48 Hours - "48 Hours" Live to Tell: Trafficked

Episode Date: April 1, 2018

A 15-year-old runs away in search of love only to be held captive by a sex trafficker.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. I was searching for something, but I didn't know what I was searching for. I just wanted to be free. I don't remember being popular when I was growing up, but I always got good grades. I was really nice and sweet as a child.

But we had problems at home. There has to be something else, something better than living like this. I'm just going to run away. The first couple of times Alyssa's run away, you know, we would get in the car, we would drive around. I have no idea where she is. I was terrified. Is she in the dumpster or is she in that trash bag on the side of the road? And will I ever see her again?

I was a naive 15-year-old. I didn't know the streets, so I didn't know the bad things that came with it. I just thought that it would be fun, you know, maybe party, maybe drink, but I never would have been prepared for what really happened. I would describe Alyssa when I first met her as afraid, as cautious. Her experiences were Experiences were some of the most violent, the most traumatic that I've seen. My everyday life was laying there, naked, beaten, and allowing guys to come and pay $10, $20 to do whatever they wanted to me.

She was being forced to do it. We're talking about buying and selling children for sex acts. How many men? 50, over the course of two weeks. It never crossed my mind in my wildest dreams that my child was involved in human trafficking. Our first witness today is Mr. Ashton Kutcher. As part of my anti-trafficking work, I've met victims in Russia, in India, victims in New York, in New Jersey, and all across our country. I have a hard time talking about this issue without being emotional.

I've been on FBI raids where I've seen things that no person should ever see. Why this cause? I was just so appalled. If you don't do something about it, then who are you? It can happen to anyone. Traffickers prey on people, and they know exactly what's going to turn their trigger. These traffickers made me feel like I was loved. You know, I was running from something and I was running to love and acceptance. She believed these men until they were actively

hurting her. I didn't want to die. You know, I saw some light at the end of the tunnel and I just knew, like, I had to get out of this situation. I had to live through this and that's when it got real. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching

nobody going to report it people will get away with what they can get away with. girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet. A brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans. Discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're

going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Whenever I'm over on the side of town, I kind of feel chills in my body. Alyssa Beck, now 23, never imagined she would become a victim of child sex trafficking. It brings back a lot of memories. But this is not just Alyssa's story. The sex trafficking of children is a nationwide problem.

It's why every year the FBI launches Operation Cross Country, a vast sting operation to rescue children. You're okay, all right? You're not in trouble. This is FBI video. This past year alone, in just four days, the FBI recovered 84 children and arrested 120 alleged sex traffickers. I mean, they're predators. They find a vulnerability and they jump on it. Special Agent Courtney Harrison is a member of Jacksonville's Human Trafficking Task Force.

Florida is a hotspot, and Courtney sees the work of sex traffickers every day. They manipulate people. They're very greedy, self-indulgent. They brag about, look at the money, look at, you know, I'm enslaving these girls, is a quote that we got from one of our pimps. And she says they target troubled girls with low self-esteem, girls just like Alyssa. Alyssa grew up in a middle-class family, the third of four children. She was a good student, but in her early teens, she started breaking her parents' rules by hanging out with boys and staying out late. Part of it was me being a rebellious teenager

and honestly really just being a child. But also because my father and mother, they had problems of their own. My father did used to drink, and that just caused a lot of problems with the whole family. Her life was not what she wanted. Shannon Schott is a juvenile justice expert and Alyssa's lawyer. She was seeing a family situation between her mother and her father.

Her father, who was drinking and was verbally abusive and just a very hard person to live with. Things came to a head in March of 2008 when Alyssa was 13 years old. She and her older sister were caught sneaking a boy into their room late at night. I mean, we were just hanging out. It was very innocent, nothing going on. But she says her father became enraged. As punishment, he hit them with a belt. Police were called, and social services investigated the incident. In the report, Alyssa's father admitted that he spanked the girls, but he did not beat them. He also stated he drinks, but he does not discipline the children when drinking.

