Inside how human traffickers exploit vulnerable kids’ needs: ‘That’s how they get in’
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they → exploit → needs
Human traffickers are turning children’s hunger, desperation and need for affection into tools of exploitation, a Colorado city police sergeant warned after his dedicated unit’s first year brought dozens of survivors to safety.
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year → turn → safety
APD Sgt. Joseph Sullivan told Fox News Digital the work is exposing abuse that residents may never suspect is happening around them.
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residents → tell → them
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.”
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trafficking → accord → labor
For Sullivan, one teenage girl’s plea captures both the urgency of that mission and the difficult road survivors face after investigators reach them.
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investigators → capture → them
The 16-year-old had been brought to Aurora — a city of just over 400,000 people outside Denver — from another town by her boyfriend, who then left her there, Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → bring → her
Trying to survive, she was sexually exploited by people around an apartment complex in exchange for somewhere to stay, drugs or food.
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she → try → somewhere
During an interview, she asked a detective to find those responsible.
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she → ask → those
“‘I really hope that you can find the people that are doing this, because it really hurts what I’m having to do just to survive,'” Sullivan recalled her saying.
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her → hope → what
The girl died of an overdose a few months later, he said.
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he → die → overdose
Her words stayed with him.
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words → stay → him
“It really is satisfying being able to contact these survivors and then identify who’s exploiting them and holding them accountable,” Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → contact → them
But reaching someone does not guarantee an immediate or lasting escape.
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reaching → reach → escape
Survivors may need repeated contact, resources and offers of help before they can find a way out, he said.
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he → need → way
That is part of why having dedicated detectives matters.
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having → have → detectives
Created in September 2025, the trafficking unit has three detectives and a supervising sergeant.
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unit → create → detectives
Sullivan said its focus is sex trafficking involving people 21 and younger, allowing the small team to concentrate its efforts.
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team → say → efforts
The investigations demand time to gather evidence, build cases and help victims feel comfortable enough to testify.
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victims → demand → cases
“Having a dedicated unit helps lower their overall caseload and allows them to apply the time and effort that these cases deserve,” Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → have → that
APD Investigations Bureau Cmdr. Marc Paolino said the unit was built to put survivors at the center of investigations while targeting those exploiting them.
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unit → say → them
“The work they’ve done has made our community safer and sent a clear message that the Aurora Police Department will aggressively pursue anyone who exploits others for this type of heinous, criminal activity,” Paolino said in a department release.
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Paolino → do → release
Among those arrested is Marshae Wheelock, 24, of Aurora, whom police linked to multiple cases allegedly involving the exploitation of children over several years.
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police → arrest → years
“Marshae Wheelock represents the type of offender the Human Trafficking Unit was created to investigate; someone who repeatedly preys on vulnerable children,” APD Deputy Chief Mark Hildebrand said in the release.
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Hildebrand → represent → release
The department also detailed a February undercover operation in which investigators recovered a 16-year-old girl and later identified three suspects accused of sexually exploiting her for financial gain.
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investigators → detail → gain
Sullivan cautioned that trafficking often looks very different from the abductions portrayed in movies.
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trafficking → caution → movies
Someone does not have to be snatched off the street by another person to exploit their vulnerability.
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Someone → have → vulnerability
“There is some kind of need that a trafficker identifies to exploit, and that’s how they get in,” Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → be → that
Filling it through legitimate support is a central part of helping survivors, he said.
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he → fill → survivors
The APD works with human services officials, nonprofit organizations and victim advocates.
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APD → work → officials
Sullivan pointed to a local group, From Silence to Saved, which helps victims from the beginning of an investigation through court proceedings and afterward.
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which → point → proceedings
He also credited support from police leadership and organizations that provide tools to help detectives identify victims online.
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detectives → credit → victims
Sullivan oversees Aurora’s Internet Crimes Against Children team, as well as its trafficking detectives.
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Sullivan → oversee → team
The teams investigate distinct crimes, including sextortion, but their work can overlap.
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work → investigate → sextortion
The department said the trafficking unit draws on local, state and federal partnerships, and investigative resources through the Colorado Cyber Guardian Task Force.
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unit → say → Force
The threats also cross geographic and economic boundaries.
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threats → cross → boundaries
Asked whether Tren de Aragua (TdA) had been involved in the trafficking his team investigated, Sullivan said his unit had not encountered that connection.
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unit → ask → connection
His broader point was that exploitation can affect people across backgrounds.
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exploitation → affect → backgrounds
Sullivan described another high school student who came from a wealthier background but became vulnerable after her mother suffered a disabling medical crisis and her father was absent.
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father → describe → crisis
The girl became addicted to drugs and was exploited by someone else, he said.
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he → become → someone
“There really is no boundary on where we see victims,” Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → see → victims
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
