Thursday, July 24th 2014, 6:52 pm
An Oklahoma City man charged with sex trafficking is behind bars Thursday night, and yet it seems one of his alleged victims is now 'working' to set him free. It is an example of one of the sad and shocking realities to emerge in the wake of a recent nationwide human trafficking sting.
It's a covert operation. The FBI and Oklahoma City Police go undercover to rescue children from sexual slavery.
Two teenagers were pulled from the streets last month in Operation Cross Country. Nearly 50 prostitutes, pimps, and their associates were arrested.
“The unfortunate reality is, despite all of the efforts that are put forth by law enforcement to separate the victim from her victimizer, in many cases these victims will fight tooth and nail to be reunited with their predator,” said Brian Bates, of JohnTV.com.
Anti-prostitution activist Brian Bates points to 25-year-old Kylan Gilmore's case. Gilmore is accused of driving a 17-year-old girl to meet the undercover officers for sex.
Even while Gilmore is being held on human trafficking charges, it appears he still has a hold over the teenage victim.
“We literally have a teenage a girl, who, because of her arrest and her pimp's arrest, she now has a second chance. But instead she's posting on social media that she's literally prostituting and victimizing herself so that she can raise $10,000 so that she can bail her human trafficker out of jail,” said Bates.
Dr. Lori Bassey with No Boundaries International, a non-profit working to stop the sexual exploitation of women, says most human trafficking victim are in similar psychological despair.
"That chain that's wrapped around the brain and around their heart, is what'll keep them going back and returning," Bassey said.
No Boundaries wants to keep that from happening and hope to get to Gilmore's victim before he does.
“In reality they're just a victim, they don't know anything else, and they need help breaking out of that cycle,” said Bassey.
Gilmore is currently being held in the Oklahoma County Jail on a $100,000 bond. Charges are pending against a second man arrested for trafficking a minor.
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