Pastor Tries To Get Young Victims Of Sex Trafficking Off OC Streets
ORANGE COUNTY (CBSLA.com) — The murder in upscale Yorba Linda of a 17-year-old girl -- caught up in the world of sex trafficking -- is shining a light on a very dark and complex problem.
Stacey Butler, reporting for KCAL9, says when it comes to helping the victims of human trafficking, Pastor Kevin Brown isn't waiting for the girls to ask for help.
He goes to them.
"People in Orange County they need to wake up, they need to understand," said Brown.
He shared an undercover video with Butler in which he pretended to be a john.
The pastor -- a former detective -- is then heard telling the young woman how she can get out of the life.
The girl told Brown that she was working at an upscale mall in Marina del Rey, selling Coach purses, when a man walked in and swept her off her feet.
"These guys they know, what to say, when to say it, how to say it. And then they have them. They're master manipulators," said Brown.
The man who swept the girl off her feet, was, of course, a pimp. He later convinced the girl to sell herself for sex.
The night he met her, Brown convinced her to get help at a local shelter.
The murder Tuesday of 17-year-old Aubreyanna Sade Parks of Yorba Linda, shows how deadly the life can be.
The former cheerleader with good grades -- set to start Northern Arizona University in the fall -- died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
The pastor says girls from all walks of life can be lured.
"These are young girls who are educated. They have been or are going to college," he told Butler.
Santa Ana Police arrested Parks just last month for prostitution. When they discovered she was a minor they released her to Child Protective Services where she reportedly declined help.
Police are still trying to find out what link existed between Parks and murder suspect Larry Soo Shin, 35, also of Yorba Linda. Marsales Joseph Smith, Parks' alleged pimp, was in jail at the time of the murder. He's been also charged with human trafficking.
Pastor Brown hopes people in Orange County learn from this senseless tragedy.
"What makes it even more sad is that the community of Orange County still doesn't get it. They don't realize that minors are being brought to OC and trafficked," said Brown.