{"id":587255,"date":"2021-07-09T15:20:40","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T19:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=587255"},"modified":"2021-07-09T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T19:20:45","slug":"how-many-more-can-we-get-out-inside-the-frontline-battle-to-end-child-sex-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-many-more-can-we-get-out-inside-the-frontline-battle-to-end-child-sex-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How Many More Can We Get Out?\u2019: Inside The Frontline Battle To End Child Sex Trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-many-more-can-we-get-out-inside-the-frontline-battle-to-end-child-sex-trafficking%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=587255&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/06_25_2021_Candace_ep16_BTS_6266-scaled-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Every year, it\u2019s estimated that over two million children are subjugated to a $150 billion, worldwide sex slavery industry \u2014 and Americans are providing the demand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tim Ballard is the founder and president of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ourrescue.org\/\"><span>Operation Underground Railroad<\/span><\/a><span> \u2014 an organization which mobilizes operatives to rescue children held by global sex traffickers. Ballard is a former Department of Homeland Security special agent who worked with the United States Sex Tourism Jump Team. In 2019, he was tapped to serve on President Trump\u2019s Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After discussing his work on the latest episode of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/show\/candace\"><span>Candace<\/span><\/a><span>, Ballard sat down with The Daily Wire to shed more light on the global child sex trafficking crisis \u2014 and what Americans can do to end it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cHow many more can we get out?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>At first, Ballard was extremely hesitant to spend his life fighting sex trafficking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI trained my whole life, I trained throughout my education to fight terrorism and drug smugglers. That was my dream since I was 18 years old, and I did everything I could to get to that place,\u201d he recounted. \u201cI was on the border as a federal agent \u2014 a special agent undercover operator, crawling through tunnels and super excited about that work. And in my first year, I get called into the office and get told \u2018We\u2019re gonna open up a child crimes unit.\u2019 I was like, \u2018No, I can\u2019t do this. This is too dark.\u2019 I don\u2019t even know what it is, right? And so I told them no, I wouldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was Ballard\u2019s wife, Katherine, who ultimately changed his mind: \u201cShe said to me, for the very reason I thought we couldn\u2019t do this \u2014 because we have children \u2014 is exactly why we need to do this. And we understand what a childhood is supposed to be. So I gave it a shot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard spent several years working on cases involving child exploitation material cases, including child rape videos. As he explained: \u201cIt was a thousand times worse than my mind could conjure up.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard considered quitting. However, Customs and Border Protection apprehended a van in 2006 that was trafficking a five-year-old boy who Ballard had previously seen in a child exploitation video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSo it was the first time I saw an actual child that was a victim of child exploitation material,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd at one point in that first night, this little boy ran up to me and hugged me and said, \u2018I don\u2019t belong here.\u2019 And it just melted me. I was sobbing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The boy gave Ballard a necklace inscribed with the verse reference for 1 Timothy 6:11 \u2014 \u201cBut as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.\u201d According to Ballard: \u201cIt was almost their rosary, like \u2018This is what\u2019s gonna save us, God\u2019s gonna save us.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Also in 2006, the United States passed the the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which made it possible for federal agents to travel overseas in pursuit of American sex tourists abusing foreign children. Ballard resigned his position with the government to launch Operation Underground Railroad in 2013 \u2014 a move that permitted him to also pursue cases involving non-Americans.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>During Operation Underground Railroad\u2019s first mission, Ballard rescued two children out of a false orphanage in Haiti. At the time, Ballard did not know that he was rescuing his future adoptive son and daughter.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Today, his two Haitian children continue to provide motivation for his work: \u201cI see their faces every day. I know the trajectory of their lives, what was going to happen to them\u2026 Those kids remind me every day, \u2018You\u2019ll never stop doing this, there are millions.\u2019 How many more can we get out?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Katherine later launched <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cnfnow.org\/\"><span>Children Need Families<\/span><\/a><span> \u2014 a project of Operation Underground Railroad that has helped facilitate the adoption of 113 children. The group plans to help adopt 491 children with Down\u2019s syndrome who, as Ballard explained, are particularly vulnerable to subjugation. \u201cIn a lot of these countries\u2026 if they don\u2019t get adopted by the time they\u2019re six, they\u2019re thrown into an institution where they\u2019re completely abandoned at best, and abused and trafficked at worst. They\u2019re considered subhuman, when in fact they\u2019re the greatest amongst us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cMaking them ripe for victimhood\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked why the United States is the number-one consumer of child exploitation material, Ballard pointed to the hypersexualization of American culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHow do you become the demand? How do you come to want sex with a child? It starts with pornography,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cIt starts with porn addiction. Pornography creates a chemical reaction in the brain. It\u2019s a dopamine effect. It\u2019s all part of a godly system in the brain that facilitates and encourages healthy marriage relationships and procreation. So, it\u2019s like the counterfeit of that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard compared an addict\u2019s forays into child pornography to a person seeking progressively stronger highs from various drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou want the dopamine hit, so what do you do? What\u2019s the equivalent of going from marijuana to cocaine? You go from twenty-two years old to fifteen years old. And when that doesn\u2019t work, you go to ten years old. And when that doesn\u2019t work, you\u2019re going to fly to a high trafficking area and rape a seven-year-old. Because you\u2019re <\/span><i><span>that <\/span><\/i><span>gone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe country with the highest demand is going to be the country most exposed to sexual material,\u201d Ballard noted. \u201cAnd so, what country is as large as the United States where everyone has access to the internet? None. So that\u2019s my theory as to why the United States is the largest consumer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard noted that by exposing children to sexualized materials, government schools are employing the same tactics as traffickers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCandace and I talked about teachers who are now teaching children to masturbate and to learn terms like \u2018clitoris\u2019 and \u2018erection.