Source: Christian Headlines, August 7, 2018
Crystal Allen was found by a postal worker [in Sacramento, California] when she escaped her trafficker’s vehicle on June 8. The 16-year-old was found hiding behind a bush, sobbing, according to Ivan Crisostomo:
“I hear this crying, this really bad crying. So, I went around behind this large, bush-like thing, [a] large tree, and saw this young lady,” he told KCRA 3 [a local television station]. “The girl kept saying, ‘They are coming to get me. They are coming to get me.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, nobody is going to get you. I’m here for you.’”
Allen was reportedly lured from her group home by a friend into the hands of the captors. KCRA 3 reports, “She was held captive for three months. During that time, she was drugged, beaten, and sexually assaulted.” Allen had been unable to escape, stating that she was often tied to chairs and that there were guard dogs on the premises and people who prevented her (and others) from leaving.
When she was found by Crisostomo, Allen was “in a panic,” according to the postal worker. He eventually persuaded Allen to call her mother and tell her she was all right:
“She was frantic. I didn’t know what was going on,” Allen’s mother said, “I couldn’t even understand her she was so upset and that’s when I told her she had to reach out to someone for safety and she gave the phone to Ivan and he instantly kicked into gear and told me that he would save my daughter.”
» Read full story and pray for this young woman and others like her.
» Did you know Sunday, September 23 is Anti-Human Trafficking Day of Prayer? Learn more or download materials (Salvation Army of Canada).
» See also Is Tbilisi the New Capital for Iranian Sex Workers? (Iran Wire).