Police Respond To Reports Of Sex Trafficking Gang In Minnesota
Sometimes you look through social media and find stories shared that are so disturbing, that you do a double-take to on just where this story is coming from.
That's what happened to me today when a Facebook friend shared an extremely scary story from another source that made me instantly want to warn every woman I know.
I also realize a lot of stories like this turn out to be fake, often being circulated year after year in different communities that think it's something new and something 100% true. That's unfortunate because it could make people ignore an actual incident that needs immediate attention.
A Scary Story Involving Duluth Sex Trafficking Circulates On Social Media
I'm not sure where it originally came from, but the Facebook post a friend of mine shared the morning of Tuesday, August 27, originally came from Christina Dodson, who said she only saw it on a "Duluth page" but didn't know anyone involved.
Her post tells the story that a daughter's friend was in the east end area of Duluth, near her home, and at about 7:00 p.m. as she was getting into her car, an 11-year-old boy came to the car and asked her to roll down the window. That made her feel "weird" so she only rolled her window down a little.
The boy told her he felt unsafe and that he needed a ride. She had a lot of questions and the longer she took to learn more about the situation, the more impatient he got. She ultimately refused and said she'd call the police to give him a safe ride. Upon hearing that, the boy got very angry and demanded a ride. She called 911 and he ran away.
The story goes on to say that the police did find the little boy and he had a knife and mace and was planning on spraying her and hitting her. The story goes on to say that the boy also told police that he was in a sex trafficking gang in Duluth and they had been watching her daily routine and were going to kidnap the 19-year-old woman and make her a sex slave.
As I read this, I was obviously concerned, but I also wanted to scrutinize the story and do a little more digging on just where it originated and if the authorities or an official human trafficking organization were acknowledging the incident and responding.
Later, in the day, the Duluth Police Department acknowledged they had heard the report, done an investigation, and they issued a response.
The Duluth Police Department Responds To Human Sex Trafficking Report
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Duluth Police Department made a post on its Facebook page regarding what had been circulating on social media.
Duluth Police did confirm that there had been a 911 call referencing a juvenile boy knocking on a vehicle window, which was originally dispatched as a child neglect call.
However, that is the only part of the story that matches up as upon arrival, responding officers did not locate the child, knife, or mace as the social media post author stated.
Therefore, Duluth Police Department investigators have determined that the post is inaccurate and there is not any factual evidence to support the statements made on social media.
After posting their response, some people responded that they agreed it seemed like a scary story created using the smallest fact, the 911 call, to scare people in the community. Others wanted more answers, like why didn't they look harder for the boy and see if the mace or knife that he allegedly had could be located.
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My only issue with that is the story says the boy talked to the police and had those items on him as he admitted to being in a sex trafficking gang in Duluth. However, the police say they never even talked to any juvenile so that doesn't hold up.
Sadly, sex trafficking is an issue in the country. The National Human Trafficking Hotline says that since its inception in 2007, it has identified 100,891 cases of human trafficking. 197,000 victims were identified in these cases.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is available 24/7 and people can reach out to get help in several ways:
- Call: 1-888-373-7888
- TTY: 711
- Text* 233733
You can also get help online, report a tip, and get more information through the National Human Trafficking Hotline website.
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