SAN ANTONIO – The expansion of human trafficking training at the San Antonio International Airport is a big relief to trafficking survivors like Ashlea Jones.
“At 7 years old, I was molested at a friend’s house. That really started like a whole trail of bad behavior,” Jones said.
Jones was only 18 when she met her first trafficker, who originally made her believe she was in a loving relationship.
“He’s the father of my kids. Then we was at a corner store one night panhandling, and that was the first time he sold me. I did that with him for almost 10 years,” she said.
Jones wants the public to know how terrifying and sometimes impossible it is to leave an abusive trafficker.
“Every time I tried to get away, he would abuse me mentally, physically, verbally. When I did get away, he would tell me he was going to find my family and hurt my family, so I had to come back,” Jones explained.
In 2019, she was lucky to escape with her life.
However, her trafficker had her hooked on methamphetamines, which experts say is a common situation in the trafficking world.
Drugs are often used as a means of controlling victims, making them more submissive but also keeping them addicted and close to where the drugs are being provided.
Vulnerable, isolated people suffering from addiction are perfect targets for traffickers.
“I ended up being trafficked again by the guy who sold me meth,” she said.
Jones said that went on for less than a year, up until January of 2020.
“I was approached by SAPD Homicide about an investigation that was he was under, and I got free,” Jones said.
It was contact by law enforcement that made her feel like it was actually safe to leave.
That’s why the training session Wednesday at the airport was crucial.
The trafficking trainings began a couple years ago, but was mainly offered to the 483 city employees at the airport.
Now, it’s mandatory for all employees, which includes airline workers, food vendors and even rental car employees.
The training sessions were led by a task force that included the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Homeland Security Investigations, Mercy Gate Ministries, Assistant U.S. District Attorney for the West District of Texas, Baptist Child & Family Services and the San Antonio Police Department’s Human Exploitation Unit.
Airport employees were taught basics, like what trafficking looks like.
“It’s not like you’re in your Hollywood-type trafficking situation. Mine was a relationship. It can be as simple as, you know, asking somebody out on a date and then grooming them and then putting them into the sex industry,” Jones said.
The employees learned that traffickers with a large number of victims can make millions of dollars, which is why they keep coming up with ways to skirt police.
That has pushed the majority of the trafficking and grooming online.
However, once victims are being moved, it is imperative that people at places like bus stations and airports know what signs to look for.
Signs to watch for include:
- a person who isn’t in control of their own documents
- isn’t traveling with a lot of luggage
- doesn’t seem to know where they’re headed
- looks exhausted and unkempt
- or isn’t wearing age-appropriate clothing
“The controlling thing of like the guy paying for the ticket and then, you know, following them until they get into the terminal. That’s the kind of thing I would personally look for,” Jones said, recalling her own time being moved at Greyhound bus stations.
Jones spent a year recovering at the Mercy Gate center in the Hill Country, and now is working full time, helping other trafficking survivors.
“Just letting them know, like your past does not present your future,” she said.
If you think you see signs of trafficking, call law enforcement. You don’t have to have proof or be positive of what you’re seeing to make the call.
If you see signs of trafficking:
- Call: (866) DHS-2-ICE or 347-2434
- Text: HELP to BeFree (233733)
If you’re a victim:
- Call: (888) 373-7888.
- Text: HELP to BeFree (233733)