Days after Metro police raided four massage parlors on suspicion of prostitution, victims' advocates are sounding the alarm about sex trafficking.
"There are many foreign nationals who are brought over with a promise of a too good to be true offer. They think they're going to do some other kind of work and then they're forced into prostitution," said Derri Smith, executive director of End Slavery Tennessee.
It's estimated 94 minors are trafficked in Tennessee every single month, and most are young girls who are forced into prostitution.
But the group End Slavery Tennessee is on the front lines to stop this while providing care for victims.
"Some of these girls think these guys are their boyfriend and loves them even though they're selling them to people," Smith said.
Sheila Simpkins knows all too well the horrors of sex trafficking. She is now an intervention specialist for the End Slavery Tennessee and is a survivor of trafficking with the scars to prove it.
"I probably got beat once a week," Simpkins said.
Simpkins was brought into prostitution when she was just 14 years old.
Now, she's helping others.
"Because of my background, I'm able to make a connection with them and start building trust so that they know that there's help available," she said. "We can go to school. We can live productive lives. We can be wives. We can take care of our children."
