Oklahoma Predators Use Online Channels To Lure Victims

Sex trafficking is a growing problem and Oklahoma is not immune. It targets the vulnerable -- including children. Policing it has become even more challenging over the past few years, as the traffickers have now gone high tech.

"Down the street you'd see lots of people out, girls, pimps, tons of johns," said Brian Bates, an anti-trafficking advocate with John TV in Oklahoma City.

Once a hub for prostitution and sex trafficking, Bates says Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City sees little action these days.

"For a very long time, prostitution was done out in the open," he said.

The day we went out with him, we saw only one girl get picked up. However, Bates says don't be deceived by the empty street corners.

"Those corners now have moved and those corners now are internet websites and they're the social media sites and they're the apps that we allow our children to carry on those smartphones that we give them," he said.

Those sites are where pimps can advertise their prostitutes.

"The pimps can literally sit at home now and start up conversations on all these social media platforms with 10, or 15 or 20 different girls and they only need one or two to fall for it," he said.

Once they do, the paycheck for the pimps is endless.

"It's much easier to traffic humans than it is a kilo of drugs," said Dr. Kirsten Havig, an Assistant Professor at the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work. "You can sell a human over and over again so the profits there are astronomical."

Mike Snowden with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says in the past three and a half years, they've made 367 arrests, only 26 of those were for human trafficking. In the majority of those cases, the pimps and victims are from Oklahoma.

"We see a lot of local girls who are taken advantage of by local guys," Snowden said. "For whatever reason she has separated herself from her parents, from her family and she meets this guy, originally he may pretend to be her boyfriend and the next thing you know he's got her working in prostitution in motel rooms in Oklahoma."

Oklahoma City Police Department's Vice Unit averages two human trafficking arrests per month. Both agencies work undercover and rely on tips.

"It's not as simple as answering the phone and somebody say 'oh there's a human trafficker at 123 Main Street and we just go find them," Snowden said. "These are investigations and a lot of our investigations turn out there was no evidence of human trafficking."

Because not all prostitutes are victims of sex trafficking, some chose the way of life. However, as long as the demand is out there, the problem will continue to lurk in the shadows.

"There are people, mostly men willing to pay for sex and often sex with a child," said Havig.

Parents or guardians should keep a close eye on their children's activity on social media sites. Authorities also say if you see something that doesn't seem right - a child where they shouldn't be, or with an adult that you don't believe to be their parent or relative, you should report it.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sex trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center by phone at 1-888-373-7888 or text BeFree (233733).

Learn more about human trafficking in Oklahoma here.