A man called the hotline from Toledo, OH after his 14-year-old niece had run away from home.  The niece had experienced sexual abuse in the past, and the man was concerned that she might be in trouble.  After speaking with his niece’s teacher, he learned that she may be involved in commercial sex under the control of a potential pimp.  The teacher had spoken with multiple students in the niece’s high school who indicated that the niece had an older boyfriend who sometimes picked her up from school.  The students also directed the teacher to multiple postings advertising the niece for commercial sex on Backpage.com. The postings claimed the niece was an adult.  After trying unsuccessfully to contact his niece via cell phone, the man contacted the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline for advice on how to help his niece. The NHTRC reported the information to a federal anti-trafficking task force. The man called the hotline back a few days later to report that his niece had contacted him from a payphone, since the pimp monitored the niece’s cell phone. Law enforcement was called and the niece was picked up at the payphone and brought back to her home safely.  With the help of the task force and local service providers, the potential victim is currently safe and receiving services, and the pimp has been arrested.

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