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Life Crisis Center outlines human trafficking risks, sextortion and local resources
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Summary
On Life Crisis Today, Karen Hughes and case manager Erin LeFeu defined sexual and labor trafficking, warned about sextortion and AI‑generated images, and reviewed reporting channels and services including the national human trafficking hotline (888‑373‑7888) and the Life Crisis Center hotline ((410) 749‑4357).
Karen Hughes, domestic violence clinical services coordinator at the Life Crisis Center, and Erin LeFeu, a case manager with the center’s human trafficking program, used an episode of the center’s show Life Crisis Today to explain the different forms of human trafficking, how victims are controlled, and where people can get help.
LeFeu told listeners that for adults sexual trafficking generally requires proof that force, fraud or coercion was used, while for anyone under 18 "any exchange of money or something of value for a sexual act or an image" is trafficking without the need to prove force, fraud or coercion. "For adults, it's when they are unwillingly providing services or images...and there are different ways in which traffickers use those to traffic their victims," LeFeu said.
The episode described commonly used control tactics, including "Romeo" grooming (where an exploiter feigns a romantic relationship), violent control methods and substance exploitation. LeFeu also outlined forms of labor trafficking such as domestic servitude and debt bondage, and noted victims can experience both labor and sexual exploitation.
LeFeu emphasized the growing problem of sextortion—where victims are coerced into sending explicit images and then threatened with exposure—and warned that perpetrators often pose as peers online. She said the FBI has seen a large increase in sextortion cases and asserted that there have been 38 confirmed suicides linked to such cases, a figure she presented to illustrate how quickly abuse can escalate. "It goes that quick," she said of the cycle from contact to coercion.
The program addressed modern risks including AI‑generated images. "Even though they didn't do it, people might believe that they did," LeFeu said, describing how exploiters can create explicit images from available photos.
Hughes and LeFeu offered prevention and response guidance for families: keep social‑media profiles private, use parental‑security features, talk early with children about healthy relationships and internet safety, and, if a child discloses abuse, stay calm and assure the child it is not their fault. LeFeu said parents should help the child report the incident and that Life Crisis Center and NCMEC can assist with takedown and reporting.
Resources cited on the program included the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and its take‑down portal (takeitdown.ncmec.org), the national human trafficking hotline at (888) 373‑7888, and the Life Crisis Center hotline at (410) 749‑4357. Hughes also noted the center participates with 211 and that the National Suicide Hotline is 988. The Life Crisis Center offers case management, prevention and education, court accompaniment, referrals to trauma therapy, housing assistance, a legal department, and a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program for children in foster care.
The episode closed with Hughes thanking PAC 14 for making the show available and encouraging anyone who needs help to contact the Life Crisis Center or the hotlines listed above.
