, California
from 1979 to 2011. She litigated hundreds of criminal cases and also acted
as the Felony Expediter from 1991-2011. As a Felony Expediter, her responsibilities
included evaluating felony cases regarding what charges, if any, should
be filed with the Court as well as making any offers regarding the disposition
of those cases. As a prosecutor, she also endorsed and upheld laws to
protect women and children who were victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault,
Trafficking, Elder Abuse, Child Abuse, Molestation, Fraud and Homicide. A
strong advocate for offender accountability and justice for the Community,
Linda advocated for victim’s rights legislation, victim’s services, and
counseling and rehabilitation for offenders who are responsive to such an option.

In 2012, Linda became the Criminal Apprehension Team for Cold Case
Homicides (CATCH) team creator and coordinator and presently investigates
unresolved homicide cases for local police agencies and consults on active
investigations. Her awards include a Commendation by the Joseph Naso Trial
Team for her contributions to the prosecution of that serial killer as well as commendations
from the community of Marin and a Outstanding Prosecutor of Marin
County Award in 1996. Linda
has received continuing education in the area of DNA investigation, Forensic
Evidence, Cold Case Investigation by NCIS and Homeland Security and the
California District Attorney’s Association, child abduction, Homicide investigations,
Elder Abuse and the investigation of Human Trafficking. She is presently
a member of the California State Bar Association, California District  Attorney’s
Association,California Homicide Investigators Association and
serves on the Legislative Advocacy Committee for her region.
She has also served as a NGO delegate to the United Nations for Soroptimist
International. In addition, to being a member of the Marin County Anti-Trafficking
Coalition, Linda is on the Board of the United States National Committee of UN Women-San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.