BILLINGS - School District 2 Superintendent Dr. Erwin Garcia hosted a community meeting to address human trafficking.
According to the Montana Department of Justice, human trafficking increased in the state from seven cases in 2015 to 143 cases in 2023, an increase of 1,900 percent.
Parents and teachers heard about protecting children, at the Career Center on Tuesday night.
Penny Ronning, co-founder of the Yellowstone County Area Human Trafficking Task Force, showed a picture of her mom at the age of 4.
“Within a year, she would be raped by a male family member and sold to neighboring farm boys for the next 4 years of her life,” Ronning said.
Ronning talked about the trauma that child sexual abuse victims suffer.
“Damage happens to hips,” Ronning said. “Damage happens to the spine. Damage happens to the shoulders. Damage happens to internal organs.”
And she says doctors often misdiagnose the ailments of victims for much of their lives.
Garcia's community meeting aimed to help parents protect their children.
“Social media, cell phones, multiple social media applications where predators are looking to get the attention of our children,” Garcia said. “And in many instances take advantage of them.”
“Kids have access to it every day, all day long,” said Taya Keith, Northern Lights Justice Center coordinator. “And the percentage is really scary.
The center provides a safe place for children and adults experiencing trauma.
“Kids are bombarded with porn,” Keith said. “And adults that are pretending to be kids and things like sextortion and it is alarming.”
She advises talking with children and checking phones and other devices, something Garcia also recommends.
“Extortion happens so we want to make sure that our families are aware that this is a real issue in our community,” Garcia said.
“We've got a long way to go before we actually really address sexual violence in our country,” Ronning said.
