A new study released this week by the National Center for Young Law finds child sex traffickers target California foster children and now state officials plan to act immediately to improve protection.
This comes as no surprise to retired U.S. Marine Ty Ritter, who with his volunteer squad of Navy Seals, Green Beret and Marine Recon Special Forces team retrieves child victims from all over the world.
“We rescue children, who have been kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery,” explained Founder Ty Ritter, PROJECT CHILD SAVE. “A few years ago, I was working for a high profile individual when his friend’s daughter was kidnapped and I got very, very lucky and brought her back. But I couldn’t have done without our team, they make me look good,” he said. “That’s how we got started.”
The study - Ending Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Call for Multi-System Collaboration in California found thatL
Worldwide, human trafficking is a $32 billion industry, involving 100,000 children in the U.S. The FBI has determined that three of the nation's 30 High Intensity Child Prostitution areas are located in California. Studies estimate that between 50 and 80 percent of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) are or were formally involved with the child welfare system.
“Unlike the way we parents grew up, it’s a whole new world out there and parents need to take extra precaution with their children,” explained Ritter, who insists the Internet has made it easier for child snatchers. “Don’t close the door when your child is Online, and those Nanny Nets don’t work.”
The new report on child stealing was authored by Fellow and Attorney Kate Walker, at the National Center said, "Every day, the unthinkable happens: thousands of America's children are coerced into performing sex for hire," she said.
“Exploitation can start as young as age ten,” Said Walker. “Some exploited children are brutally beaten and raped. Others are isolated, drugged, and starved until they become ‘willing’ participants. Yet, these children are regularly arrested and held in juvenile detention facilities even though they are victims of crime.”
Four of the report's key recommendations spotlight the urgent need for:
1. Safe, secure and specialized homes for exploited children and children at risk
2. New screening tools to help professionals working with children identify both victims and children at risk
3. Special training for "child serving professionals" and systems to identify and support vulnerable children
4. Increased data collection and information sharing to promote collaboration across systems and raise public awareness
The report offers several solutions of expediting response time, protection and agency collaboration. The Report will be presented at the Child Welfare Council's quarterly meeting on March 6th at the Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco.
Project Child Save is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping prevent child abductions and kidnapping through education and public awareness campaigns.
“When these heinous acts are perpetrated against our children, Project Child Save, through it's international network, finds these abducted innocents who have been taken against their will and sold into slavery, and retrieves them, returning them to their loved ones," said Ritter.
Every year thousands of children are taken from their homes and sold into sexual slavery. Most of these children are teens or pre-teens, and few ever make it back to their families.
Ritter said the reason is simple - money. “Slavery is a lucrative business, and the cost of rescuing abductees is beyond the means of most. Average families can't afford these costs, so they remain helpless as their loss overshadows the rest of their lives. We leave no child behind, and it’s usually more than one, too.”
Tyler has written a complete child protection handbook for parents entitled, "My Body is My Own." His incredible true story of world class heroes has been produced into a documentary, "Kidnap & Rescue" and aired on the Discovery Channel Ritter urges all parents to contact the Discovery Channel and ask that it be rescheduled broadcast for again.
For on Ty Ritter and his nonprofit visit: ProjectChildSave.org.
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