On March 24, a couple from Tennessee was accused of trying to sell their five month old baby on Craigslist. The couple posted their baby on the Internet for $3,000 or the best offer. The two parents were Deanna Greer and John David Cain. They were charged Friday with aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.

The Greene County sheriff’s department set up the couple by having an undercover officer contact the couple for the initial purchase of the child. When the couple agreed on meeting for the exchange they were then taken into custody. Each being held on a $150,000 bond. The child is in custody of the Tennessee Department of children’s’ services. Greer’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7 and Cain’s for April 8.  

Greer and Cain’s case is only one example of Trafficking going on in our country today. Sex Trafficking is quickly becoming the modern form of slavery. 63% of underage sex trafficking victims have reported to been advertised or sold online according to Thorn, Digital Defender of Children. With the Pleasant valley school district being located close to the I-80 interstate, our community is a target to potential trafficking. The average age of child trafficking victims is 12-14 years old. In Iowa, there has been 72 Trafficking cases reported last year in 2016. Out of the 72 cases, 62 were reported to be females.

There are a few things you can do to help prevent Trafficking in your community. The most important thing to do, when you suspect someone is a victim of child trafficking, is to call 911 or the national trafficking hotline. You can also help educate yourself and others to be able to distinguish a potential victim of trafficking. Most importantly, you can help advocate the importance of raising awareness in order to prevent trafficking in local communities.