Letter: Stand against sexual crimes and sex trafficking
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” The late Steve Jobs made this statement at some point in his life. It was quoted in the movie I saw recently, The Sound of Freedom, which opened last week on the Independence Day Holiday, a day celebrating our nation’s freedom where people gather with family and friends and watch the beautiful display of fireworks in the night sky. I’m writing this on July 8th, and on this same day in 1776, the Liberty Bell rang out for citizens to gather and hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. However, the sound of freedom exists way beyond the booms of fireworks on July 4th or the Liberty Bell ringing out. There’s another sound of freedom that is much more precious and valuable. If you want to know what this true sound of freedom sounds like, I encourage you to take time to see this movie which is currently in theaters. It’s based on a true story and it’s the story this generation needs to hear.
For a free country, we sure do have a lot of slavery. Not the slavery that people are open to discussing and referencing regularly, but the uglier kind that no one wants to acknowledge. I’m not discounting our country or the world’s historical slavery, which is awful, but I do want to draw your attention to the fact that there is modern-day slavery that we as a nation have closed our eyes to.
What if I told you that our free country is the largest consumer of child pornography in the world and one of the leading countries in production? Mexico, our nation’s neighbor, is the leading producer. What if I told you that there are approximately two million children in the child trafficking industry, with over 1.2 million of them being child sex trafficking victims every year? While all of those victims are not all within our country, we have a worldwide problem. Those children aren’t free. They are slaves. What are we doing to save them? This country seems quite divided on a lot of issues, but this should be a cause that unites us and one that we should all be taking action to end. Let’s not dance around the issue or ignore it because it seems too hard to talk about. Let’s call it out, the exploitation and rape of innocent children.
Of course, some media outlets are trying to make this political and taking this opportunity to portray that this movie is about a conspiracy theory. Those same articles don’t even bother to tell their readers what the statistics are for child sex trafficking or human trafficking as a whole. They don’t attempt to investigate how prevalent the problem actually is or to tell the story of a survivor. They don’t talk to law enforcement involved with the arrests and convictions. They are telling their audience what to think instead of providing them with facts and additional information for the readers to research and form their own conclusions.
The movie is based on a true story of a former government agent, Tim Ballard, who witnessed horrific crimes against children and left his job not just to catch more criminal pedophiles but he wanted to do more to rescue the children. While some details aren’t exact, just like any true story movie due to time constraints and theatrical effect, the story it focuses on is an actual case. It happened. It is continuing to happen every day in all parts of the world. For some in the media to act like this is some big conspiracy is very misleading, and I question their motives. The children being held captive and abused do not deserve for this to be dismissed.
Just in case you see those biased news articles and may question the authenticity of the movie and pretend the problem the movie shines a light on isn’t that bad, can I remind you that here in our small community where many people know a good portion of the population, that we have had five arrests and some convictions within the last few months for crimes against children. FIVE that are all recent in our little area! Links to the articles are below.
Additionally, I doubt I need to remind anyone about the cases that have made national and worldwide news, like Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly, Larry Nasar, and others. I’ve seen three news articles just this week of child sexual assault and possible trafficking taking place across the country in Tennessee, New Mexico, and California. Also, recall the famous fashion design company that was called out publicly towards the end of 2022 for an ad that contained a printout of an actual court case on child pornography as a prop under one of their really expensive purses as well as some with children posing alongside wine glasses and teddy bear backpacks that were wearing sexual fetish gear. The company apologized and pulled the ads after a very large public outcry, but how did those ads get on the street in the first place? Who were they marketing to, and what message were they sending? If the public had not pushed back, those ads would likely still be out there right now.
Pedophilia and sexual crimes against children have always existed, but with cell phones providing the ability to take photos or videos at all times, the internet and instant access to anything, and a worldwide connection, the problem is much worse than in the past. I’m sure you’ve also seen articles about how some social media companies promote accounts that share child sexual abuse. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/07/instagram-promotes-accounts-sharing-child-sex-abuse-content-research.html. Why didn’t any of those biased new articles about the movie mention any of these stories?