Alyssa's mom, Heather, says she and her husband may not have been perfect parents, but they were not abusive. We were very young parents. I think we were just doing what we thought was the best that we could. In the end, the investigation concluded there were no indicators of family violence. But Alyssa says she no longer felt loved or safe at home. So now I just have to leave the house. I'm just gonna run away. That's what started it all. run away. That's what started it all. At first, Alyssa ran away for just days at a time, mostly staying with friends. Gradually,

she stayed away longer. This went on for nearly a year. It was emotionally torturous. I had no idea where to turn for help. Alyssa just was looking for something better. The grass is always greener. She was a teenager. She was, you know, making some choices that weren't the best choices. Alyssa started experimenting with drinking and drugs. Then when she was 14, she got caught giving a police officer a false name, a criminal offense. I gave them a false name because I didn't want to get caught, you know, and I would just, I didn't want to go home. When notified by police, Heather says she was desperate and went along with the recommendation to have her daughter arrested. I was told that since Alyssa was a continual runaway,

if I had her arrested for providing a false name, she would be able to receive additional services. Alyssa was sent to a juvenile treatment facility and received counseling for substance abuse. At the time, Heather was confident that this would be a good choice. Was it a mistake? Absolutely. Heather, like many parents, had no idea sex traffickers often prey on troubled children at these facilities. The juvenile justice system's intention is to rehabilitate your kids.

But if you have a child who needs counseling and who needs help because they've been through some serious trauma, they're going to probably find worse friends. And sure enough, one month into her stay, Alyssa met a 17-year-old girl who would change her life. I mean, this girl, she was just powerful. That's what I wanted to be. You know, I wanted to have a voice and stand out.

So I remember one day, she was just talking about these places to go and how much fun she used to have outside of this rehab setting. And she then asked me and another girl if we wanted to run away. And without thinking, I was just like, yeah, let's do it. So they took off and the girl from the juvenile facility led them to Jacksonville's Sin City, a dangerous crime-ridden area with a lot of motels you rent by the hour. I remember going to that area and just having this weird feeling, you know, it was just so, it was dark and it was intimidating, scary, cold and different. And it was here that Alyssa quickly learned that the older girl was not who she thought she was.

She told us, hey, I'm a prostitute. You know, I heard about prostitution and stuff like that in movies, but I don't think I still understood what prostitution was. The girl was like, either you're going to work for us or you're going to leave. So me and the other girl were like, oh, well, don't worry about it. We'll just go. But she didn't just go. Fearing she would be arrested for fleeing the juvenile rehab facility, Alyssa says she was too scared to leave, too scared to go home, and too scared to ask for help. I still can't go home. I don't want to go to jail or I don't want to get arrested. So I decided to stay. Alyssa didn't know it yet, but she'd walked right into a trap.

trap. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list.

She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free At 15 years old, I never even heard of sex trafficking. But the trap was already set. The young woman Alyssa had run away with introduced her to a series of men. They let her stay with them in seedy motels and apartments.

Alyssa didn't know it, but she was being groomed by traffickers. I thought these guys were my boyfriends. They were nice, sweet, kind. They gave me food. They gave me the clothes that I needed, the hair stuff, the makeup, and they made me feel pretty. Everything that was missing in my life, they supplied to me.

It's easy to get tricked, and that's what traffickers are masters at. LaWanda Revorah works with girls who have been trafficked. It's tricking girls into believing that they are their friend, that they care about them, and particularly when there's trouble at home, you're now in a space that feels safe. After living on the streets for about two weeks, Alyssa was introduced to Ian Sean Gordon,

a 28-year-old unemployed father of two. I thought that Sean was a good guy. He was fun. But prosecutor Mack Heavener says Gordon had a criminal record. To him, she's just an income flow. He saw Alyssa as a commodity. The moment he saw Alyssa and saw what she needed, he said, I'm going to make a lot of money off of this girl. And just days after meeting Gordon, he became violent.

I remember him just really brutally beating me and raping me. I was staring at him because I was so scared that he was going to keep beating me. And he ended up coming and shoving a pillow over my face and he's like don't look at me you can't look at me you can't look at me and then he started taking pictures of me and I heard him starting to call people and telling them hey I have this girl here you can come do whatever you want to her just for $20 for $20. I remember trying to fight back. I tried kicking him and that only made it worse.

