Research for Double

Victims stories

Mauri was only 16 years old when she was prostituted on the streets of Honolulu, Hawaii. For her, there was no escape; her pimp threatened to kill her family if she did not go out on the street night after night to make him money. If Mauri tried to use some of the money to buy food, she was severely beaten. Mauri finally escaped when she was picked up by law enforcement. She is now in a rehabilitation program and has reunited with her parents, but her road to recovery has been long and difficult. She suffers from terrible flashbacks and severe depression, and has even attempted suicide. Mauri says she was lucky to get out alive: “The longer you stay the less hope you have.”
Source:http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/210546.htm

Tola was seven years old when she was lured away from her parents by a couple who owned the field her family worked. While enslaved, she was forced to take care of cats and dogs for the couple’s pet grooming shop. For five years, Tola’s parents hoped to see her again, never knowing how she disappeared or where she might be. They never imagined that Tola was close, enduring torture and abuse. If Tola did not do her job properly, she was kicked, slapped, and beaten with a broom. Sometimes the couple locked her in a cage and poured boiling hot water over her. On one occasion, the traffickers cut off her ear lobe with a pair of scissors. One day, she climbed a concrete fence of the house while chasing a cat and realized she was free. A neighbor called the police and she was taken to a nearby shelter where her mother identified her. The couple was arrested and charged with various charges, including torture, detaining a person against their will, enslavement, and kidnapping. The couple posted bail and escaped. As for Tola, injuries on her arms affected her muscles; she can no longer move her left arm. For now, she is safe with her family and is beginning her mental, emotional, and physical journey to recovery.
Sourcehttp://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/210546.htm

Since her parents passed away, Ogochukwu had been struggling to care for her younger brothers. An acquaintance offered to take her abroad and find her a job. Ogochukwu was ecstatic; she accepted his offer, believing that she would now be able to help her family in Nigeria. Before setting off to Europe, she was taken to a juju priest to seal the deal with local magic. During the ceremony, she vowed she would obey her boss in Europe and pay back her travel expenses. The “spell” called for death if she failed to fulfill her oath. It was not too long before she realized that something was wrong, she had joined about 30 other women in an open-back truck headed toward the Sahara Desert. They finally reached their destination and were met by a “madam” in France who told her she owed travel expenses for her passage to Europe and would be forced to pay it back by selling her body. She worked the streets as many as 20 hours a day and was forced to pay for her own food and clothes as well as for rent. Despite the juju oath, she was encouraged by a man she befriended to go to the police. Once at the police station, she explained her situation. Her traffickers were arrested but so was she, for being in France illegally. Before her deportation, workers at the detention center gave her money out of good will for her safe return to Nigeria. She is now building her life again and says,“I am very much stronger than juju.”
Source: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/210546.htm

Vinson Alexander


Vinson Alexander is accused of enslaving a young woman and forcing her to work as a stripper in Southeast Michigan since December 2012.  Alexander's accomplice, Taryn Johnson, allegedly recruited the 18 year-old victim, luring her with promises of a good salary.  Alexander allegedly collected all her earnings, and used threats and violence to control the victim when she resisted.  On February 21, 2013, it is alleged Alexander violently assaulted the victim, resulting in serious injury.
Sourece:www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-164-46849-295723--,00.html