USA: 16-year-old girl targeted by online groomer now safe
A 16-year-old girl has been safeguarded from an online groomer in the US.
Etisha spent her childhood moving from one refugee camp to the next. When she arrived in the US, this young girl was severely traumatized and vulnerable.
Men much older than Etisha started messaging her online, encouraging her to exchange pictures for money and gifts.
When Etisha was reunited with her parents in the Midwest, the grooming continued. Etisha’s behavior changed and her parents struggled to control her. Etisha eventually ran away from home, and into the arms of a man who had been grooming her online.
He convinced her that by staying with him, it now meant they were married in her culture. Etisha was trapped.
Hope for Justice’s US investigators worked nonstop to locate Etisha safely, then partnered with local law enforcement to extract the girl from the groomer’s home.
Etisha was safely transported to a children’s hospital and will get the aftercare she needs. The adult male was arrested.
