BAKER — New games, apps, and social platforms are popping up constantly, and with them come new ways predators target kids online. One of the most alarming dangers: human trafficking.
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It’s a topic former sheriff’s deputy turned federal officer Dr. Willie Brooks has spent the last decade teaching families and communities about. “Human trafficking comes in different forms,” Brooks said. “The biggest thing that I’ve noticed has been the coercion. They’re capitalizing on children on social media who are airing out their frustrations.”
Since becoming a certified human trafficking instructor a decade ago, Brooks has seen the way perpetrators targeting children have changed. “Everybody thinks it’s the white van, and they take you off and they never see you again,” Brooks said.
“Trafficking is when someone takes their time. They become your friend and make sure that what they’re telling you looks better than the life that you’re living at home,” he explained. “So you’re ready to volunteer and leave home for a better life that you realize that you’ve been caught up in human trafficking.”
While educating the public about the dangers of human trafficking is something he’s done for years, the recent case involving a 13-year-old Baker girl made him want to organize an event to help local families learn how to protect themselves. “Whenever this happened, as I’ll say, in my backyard, it really just did something to me,” Brooks said. “After seeing this, and it took so long to find her, I knew right then that I had to do something.”
That’s why Brooks is hosting a public forum to teach local families about the dangers of human trafficking tonight, Nov. 19. “It’s going to consist of talking to parents and educating parents and their children about the signs of human trafficking,” he said. “This seminar is going to show and teach parents about how to prevent their child from being caught up in human trafficking.”
One of the biggest areas Brooks is planning to help parents learn about is where their children could be in contact with predators. “We’re going to show them the different games, apps, social media pages that are out there that they need to try to avoid.”
Brooks said the most important thing for parents to know about when it comes to protecting their kids is what is on their phones and iPads. “They need to look on their children’s phone. Take their phone and see who they are texting, what type of conversation they are having,” Brooks said.
“One of the things you need to know about is the apps that they have. It’s pretty old now, but the My Calculator app is one I tell parents to look for. If your child has more than one calculator app on their phone, one of those apps is where they hide messages or they can text.”
Another new technology Brooks is going to discuss tonight is how human traffickers are using AI. “We’re going to talk about AI voice generators. How easy it is for somebody to make a phone call using a familiar voice,” he said. “We’re going to talk about that and how to detect if it’s a real person or if somebody is trying to fool you.”
Tonight’s event is happening at 7 p.m. at New Covenant Christian Church on East Myrtle Ave. in Baker. Both parents and children are invited. Brooks asks that children who are in attendance don’t take photos or videos, but parents are welcome to. “I want children to see who’s out there and how they’re maneuvering to take them away from their parents.” Brooks said. “We don’t want them to get in a situation where they have to be caught up in trafficking to realize this was not the right decision to make.”
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