It made it really bad then. Sorry, I feel sick. It's not uncommon for sex traffickers to use violence to compel their victims to do things. Ian Sean Gordon would hit her repeatedly. He would take all of her clothes and leave her in a hotel room naked in between customers to basically prevent her from running away and escaping. Alyssa says Gordon also tied her to the bed, and besides the daily beatings, he threatened to harm her family. He had her convinced that he had been staking her out, knew all about her, knew all about her family, and that things would happen to her family if she didn't comply with what

he said. It's a form of terror. It very much was. He mentally frightened me into believing that if I tried to run, I was going to go to jail, I was going to die, or he was going to kill my family. I was just living in so much fear that I didn't even think escaping was an option. In addition to controlling her with fear, Gordon also fed Alyssa drugs, a trick that Heavener says traffickers often use. They know that that pain and the addiction can force their victims into providing more

services in order to get their fix. I do remember just men coming in. At one point, I was laying on the bed completely naked, because that's how I always stayed, and opening my eyes and just seeing a blur of a man on top of me and just saying, like, no, no, get off of me. And just being so high and trying to remove myself from my own body so that I wouldn't feel the pain and the hands of these dirty men and what they were doing to me. It was here at this motel, the Regency Inn, and many others like it, where authorities believe that over a course of two weeks, Alyssa was raped by dozens of men. Men that could be anyone's father, anyone's uncle, anyone's cousin,

brother. And Alyssa says she was even bought by a pastor. If I ever thought there was a God at that point, I completely, I just completely lost faith in anything that I ever thought was real. But in her darkest days, there was one person who kept her going. I remember one time I was there and it was after a really bad beating and rape. I remember sitting there and thinking about my little brother. And I just remember thinking about my brother's smile and just thinking about his innocence. And after about two weeks of being held captive, Alyssa says she somehow summoned the strength to escape.

When Gordon wasn't around, she bolted, barely dressed, but she didn't get far. Next thing you know, this thing comes behind me and grabs me by my hair, and this thing was Sean. He came and grabbed me and started dragging me, and I started screaming to the top of my lungs. I remember him looking at me and just telling me, like, you're going to die today. I was, like, paralyzed in fear. Like, that fear was holding me down. Like, I was restrained to, like, a metal black chair. Gordon threw her into his car, and when the car was stopped, she attempted to escape once more. I took my seatbelt off, and I ran down this expressway,

beaten, bloody. At that point, I think I passed out. I guess some people would say I was free at that point. But that really only started the journey. But that really only started the journey. To see more FBI arrests of alleged sex traffickers, join us on Facebook at 48 Hours. When Alyssa came to not far from the highway, Ian Sean Gordon was nowhere to be found. Not knowing where to go, Alyssa made her way back to the Regency Inn and called her mother for help. And I picked up the phone and she said, Mom, I need help.

And I just said, you know, well, where are you? I will come get you. Where are you? Heather raced to the motel and called police, not knowing what Alyssa had been through. And I just said, I need help. Alyssa was coming down from drugs. She was so shattered, she was not able to articulate or even comprehend the magnitude of what had happened to her. I just had endured rape after rape after beating after beating and no food. My hygiene was probably terrible at that point. I just looked like death. But at the time, the only thing she reported to police was that Ian Sean Gordon had raped her. She characterized herself as a prostitute because that's how she saw herself then.

People labeled me as promiscuous, bad girl, prostitute, criminal, juvenile, delinquent. And you know, after hearing that so many times, I started believing it myself. Alyssa was briefly treated at a hospital, but she was also placed under arrest. Remember, Alyssa had violated her probation by running from that court-ordered rehab. So she was sent to a lockdown juvenile detention center. They didn't treat me like a victim.

I was just like another criminal in their eyes. Ian Sean Gordon was brought in for questioning by police. At first, he spun a story that Alyssa was a willing participant. Ian Sean Gordon is telling law enforcement, hey, it was consensual. She wanted to do this. I'm not a part of this at all. So the whole narrative of the report is written from the perspective of she wanted this. No mention of the fact that she was probably 90 pounds soaking wet, five foot tall,

and was 15 years old. But given her age and condition, Alyssa's case raised red flags. Federal prosecutor Mac Heavener and his investigator, Detective Richard True, were called in. Hey, Richard. Hey. They were part of Jacksonville's Human Trafficking Task Force, which was just getting off the ground.

