A recent report from the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force reveals that children have become the fastest-growing group of human trafficking victims in Orange County, California. The report, released today, shows that over the past three years, half of all local trafficking victims are under 18, with the youngest victim being just six years old. The average age of these minors is 14, indicating a significant portion are 13 or younger.
The Task Force’s eighth report, based on data from 2023 and 2024, highlights a troubling trend of increasingly younger victims being targeted by traffickers. This is a shift from a similar study two years ago, which found that children made up 36% of victims. Experts believe traffickers target younger victims due to higher profits, paralleling the profitability of the drug trade.
Michelle Heater, director of victim assistance services for Waymakers, an Irvine-based nonprofit, emphasized the role of unsupervised internet use and economic hardships in this trend. Heater noted that traffickers exploit the lack of support and connection felt by many young people, making them more vulnerable…