STREET. LOUIS – Two recent sex trafficking raids, one at the Renaissance Hotel in April 2023 and another at River City Casino last February, reveal a pattern.

The hotel case involved teenagers missing from foster homes in Texas. The casino case involved a minor who had been living in a group home for children.

Cindy Malott of Crisis Aid International told us, “The national statistics really reflect what we see in St. Louis, which is that approximately 78% to 80% of trafficking survivors have spent time in foster care.” , adoptive care or residential placement.

Crisis Aid has offices in many area police departments where it offers support to victims. On Friday he held an “Empowering Action” seminar inside Mercy Hospital. He focused on knowing what to look for and how to intervene. Police officers, medical professionals and service providers attended.

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Malott said: “I don’t think it’s too invasive to say, ‘Are you okay? Are you safe? Do you need something?’”

Retired Sgt. Adam Kavanaugh added: “You have to look outside that bubble because there are people who need help.”

Kavanaugh warned not to intervene if someone in danger is around other people. He said you shouldn’t hesitate to call the police if something feels wrong.

Kavanaugh said, “You don’t want to put yourself in a dangerous position by intervening when the trafficker or someone might be there with that person. “You are putting yourself in danger, but you could also be putting the victim in danger.”

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Crisis Aid’s Cynthia Hamilton added that the fight doesn’t end when someone is rescued. She told us that they will need help learning to be independent.

“Create opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have,” he said. “It is very easy for a trafficking survivor to be revictimized if they do not meet just their basic needs.”

Kavanaugh adds that there are no limits, as he said: “Years ago I lived in the Wildwood area and my daughter’s friend was being trafficked. She also lived in Wildwood, so she could be someone from Wildwood. It could be someone from a country town. We’ve had them from Sikeston and also from these small communities, so it’s not always important to not want to get involved until it’s a member of your family.”

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