Nine children rescued; 10 suspects arrested

Our agents worked with police on nine cases of child exploitation in the Dominican Republic.

While most of the cases we helped police with involved sex crimes, two of them involved forced child marriage. To read more about our flourishing partnership with police in the Dominican Republic, visit our blog.

Rescue Update Archive

15-year-old Dominican girl was rescued after her mother let an adult abuse the child.

After being rescued from an adult abuser, a child has been separated from her mother, who allowed the abuse.

A local school in the Dominican Republic reported the suspected abuse to authorities. Our agents helped police with the investigation, which revealed that the child’s mother knew the man and enabled the “relationship.” Agents reported that the child felt great relief when the man was arrested. She’s now living safely with her father.

20 Children Free from Sexual Exploitation

20 Rescued from Exploitation in Zimbabwe

While they all faced sexual exploitation, only one of them was being controlled by a trafficker.

Poverty drives vulnerability. All of those other girls were forced to sell their bodies just to provide for their families without a trafficker being involved at all. Some of them had sick parents and mounting medical bills. Some of their parents struggled with addiction. They all needed food for their families, and with no other options, they endured the unthinkable just to survive.

Now things are different for those kids. All of them enrolled in our care, where they’ll learn to move past the trauma they suffered while being equipped to live free.

These brave girls sacrificed so much for their families. Their road ahead will still be difficult, but after vocational training, they can join other survivors who’ve landed stable jobs or even become entrepreneurs. Best of all, they’ll walk that road in freedom.

Dominican man arrested for abusing an 8-year-old girl

A mother came to us after her 8-year-old daughter told her that while she was living with her stepmother, she was sexually abused by a family member.

When police contacted us about the case, our team conducted surveillance to identify the perpetrator.

The intel we gathered helped the police get a warrant. The perpetrator was arrested thanks to the team’s efforts and collaboration with local law enforcement. The survivor now lives under her mother’s custody, where she feels safe again.

9 Children Freed from Abusers and Traffickers

Nine children are finally safe after suffering sexual abuse or exploitation in the Dominican Republic.

Rescue agents helped our partners in law enforcement rescue one boy and one girl from sexual exploitation. The other seven children, including one 4-year-old, were all rescued from sex abuse situations as part of raid operations with police. All the children are now home safe.

15-year-old girl rescued in the Dominican Republic

A mother found out her daughter was being exploited for sex

Earlier this year, a mother in the Dominican Republic made a discovery so startling that she felt compelled to go straight to the police. Her 15-year-old daughter was in possession of something she shouldn’t have had. But it wasn’t alcohol or drugs or a gun that raised red flags for this concerned mom. It was money. Too much money. She knew her school-aged daughter didn’t get the money from her and had no way to earn that much on her own. Fearing the worst, she asked her daughter about it. The child’s answer confirmed her fears: a grown man had been paying her daughter for sex. Extra money—along with reclusive behavior, unexplained gifts and personality changes—is one of the signs that a child might be experiencing exploitation. Because this mother recognized the signs, she was able to ask for help before the predator could draw the girl away from her family.

Destiny Rescue agents helped authorities track down and arrest the predator so that he can’t exploit children anymore. The survivor, safe from his influence and abuse, is recovering with her family.