Alana* struggled to believe in her worth. Like many teenage girls, she had difficulty with her mental health.
When depression and anxiety erode your sense of worthiness, it can be impossible to feel that you deserve protection. The thought process can sound like: it doesn’t matter what happens to me. My life, my body, are worthless anyway.
That kind of mindset may have made Alana look extra vulnerable to the predatory man who found her.
Lucas* was charming. He knew exactly how to exploit the tender places in Alana’s heart. What promises he offered, what enticing lies he told, only Lucas and Alana know for certain. But one way or another, he successfully led her far from home.
Alana found herself in an abandoned house in Paraguay, far south of her home in Brazil. Lucas trapped her there. In the darkness of that old building, reality seemed to confirm what Alana had always suspected: she was worthless, only there to be used.
But her family refused to accept that.
They reported the situation to Brazilian law enforcement, who immediately deployed methods they’d developed with support from training they’d received from The Exodus Road. Those tactics allowed police to pinpoint the location of the house in Paraguay where Alana was being abused. Brazilian law enforcement collaborated with Paraguayan officials to retrieve her.
Alana was returned to her family, who wrapped their arms around her with joy. It’s difficult for her to believe, but it’s true: Alana is worthwhile, and wanted.
Social services are providing Alana with counseling and care as she recovers from her ordeal.
For law enforcement, the case is a sobering reminder of how many hurting girls like Alana are being groomed and trafficked. Because of the vital cyber forensics technology and trianing that The Exodus Road has equipped them with, investigators can continue finding these young women and bringing them home to the safety they deserve.
*Names and images representative