And they had a very different opinion about what happened because they knew what was going on. They were aware of how bad this problem was becoming in the United States. True, a former vice squad cop was pioneering a new approach to dealing with sex trafficking victims. Pretty much back in the day, I was out there. It was our job to pick up as many girls in a shift as we possibly could. Your job was to make arrests.

But he says it was his former partner, FBI agent Eileen Jacob, who has since passed away, who taught him another side. What was the other side? What was the side that Vice Squad wasn't getting? These girls don't choose to be there. You got to hear their story. I just thought it was my fault and I got myself into this situation because I ran away and if I was never that rebellious, this wouldn't have happened to me. Within days of hearing Alyssa's story, Eileen and Richard were the ones to gently tell her that, in fact, she had been sex trafficked.

Eileen was the first one that really tried to convince me, like, Alyssa, you're a victim. You know, you never asked these men to do these things to you. And even though you made these mistakes, you did not deserve this. Alyssa was transferred from the detention center to another juvenile rehab facility. And as difficult as it was, she soon told investigators every detail she remembered about what had happened to her. Alyssa had such a vivid recollection and such a detailed memory of what had happened. She gave us the map, so to speak, to go create cases against these people. So much so that prosecutor Matt Kevener took a risk. So much so that prosecutor Mack Hevener took a risk.

Not only was the task force going to go after Ian Sean Gordon, but they were going to be one of the first in the country to go after some of the customers who bought Alyssa. For us, it was very important to send that message that we're going to go after both sides of this crime because both individuals, the trafficker and the customer, are what's required to exploit sexually a child like this. By the summer of 2010, Operation Abandoned Hope led to the arrest of seven people who were involved in buying or trafficking Alyssa, including the mastermind, Ian Sean Gordon. Sex trafficking of the nature alleged in this operation was tantamount to slavery. Gordon and five others pled guilty to sex trafficking

or related charges. One was convicted of producing child pornography for filming Alyssa. Essentially, you had, what, seven defendants? Yes. From a single victim? Yes. That doesn't happen very often, does it?

No, it doesn't. And I think we had this based on her ability to remember vividly everything that she had been through, every encounter, every place, what people drove, what they wore, and we put it all together. Alyssa had to relive the trauma over and over again as she sat through the many sentencing hearings. Her mother made sure she attended each of them with her. I think it was important for her to know that I was her mother and I was never going to leave her side. When it was time for Ian Sean Gordon to be sentenced,

Alyssa found her voice. I remember strongly getting up there and, like, fiercely reading this poem in front of the whole courtroom. He had me think my life was made but in reality I was just his sex slave. Brainwashed into believing but it was God I was deceiving. I was no longer a human. I was a product for this man. I was his walking contraband. I remember feeling on top of the world after I read that poem because that was like my closing to him. That was the last thing that I was ever going to say to him. And while Alyssa waited to

find out Gordon's fate, actor and activist Ashton Kutcher was on a mission of his own, developing software to rescue sex trafficking victims. These victims find safety in someone, anyone, anywhere that will show what they think is love. will show what they think is love. To learn how to spot the signs that a child is being trafficked, join us online at 48hours.com. Selling a 15-year-old girl is bad enough, but he did so much more than that. Ian Sean Gordon's life was now in the hands of Judge Marcia Morales Howard. She could sentence him to as little as 15 years and as much as life in prison. He beat her. He raped her.

prison. He beat her. He raped her. And I just did not believe that any human being who thought that it was okay to do that had any hope of redemption. A life sentence was it was the only sentence. Life in prison, one of the first ever life sentences given to a trafficker in this country. The sentence spoke to the brutality and the violence and the complete and utter lack of respect for human life. She was alive, but in many ways he destroyed her. I'm an actor. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do something.

