WMBD’s exclusive three-part series, “The Hidden Crime,” takes a look at human trafficking through the eyes of three different individuals who have dealt with the issue, either personally or professionally. Part II was composed after an interview with a woman who escaped an attempted trafficking.
Part I may be read here.
PART II: AN ANONYMOUS WOMAN’S ENCOUNTER
by Kristina Leahy
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, shared her story on social media about when she and her children experienced red flags while an individual followed them around a department store in East Peoria.
Through an interview, she shared with us her experience and outlook on the situation.
She said the store was mostly empty the night that she and her children were shopping there. While they were shopping in the women’s shoe section, a man was also looking at women’s shoes.
“I noticed an older man looking at shoes, women’s shoes, which was odd to me. I kind of just shook that off and kept going with the shopping,” she said.
They then moved to the opposite end of the store to look at holiday and home decor.
“He ended up coming over to that area as well. He was kind of perusing; it didn’t seem like he was actually looking and doing legitimate shopping.
“That was a signal to me that there was something off about the situation,” she said.
Her youngest child needed to use the restroom, so they then moved to the back of the store. She stood outside the restroom while her child went inside.
“And, when they were in the restroom, the individual came down the aisle straight towards the restroom. To me, it seemed like he was very goal directed like he was on a mission,” she said.
“Once he made eye contact with me, his pace slowed and he went in a completely opposite direction down a different aisle.”
After that, she said she thought this was not a coincidence, and it felt like she was being followed. She decided it was time for them to checkout and leave the store.
She said on the way to the checkout, they crossed paths with the man. Then while they were at the checkout, the man went to the seasonal section by the registers.
“I had kept an eye on him the entire time and he was in the direct eyesight of the checkout we were at,” she said.
When they were wrapping up at the checkout, the man stood by the door shopping at a table. Once they were ready to leave, the man was out the door.
She explained that she did not feel comfortable walking across the parking lot.
She let the employee know what was happening, and they contacted a manager. The manager agreed to escort her and her children out to their car.
“So, we proceeded to go outside [and] noticed there was a vehicle parked pretty much in front of the store, in one of the first parking spaces. Again, it was a very empty parking lot,” she said.
“The [car] door was open, his leg was hanging out like he was not fully in the car at that point. Which is kind of odd because I had waited approximately five to ten minutes for the manager to show up to escort us.”
She said it was also odd that he was sticking around for that long with the car door open on a cold night.
She let the manager know that was the individual about whom they were concerned. As they left, the manager got the license plate of the man’s vehicle.
She said when the man kept showing up near them in the store, at first she felt like she was overreacting.
“At the same time I was intent of listening to basically my gut instinct, and it just was making me uncomfortable to the point I wanted to leave immediately, and I wanted to keep my children close. I kind of got into the situation where it almost froze me in action,” she said.
At first she thought that she could handle the situation, but she did not want to chance anything with her children by her side.
“I’ve heard the stories, I’ve read the stories, I listen to podcasts,” she said.
She said if anyone ever finds themselves in an alarming position or one where they are uncomfortable, to ask for help.
“I kind of kicked myself for not alerting the police to the situation. I think in that situation I was still hinging on that I was over reacting.
“Trust yourself, trust your gut, ask for help,” she said.
Sharing her story on social media has brought others forward to comment saying they had been in similar situations.
“It’s happening, and it’s happening in our towns, it’s happening everywhere,” she said.
She encouraged everyone to have situational awareness.
“Letting people know where you’re going to be, what you’re going to be doing, when they should expect you back,” she said. “Just all those safety things that we sometimes maybe take for granted or don’t really necessarily think about until after the fact.”
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888, and free and confidential victim services are available at 1-800-559-SAFE (7233).
For more information on the Center for Prevention of Abuse, visit their website: https://www.centerforpreventionofabuse.org/
