Closer Than We Think: Rachel’s Story
Letter From The Editor…
Often we think human trafficking is an issue that is far from us. However, the following article written by Gracie Huffman reveals otherwise. Gracie is a sophomore at UGA and the Director of Social Media for Breaking the Shackles. She details a recent story of an Emory college student who was victimized by a pimp for human trafficking in the Atlanta area.
Human Trafficking often times seems far removed from our everyday lives. Modern day slavery is more prominent and arguably more dangerous in foreign countries such as the Philippines; and yet, it exists under our noses in the very places we call home. Even though institutionalized slavery and involuntary servitude was abolished and made an illegal practice by the 13th amendment, men, women and children are still abducted, threatened, and forced into human trafficking in the United States daily. Atlanta is, unfortunately, a national hub for sex trafficking. Even though there is no way to understand the extent of the human trafficking epidemic in today’s broken world, there are still instances that help contextualize it in our everyday lives. A prime example of this is the story of Rachel Thompson, a former student at Emory University.
Rachel was a music video star while she studied at Emory. Unfortunately, it was during her junior year when she met her pimp. He was a professional and well-spoken agent for models, but she was completely unaware of his intentions. To give some context, a pimp, according to Webster’s dictionary, is defined as “a man who controls, prostitutes and arranges clients for them [the victim], taking part of their earnings in return.” At first, he presented business cards, a portfolio containing contracts with famous models, connections in Atlanta, and his pregnant fiancée on his arm. For the first month of their business relationship, he provided her with legitimate modeling work in magazines and music videos, all-expenses paid luxury photo shoots, and even a professional compensation card.
He convinced her to start exotic dancing to raise revenue to fund her modeling career, which included flights to New York auditions, etc. Then, he asked her to fill out a W4 form in order to receive payment from a video, (including her parent’s home address and SSN). Shortly after, things went south as he began to force her to have sex with strip club clients, participate in video sets, and interact with anyone else who would pay. When she would resist, he threatened to do horrible acts such as kill her family, open lines of credit in her name, send embarrassing tapes to her school dean, kill her, and more. He became physically abusive and mentally abusive, yet all the while maintaining that he was an agent. In fact, he beat Rachel one time for accusing him of being a pimp. Thankfully, one of his other victims brought the case to the police. A grueling two years later, Rachel’s pimp was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Upon his arrest, the FBI found out that this man had victimized 75+ girls for 7+ years, preying on naive girls of all races who were getting an education away from home.
Unfortunately, her story is not isolated. I often hear about these kinds of horrific acts of forced labor and trafficking, but I had no clue it was occurring so predominately in my community. On Thursday, August 22, I was shocked to receive a forwarded message posted on the UGA Parents page. The post is a synopsis and warning for UGA students and girls in the greater Atlanta area, urging the parents and students of UGA to not only be more aware of, but actively take a stand against suspicious men and modeling opportunities. A portion of it reads:
“There is a man soliciting models via Instagram. He is approaching female students with an offer of $100/hour modeling jobs. He may have a legitimate modelling agency, but I am a child safety expert and I am here to tell you that this is likely a trafficking operation. These guys often start out by making girls think they’re getting legitimate work, and then after a couple of paying jobs, they are coerced into the sex trade. Please take a moment to learn about Rachel Thomas. She was an Emory student who got lured into this nightmare. I know of two UGA students who came over to Johns Creek to meet this guy in a hotel for a modeling shoot TODAY. Luckily, my friend Andrea Wronski, another UGA mom who works with me recognized this for what it is and stopped them from going. Make no mistake HE WILL SEEM VERY LEGITIMATE. His name is Greg (he’s not sharing his last name but it’s Gregory L Kinzelman) and his company is Studio CLK…”
A pimp, as stated before, according to Webster’s dictionary, is defined as “a man who controls, prostitutes and arranges clients for them [victims], taking part of their earnings in return.” However, the definition cannot encapsulate the many forms and ways pimps capitalize and demean women for their gain. In order to more specifically define and lay out what a “pimp” entails, Rachel coined the new term of a “CEO Pimp” and created the following chart that includes and defines more common and specific forms of a pimp:
Gorilla Pimp
Uses force (kidnapping, violence, drugs, blackmail) to overpower prey.
Target Prey: Teens at a party, the mall, on social media... anywhere lacking responsible supervision.
Common Language: “Come party with me.” “Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.” “If you don’t do what I say I’ll post these (naked or embarrassing) pictures of you all over the Internet.”
What to Watch For: Men 18+ who hang with younger girls. Overly friendly girls (recruiters) who persistently invite other teens to party and drink/drug with them.
Romeo Pimp
Uses charm, gifts, and flattery to romance prey.
Target Prey: Girls looking for love or acceptance, runaways, and sweet and naïve young men and women.
Common Language: “I love you.” “Nobody else understands me.” “I’ll give you everything you deserve.” “I can’t live without you.” “Dream with me.”
What to Watch For: Guys who fall in love too quickly. Guys or girls (recruiters) who encourage teens to run away from home, promising a happier life.
CEO PimpTM*
Uses money and business strategies to swindle prey.
Target Prey: Aspiring models and entertainers, especially naïve young women away from home.
Common Language: “I’m an agent. You have what it takes to make it in this industry. Trust me” “This is strictly business.”
“I can make you rich.”
“Fill out this form” (personal information)
What to Watch For: Men who flash cash and promise stardom. ‘Agents’ who are too pushy. ‘Agents’ who want bikini or “artistically nude” photos.
**Note: The chart above is an educational resource courtesy of Sowers Educational Group
After being brought out of the human trafficking industry, Rachel Thomas founded a group called “Sowers Education Group” to further define the connection between sex trafficking and media influence. Through this organization, Thomas seeks to inform and empower women through her story and her experiences.
For more information on Rachel and Sowers Education Group:
http://www.fdfi.org/?s=Rachel+thomas
https://sowerseducationgroup.com
Trafficking terms:
https://sharedhope.org/the-problem/trafficking-terms/
Works Cited
Fdfi.org. (2013). Rachel thomas | Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives | Stop Human
Trafficking in Communities. [online] Available at: http://www.fdfi.org/?s=Rachel+thomas[Accessed 15 Sep. 2019].