Actor and tech entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher is determined to stop the destruction caused by sex traffickers. Are you a slave? It was back in 2009 that he and Demi Moore watched news reports about child sex slaves and were so horrified they founded an organization that is now called THORN. What we do at our core is we build technology to help fight the sexual exploitation of children. Kutcher knew that tech was a tool of traffickers and that THORN had to focus on internet sites like Backpage.com where sex traffickers had advertised children for sale. If you look at the places where these people are sold online, it's right next to a car

or a sofa or a used bicycle. So he gathered a team of experts with one goal in mind, to identify and find victims quickly. You can roll up your sleeves and go try to be like a hero and save one person. Or you can build a tool that allows one person to save a lot of people. And while the tech tool was in development... There's a mental health issue that happens when you have that kind of trauma. ...Kutcher was also raising awareness about the severe mental manipulation victims suffer at the hands of their traffickers. Here's a brand new Gucci belt, but you need to turn ten tricks today or I'm going to beat the hands of their traffickers. Here's a brand-new Gucci belt,

but you need to turn 10 tricks today, or I'm gonna beat the out of you. Here's a place to live and some food today. Oh, now you're addicted to drugs, so I got your next fix for you, but you got to go turn 10 to 20 tricks. I want to show you one of our kids. Her name's Alyssa.

She was 15 years old when she was trafficked. Kutcher never met Alyssa, but her story is all too familiar. It's a very complicated psychological problem. And the emotional fallout from trafficking can be overwhelming. When Alyssa finally returned home to her family, her story didn't end there. First, I had really bad nightmares, flashbacks, and it was really hard just to sleep without thinking that I was going to get woken up by him beating me or wake up with somebody on top of me. In February of 2011, Alyssa, who was now 16 years old, was crushed by shame and self-blame

and started running away again. I still don't think I completely understood the aftermath of the trafficking. This time she was placed into foster care and ended up stealing money from her friend's mother. I thought, oh my God, not again. At that point, I just had given up. Alyssa was charged with theft, tried as a juvenile, and found guilty. While she awaited her sentence, knowing she was facing up to a year behind bars, Alyssa was placed in yet another rehab facility. ALYSSA HODGE, I didn't want to go to jail, and I wouldn't have done anything to keep from going to jail. And that's when this man, Gregory Hodge, trolling the area for girls, approached her

during a walk one day. GRIGORY HODGE, He was like, hey, what are you doing? Do you want to make some money? He offered her a job in what he told her was a legitimate massage business. Alyssa jumped at the chance. Alyssa was a very broken and vulnerable person, and I think that she just wanted to believe the lies of Gregory Hodge, and she wanted to believe that he really was going to do everything he said he would,

give her a place to stay, give her a job, give her power. And she didn't want to be locked in a cage. So that was the better option. But Hodge uploaded photos of her to Backpage.com, and she ended up right back on drugs and in the sex trafficking trap. People often ask, how does a girl end up in the same situation after getting out? Getting lured back into the world is something trafficking expert LaWanda Revoris sees happen to girls all the time. Elissa began to see herself as unworthy, as this must be where I belong.

I don't belong with regular people. When people ask why didn't she leave, I don't know if there's really a right answer for it, but I do know that I physically, mentally, and emotionally felt like I couldn't leave. Even if I thought it was the right thing, I just couldn't. And then the beating started. I remember him slapping me and hitting me. I remember getting up and running out of the front door and him chasing after me.

She feared for her life with him. She did. She really did. She managed to outrun Hodge and, in desperation, called this man, Louis Wingard, another criminal she knew from the streets. Alyssa says she believed he would protect her. He was more of like a father figure to her. He was promising her, I'm going to get retribution for you. Angry and hurt, Alyssa decided to fight back.

Hodge had her money and all of her belongings. So on August 30th, 2011, she, Wingard, and two of his associates set out to get Hodge. They jumped him in his car. But before Alyssa knew it, the plan spun out of control. Gregory Hodge was duct-taped and put in the back of his trunk. They all drove to Hodge's home looking for money. A relative was there watching Hodge's 8-year-old daughter. They had to tie her up and put her into the closet.

As much as I didn't like Gregory Hodge and what he did to me, I didn't want anyone to get hurt or feel the pain that I felt. They grabbed some valuables and fled, leaving everyone tied up. Police were tipped off. All were eventually arrested, and this time, Alyssa was charged as an adult, facing six felonies, including kidnapping and carjacking. including kidnapping and carjacking. It was really sad. Sad because I just didn't know when I would ever not see my daughter through glass.

