Ted Poe: “15-year-old Bianca struggled with insecurities and depression, so she turned to social media for comfort and…”

“15-year-old Bianca struggled with insecurities and depression, so she turned to social media for comfort and companionship. She met a person named Ariel, to her later displeasure, but after he brought her to a seedy motel room and forced her to watch as he raped two other girls, she knew she had walked right into the bonds of sex slavery. Held captive, he put up advertisements about her on the notorious backpage.com, selling her to dozens of men a day. After 2 years of this hell, Bianca finally escaped, bolting from the motel room, and found safety, finding a police officer. Four days later, her trafficker was arrested and thrown behind bars. Unlike Bianca, many victims don't escape this trafficking. That is why Senator John Cornyn and I have introduced the Abolish Human Trafficking Act that increases funding for law enforcement to find and arrest traffickers like Ariel and helps restore and rescue victims. We must use every tool in our resources we can find to help stop the scourge of human trafficking. And that is just the way it is. ____________________”