© Fox42
You might not think of Omaha as being a hotbed for the slave trade, but if you don't, think again.
There is evidence that hundreds of girls, some in their early teens are being sold as sex slaves in truck stops in our area.
Fox 42's Melina Matthes took a hard look at a problem some don't want to admit exists and at what some are doing to try to stop it.
The FBI says the problem is real. Law enforcement officials say I-80 plays a big part in helping men buy and sell young girls.
While many are kidnapped, some who runaway from home are easy targets for pimps traveling through.
Now police are reaching out for help and some truckers are signing up. They are now the eyes and ears of our highways. They're working with local law enforcement officials to stop this nightmare.
300,000. That's a big number and it's the number of children who are kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking each year according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Terry Smith is a trucker working to fight the sex trade. He said, "it's just horrible, any number is horrible, small number or large, especially if it's younger girls."
He said girls approach him often at rest stops. "Just knock on your truck door and ask if you want some company or at you in passing if you're walking by. I mean, they know what they're doing, you know what they're doing, they don't have to ask you straight out. They'll ask you if you want some company or if you need your truck cleaned."
FBI officials say the average person doesn't see what's really going on at truck stops. Most think the girls are prostitutes, but they say that's not true. Many are being forced into it by someone that bought them. The girls call them pimps.
"Personally, I'd like to find out who they are and take justice into my own hands," Joseph Shaffier said.
"As far as I'm concerned if they can do that to a child or anybody,
they're not human," Larry Ziegler said.
The FBI says traffickers recruit out of schools, shopping malls, concerts and football games.
Comment: We are involved in an information war, make no mistake. Listen to Hillary Clinton fight for the financial support to better help propagate lies.