When Shannon Schott learned Alyssa was in trouble again, she knew it would be an uphill battle to help her. Alyssa was caught in a cruel cycle. Shannon took the case pro bono. I knew that she was looking at life in prison, and I couldn't imagine, and I still can't, imagine being 16 years old and facing life in prison. As for Gregory Hodge, he too was arrested for his role in this whole complicated episode.

He would eventually plead guilty to trafficking Alyssa. His defense was that he had just wanted girls to do massages. He didn't know they were doing additional things. So he was ignorant to the whole situation. Claimed to be. And the fact that she was underage? He also claimed he thought she was 18. Judge Marcia Morales Howard didn't buy Hodge's defense.

She believed he knew exactly what he was doing. He explained that he needed the money. He wanted to take care of his child. I was pretty horrified by the idea that in order to provide for his own young daughter, he thought it was okay to sell another man's daughter. I couldn't accept that, and I told him that. And his sentence was an effort to reflect that. She sentenced him to 13 years in prison. Louis Wingard, who had a long list of other charges from his past, received two life

sentences. Alyssa was in an adult jail, isolated from other inmates for her own protection. Her case dragged on and on. She hit rock bottom. She went to jail. She sat alone for a really long time. And as she sat alone with nowhere to run, she says she had an epiphany. And I just wanted to help people. Like, I wanted to do something differently.

Like, the battle will be won if I just don't give up. That transformation, how big of a deal is that? Maybe as big as I've ever seen. With a renewed sense of hope, Alyssa, while in jail, got her high school degree and vowed to prevent others from following in her footsteps by giving talks to troubled kids. Even when she was staring down life in prison, she was helping others. And if she could believe that she had a future

not behind bars, then I could believe that too. While Shannon was still working to resolve Alyssa's case in Florida, across the country in California, Ashton Kutcher and his team at Thorne had a breakthrough. In 2013, they created Spotlight, a confidential software that had the potential to transform the way law enforcement finds victims. Quietly, authorities began testing it. We basically take a victim that otherwise is just a posting online

and we turn them into a human being. And then we take that and connect them with someone that can help. In July of 2014, after three years in jail, Alyssa was released on bond. She would later plead no contest to her charges of kidnapping, carjacking, and burglary. She was sentenced to time served and two years probation. She was given a second chance. I couldn't believe it. I was elated. It was definitely hard

work, faith that paid off. When Alyssa came to us, the greatest barrier was helping her to know that she could trust us. Alyssa was referred to the Dolores Barr Weaver Policy Center, run by LaWanda Revorra. There, she finally embraced the counseling she so desperately needed. Very early on, we saw her grow so quickly in this safe environment. Today, Alyssa works at the center as an advocacy specialist. So today, I stand in front of you as a fierce, independent, courageous, and brave, as people say, advocate. She's confident. She's strong. When she's out there advocating for others, I'm very proud.

Detective True and his new partner, Special Agent Courtney Harrison, continue to be on the front lines. Can you give me a few minutes to get there? They now use Spotlight, the software developed by Thorne. Spotlight is used by some 6,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. And it's working. We're identifying five victims a day. And our algorithms are getting better.

We're getting smarter. We're getting smarter. We're getting the tool in more people's hands. On this day, undercover agents have found a girl who has been trafficked, but she's too fearful to cooperate just yet. We'll just have to give her time. She's willing to talk. That door hasn't closed. And just like their mentor, FBI agent Eileen Jacob, taught them,

they live by one motto. We never, ever give up on these girls. Alyssa says she's grateful they never gave up on her. And today, she has extra motivation to keep moving forward. After a brief relationship, Alyssa is now a mother. She's my world and she depends on me and I will never let her down. She lives with her sister and visits her parents regularly. And I think part of me does what I do for her because I want her to see what a strong, independent woman

is. Even though I went through all the terrible things that I went through, I want her to know that you have a choice and it's never too late to turn your life around. For more information about Thorne, go to www.wearethorne.org If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.