After reading all of the recent news, watching the movie, and seeing the article about Jasper Police and Prosecutors Office joining the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Indiana taskforce, it made me realize I could take at least one small action and use the gift that God has given me to not be a silent bystander. Through writing and other means, God has helped me find my voice over the last several years. These children who are being sold as slaves and whose voices have been silenced need ALL of our VOICES, AND our HANDS and FEET.
When I say the United States is the largest consumer, this means that our country provides the biggest demand that allows this crime to continue. There are varying levels of crimes against children, from viewing child pornography online to raping or selling a child for sex, but all of them are evil. If there were no demand to view this kind of material, and no money to be made, then the statistics wouldn’t be as high, and there would be no victims. The human trafficking industry (which includes sex, labor, forced marriage, etc.) has surpassed the illegal arms industry and is rivaling the drug trafficking enterprise. Drugs are sold and consumed once. Sadly, a child and any sexually exploitative videos or pictures taken can be repeatedly sold on the black market. For more statistics about human trafficking and for myths versus facts, go to https://polarisproject.org/.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the Jasper Police Department, Indiana State Police, local Prosecutor’s Office, Child Services, local Judges and juries, and all who have been involved in the arrest and convictions of local child predators mentioned above and additional actions you are taking to find the criminals. Your service to our community and, ultimately these children does not go unnoticed. Thank you also to our local news organizations, Dubois County Free Press and The Herald for keeping us informed. While it is difficult to see and read these articles more frequently, I am glad to know that there has been a lot of hard work put toward these crimes and to make people aware this is happening in our own backyard. While I realize these local cases are not necessarily linked to trafficking, I know those in Jasper and all surrounding areas would echo my gratitude for the work you are putting into cases and forming partnerships across organizations with the same goal, to catch the criminals exploiting and abusing children at whatever levels they exist.
After you go see the movie, I want to draw your attention to an interview done by Dr. Jordan Peterson with both Tim Ballard and Jim Cavaziel (the actor that plays Tim Ballard) discussing this issue. Dr. Peterson, a Clinical Psychologist, describes how ordinary men delve into the unthinkable, committing evil violent acts towards the most innocent, God’s children, along with other criminal masterminds that choose other types of victims. He explains it is a result of 1,000 micro lies over time that leads to self-deception, rationalization, and an inhumanity that he says is a “collaborative venture with satan.”
On the same day, but before I sat down to write this, I drove past a local business, and their marquee message fit perfectly with this concept which was another confirmation to me that I had to write about this. It said, “When temptation rings your doorbell, don’t invite it to dinner.” I believe, along with others of faith, that there is good and evil, and there is a spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of humanity…if these disgusting acts against children do not make this reality obvious to you, I’m not sure what will. In another interview, I listened to recently, the director and one of the actors in the movie, Alejandro Monteverde, worded it nicely when someone challenged him to become a director so he could choose the stories that were told instead of being controlled by the film industry only as an actor she told him “You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”
After encouraging one of my friends to go see the movie, she said, “I have girls; it’s so hard to watch those things.” To be clear, these crimes also happen to boys, but the majority of victims statistically are girls. However, crimes against boys are more underreported. Also worth noting is that a lot of child sexual abuse or even child sex trafficking occurs within families or from someone close to the family or other trusted authority figures. I agree with my friend, it is hard to acknowledge, see (the movie is rated PG-13 and doesn’t show anything graphic) and accept, but as Jim Cavaziel portrays in the movie and what Tim Ballard has said drew him to rescue children, this is part of what calls us to action along with a prompting by the Holy Spirit. We must look at these children in the darkest pit of humanity as if they were our own. What would you do if it were your own child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew, or a friend’s child?
After going to see this movie, if you would like to receive more information about this issue, there will be a free (donations welcome) Anti and Counter Sex Trafficking Course open to the community held in Jasper on Thursday evenings in September. If you are interested in attending and learning more, hearing personal stories from survivors, and actions you can take, contact my friend Kelly at (812) 582-1669 by Aug 1st to register.
Even if you are not able to attend the informational sessions, one of the most important actions you can take now is to PRAY for the rescue and healing of these children, the organizations around the world involved with both the rescue and mental/physical/spiritual health work, and our local officials involved with arrest and convictions, but don’t stop there. I encourage you during that time of prayer to ask God what your next step should be. Be patient and trust, He will direct your steps (Proverbs 20:24).
Marisa Durcholz, Jasper
