LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As we fight for what's right for local families and to keep our children safe, parents need to know Las Vegas has been leading the country in child sex trafficking cases.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department even has "The Southern Nevada Human Trafficking Task Force," devoted to safeguarding victims and pursuing offenders.
With January being "Human Trafficking Prevention Month," I introduce you to three local fathers fighting to bring awareness to this problem through a movie they made called 'Vegas Traffic.'
It is a local film written, produced, and shot right here in Las Vegas by three dads inspired by the award-winning film "The Sound of Freedom" about child sex trafficking.
"There are three hundred thousand children missing in this country," said Joseph Sharafi, the writer, director, and producer of 'Vegas Traffic.'
And for me, I'm like, what can I do? What can we do as filmmakers to make a difference? And it's to make an awareness project. And it was really about trying to get people to look in this area that people don't want to talk about because it's not a very polite dinner subject.
Sharafi's 13-year-old son Lucas is in the movie. His intention behind the film was to make a call for action while getting people's attention.
"A movie that people could be proud of would want to go watch and then are totally just taken by the message and just completely like they go home thinking, like, what can I do to help save a child from sex trafficking, slavery or being forced servitude," Sharafi said.
Trenton Brisco also produced the film with Joey. He's a father who fostered kids and knows many who don't have a home, which makes them targets.
"They'll groom them to want to be a part of their home, their family and all they're doing is grooming them to become child trafficked or human trafficked eventually," Brisco said.
John Molinaro stars in the film where two detectives uncover a trafficking ring in Las Vegas— a fictional film the filmmakers agree could be a real-life storyline here.
"At the heart of it, it's a real message on the terrible situation that goes on here," Molinaro said.
We are making this for people who need to know it happens. People need to be aware that this happens because they don't know.
The filmmakers told me that major events and crowds of people coming into Las Vegas creates a hotbed for sex traffickers.
"The ones that they've been targeting, the highest demographic, are like 12 to 14-year-old African-American girls. So that says something because we have a high demographic of that in our valley. And so we need to protect them."
We have such an influx of people coming in here. It's hard to keep track of so many people, right? And our local law enforcement only has so many resources to cover. So, it's easier for things to slide under the radar. And I'm sure child trafficking is just one of the situations they have to deal with
'Vegas Traffic' is a passion project for these three dads. Actor Molinaro wants to bring awareness to the hand signal— a sort of SOS when someone is being held against their will in a sex trafficking case.
"The universal hand signal is they have their thumb in and then they clasp their fingers over the thumb. And that represents I'm being held against my will. And this is a sign that a three-year-old could learn."
The next screening is scheduled for March 1 at Notoriety in downtown Las Vegas. There is also a book available on Amazon called 'Vegas Traffic.'
If you want to report trafficking and potential victims of human trafficking, please call Metro's non-emergency line at 702-828-3111 or emergencies at 911.
If you've bee the victim of sex trafficking, you can call the victim crisis line at 702-936-4004.
If you see something, say something.
