17-year-old escapes human trafficker at the Shops at Legacy

Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by TieExact2694
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PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The horror of human sex trafficking and its grip on North Texas has never been captured more disturbingly than on a video from a Plano business.

It comes from the trial of convicted trafficker who has just been sentenced to 59 years in prison.

It was in the middle of Plano's Shops at Legacy where a 17-year-old girl escaped a violent human trafficker she had been with for a year.

If not for observant witnesses watching nearby, authorities tell me it's likely the victim would still be in his clutches.

It's security camera video of two people talking outside a nail salon in Plano's Shops at Legacy.

You probably wouldn't pay much attention to them, until the male stomps hard on the female's foot.

It's followed by a violent punch that knocks her to the ground.

"I feel sick to my stomach for all us who have daughters it's just the most unthinkable situation you can imagine," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said.

Willis said you're watching the brutal violence associated with human trafficking play out in public.

A passerby notices the man dragging the 17-year-old girl by her hair to the car, throw her into the open passenger side door and close it.

She quickly opens it and escapes.

By that time, several witnesses were ready to intervene and the man speeds off by himself.

"I'm so proud of those citizens that were there and didn't run away and didn't turn a blind eye," Willis said.

The suspect, 29-year-old Ricky Stevenson, was later captured and sentenced last week to 59 years in prison. Collin County Assistant District Attorney Ann Matthews prosecuted the case against Stephenson during the two day jury trial.

Willis says that's a message to traffickers like this one who flaunt being a pimp on social media, force their victims to get loyalty tattoos, as well as threaten them if they try to leave.

"He thought that he could manipulate the legal system here in Collin County by ensuring that the victim did not show up he thought if the victim didn't show up he would be free," Willis said.

The victim was only 16-years-old when she was kidnapped and forced into prostitution along with two other females.

This Collin County case is the first known anywhere involving a trafficker who was convicted with only testimony from witnesses and no cooperation from the victim.

"When you're asked to testify, you are basically opening yourself up to being re-traumatized, re-victimized," Chelsea Robertson with POETIC, a nonprofit that offers schooling and resources for sex trafficking victims said.

Robertson said they often refuse to testify against their abusers.

That's why she says it's so important for witnesses to come forward and help build strong criminal cases like this one.

"Anytime that you see a youth especially, intervening would always be the correct action to take," Robertson said. "You've heard it said before, if you see something say something."

The victim has moved out of state and is no longer in contact with authorities.

Ear_Enthusiast on June 27th, 2022 at 00:00 UTC »

So is this guy a total stranger that is snatching her off of the street? That's terrifying. Or is it like a pimp, dealer, or both that she's trying to get away from? Equally terrifying, just different.

desquibnt on June 26th, 2022 at 23:31 UTC »

Willis says that's a message to traffickers like this one who flaunt being a pimp on social media

Stupid criminals are easier to catch. Let them keep posting on social media. It’s the ones that you don’t see flaunting the lifestyle that I’m worried about.

_DOA_ on June 26th, 2022 at 17:20 UTC »

In the video, she jumps out of the car after the guy assaulted her and dragged her into it. She jumps out again - multiple witnesses watch from a dozen feet away, appearing to do nothing. Narrator says, "By then, several witnesses were ready to intervene and the man sped off."

I get that they probably weren't acting out of fear they would get shot - but it's shitty reporting to say they were "ready to intervene" with zero evidence of that. Glad she got away in any case.