A Common Sense Media survey found the average age that most kids were exposed to porn is 12 years old. The author of the story we are investigating today was just three, and it was a relative who introduced her to what no child should ever see. Sexual abuse followed a couple of years later so it’s no wonder that being trafficked into the adult entertainment world didn’t seem very out of the ordinary.
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me...
A Common Sense Media survey found the average age that most kids were exposed to porn is 12 years old. The author of the story we are investigating today was just three, and it was a relative who introduced her to what no child should ever see. Sexual abuse followed a couple of years later so it’s no wonder that being trafficked into the adult entertainment world didn’t seem very out of the ordinary.
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. Our book this week is Scars and Stilettos by Harmony Grillo and our guest is Jeanne Roberson. We will check in with Jeanne after we investigate this compelling book.
I’m going to guess that when most of us think of sex trafficking, we imagine the victims are mostly women from foreign countries who are lured in by the promise of legitimate jobs that will help them escape grinding poverty. For Harmony Grillo, it started with a handsome young man her mother took in when his own home life grew too chaotic. Harmony was just 15 when Derrick moved into her house. It wasn’t long before they were having sex which, since he didn’t force her, to Harmony meant he cared about her.
When it became clear that he only wanted to freeload off Harmony’s mom, she told him if he didn’t get a job, he had to move out. Harmony was devastated. As poor as she was, she gave him what little money she had saved from her summer job. She knew he needed her. Weeks later he told her he was thinking about joining the army as a way to support himself. She was terrified and told him she’d get a job and they’d get an apartment. There was no mention of him getting a job.
Life was tough for Harmony for years. Ten signed up for a ballet class. That’s where she met and became friends with Tanya. They chatted before, after, and sometimes during class. Inevitably, Tanya asked what Harmony did for a living, and Harmony answered honestly. It didn’t seem to phase Tanya, which impressed Harmony.
You see, she’d learned that Tanya was a Christian, and of course feared being judged and rejected if Tanya knew about the life she was living. In what was, to me, the most poignant and heartbreaking quote in the entire book was when Harmony said about Tanya, “Through her eyes, I began to see myself differently.” Did you know that we have that kind of power too?
We have the power to help someone make the move from an unsafe life to a safer one just by treating them like they matter. Because they do. Today’s guest, author, speaker and trafficking survivor Jeanne Roberson has a lot in common with Harmony, so let’s get to my chat with her.
Psalm 82:2-4 NIV
“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
God never fails in His compassion for those in need. In this Psalm, He is calling out those abusing the official power they had. But all of us have unofficial power if you think about power as the ability to influence someone. I think the same principle applies then to any of us. Who do you know that needs to hear that they are seen, that what they are going through isn’t right and that they deserve better? And if that person is you, then let me speak over you that if you are being taken advantage of, God has so much more for you. I hope you’ll seek out a loving church family to help you. If you don’t know how to find one, send me an email and I’ll do what I can to help connect you to one.
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com.
Link to buy Scars and Stilettos
Connect with Jeanne here
Read Jeanne's story in Chosen to Live
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