QC Family Focus: October 2014

Mike Mickle
QC Family Focus Magazine
It’s a subject, we’d prefer not to discuss. For some,
it’s almost unimaginable. For many, the heart of America
is the last place they’d expect to find human trafficking.
It’s here and our year-long investigation proves it.
The team from Mickle Communications traveled to
six states in the heartland. We worked with the Iowa
Attorney General’s Office and the head of the Human
Trafficking Task Force for the Iowa State Police. We
also traveled to Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
and Minnesota. We spoke with survivors, including a
young Iowa woman, named Brittany who was trafficked
out of a Cedar Rapids grocery store when she was 14.
She spent months in captivity, forced to do what her
captors told her to do. “They took my pants off and
beat me with a belt until I couldn’t sit. They posted my
picture on the internet.”
Brittany’s story is unfortunately not uncommon.
That’s why Mike Ferjak with the Iowa Attorney
General’s office spends much of his time working on
trafficking cases with law enforcement agencies from
around the United States. As Mr. Ferjak explains,
“These girls are enslaved. They are for all intents and
purposes no longer free to do anything except what the
trafficker tells them to do.”
We spoke with survivors from Kansas, Missouri
and Minnesota. Many are forming safe homes for
survivors or non-profits aimed at ending the horrors
of trafficking. We also attended a safe children’s
conference in Oklahoma City, spoke with the head of
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and even
visited a safe home sponsored by the faith-based
community.
Adam Decamp in the head of the Human
Trafficking Task Force for the Iowa State Police.
Even he had a hard time believing it was true. “I
would have never guessed it would be in Iowa. If
I were not in the position I am in now, I wouldn’t
believe it existed.” Decamp sees it all too often now.
It’s impossible to ignore. Trafficking is a 39 - 52
billion dollar a year industry. Staggering numbers
based on a horrific crime that targets the most
vulnerable.
A popular website for traffickers and pedophiles
is broken down by state and you don’t have to search
long until you find dozens of ads exploiting children,
women and in some cases men. Even more chilling?
These ads are broken down into communities and
yes, the Quad Cities is one of the metro areas with its
own page.
Adam Decamp puts it bluntly, “It’s not a big
city problem. It’s not happening in someone else’s
area. It’s happening in small town Iowa.”
Editor’s note: Our documentary
is currently in post-production
and we hope to announce where
it will be seen soon. Meanwhile,
click on the link below or scan the
qr code to watch our trailer for
Human Trafficking in the Heartland.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/
UCP0ZE6TBulgBtNc-9kLJM0Q
24 October 2014 - QC Family Focus