\u2019 As I said to Candace, this is exactly what the traffickers are trying to do to children. If they can get access, they will try to desensitize them by showing them sexual things. Now they have teachers doing it for them\u2026 you\u2019re just softening up these children and making them ripe for victimhood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOr, you teach them that sexuality is so okay that a fourteen-year-old on Instagram is showing as much skin as they can,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you\u2019re paying attention, there are traffickers commenting under the photos. \u2018Hey, you\u2019re so beautiful, why don\u2019t you come to a photoshoot?\u2019 That\u2019s how they\u2019re recruiting kids into trafficking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAnyone that\u2019s pushing that mentality \u2014 especially in public education \u2014 the reader can decide who\u2019s doing that,\u201d remarked Ballard. \u201cWhoever\u2019s doing that is on the wrong side of history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cPeople have to get involved\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>As Ballard discussed, American citizens and institutions often fail to address the child sex trafficking crisis \u2014 a reality that stops it from ending.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cPeople are living their lives without even understanding there\u2019s this underbelly where children and women are being trafficked to the tune of $150 billion per year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard noted that the media\u2019s silence on the matter is particularly deafening \u2014 and heartbreaking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cImagine this. I looked into the eyes of a child forty-eight hours ago, who a trafficker was trying to sell to me\u2026 I come home from an operation like that, and I see the headlines. The headlines that don\u2019t match the story at all, because it\u2019s complete sensational bullcrap. And I think to myself, this is a manifestation of our corrupt society \u2014 and a corrupt media, frankly. That there are actually problems that are real problems, like children being raped \u2014 two million a year \u2014 and that\u2019s never a headline. It\u2019s never a headline. That should be the headline every single day, then we can start talking about the tribal wars and red-versus-blue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Recalling the impetus for the Civil War, Ballard explained that \u201cit\u2019s always the media that ends slavery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time in the middle of the Civil War \u2014 this was the author of \u2018Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin\u2019 who shined a light on the darkness of slavery \u2014 he said to her, \u2018So you\u2019re the lady that wrote the book that started this war.\u2019 In other words, even he\u2019s admitting \u2018I wasn\u2019t the one that got this going.\u2019 The people got it going, the media got it going. So there has to be a shift in the media to where they start caring about problems that are so significant that it\u2019s almost incomprehensible. And what\u2019s incomprehensible is that they\u2019re <\/span><i><span>not <\/span><\/i><span>telling these stories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat\u2019s gonna solve the problem are more interviews like this \u2014 responsible media outlets rising up and reporting the truth about what\u2019s happening to our children,\u201d he added. \u201cReporting the truth about what\u2019s happening on the border right now, to these children who are being victimized by our own policies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>American parents can therefore have a sizable impact in solving the crisis, according to Ballard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In particular, parents ought to stop educators from bringing sexual themes into the classroom: \u201cIt\u2019s a felony, depending on how they\u2019re doing it. You\u2019re not allowed to do that online; an adult can\u2019t go to a child and show images of genitalia and talk about sex. And now you\u2019re going to legitimize it in the classroom? It\u2019s insane. So, rise up against that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Citing his experience with the Department of Homeland Security \u2014 during which he acted as a child online in order to capture pedophiles \u2014 Ballard warned that parents must be more mindful of their children\u2019s activity on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBeyond that, it\u2019s educating one another\u2026 to make sure your kids aren\u2019t having unfettered access to the internet without any controls,\u201d said Ballard. \u201cMost parents don\u2019t know that the gaming their children are doing gives pedophiles access to their children. I have talked to many parents and asked them, \u2018Would you let your thirteen-year-old daughter go bar-hopping or clubbing on a Friday night?\u2019 Well, does your thirteen-year-old have unfettered access to the internet? That\u2019s almost certainly more dangerous. Because there\u2019s about a million pedophiles out there hunting your child. Getting into their heads, influencing their actions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAnd eventually, if they\u2019re successful, luring them out into a place where they can be hurt. And parents don\u2019t even understand it. \u2018My daughter\u2019s Instagram page, look, it\u2019s sweet, it\u2019s wholesome\u2019 \u2014 <\/span><i><span>I don\u2019t care<\/span><\/i><span>. No matter how wholesome their social media platform is, these children are always one click away from the devil. Or, the devil is one click away from them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ballard also asserted that Americans must stop relying upon the federal government to solve their problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen any problem is that big, it\u2019s not going to be solved by any one government or even one agency,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople have to get involved. People have to rise up \u2014 again, going back to what we learned from history, Abraham Lincoln recognized that it wasn\u2019t him. It wasn\u2019t the government that eradicated slavery \u2014 ultimately they did their part, but the movement that really compelled them to do their part was the people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Underground Railroad wasn\u2019t made up of government agencies\u2026 But it was a group of citizens that said \u2018Enough is enough, we will go in, we will get these people out,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cSo, it\u2019s always the people that need to rise up, and the false sense of security that government\u2019s going to solve really any problem is what creates most of our problems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe need to rise up and take care of everything in our lives, but not the least of which would be helping people \u2014 helping <\/span><i><span>children <\/span><\/i><span>\u2014 who are being raped for money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, it\u2019s estimated that over two million children are subjugated to a $150 billion, worldwide sex slavery industry \u2014 and Americans are providing the demand.Tim Ballard is the founder &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2314371,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/06_25_2021_Candace_ep16_BTS_6266-scaled-1.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018How Many More Can We Get Out?\u2019: Inside The Frontline Battle To End Child Sex Trafficking","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-587255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/06_25_2021_Candace_ep16_BTS_6266-scaled-1.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018How Many More Can We Get Out?\u2019: Inside The Frontline Battle To End Child Sex Trafficking","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2314371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}