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What Happened to Charlie?
The True Story That Inspired the Character in The David Saga Series.
His homeless mother handed him and his sister over to the sex trade, and his shocking story rocked my world when I read it in a Camp Alandale newsletter several years ago.
My parents established Camp Alandale, a Christian camp for foster children in Southern California, when I was five years old. I grew up hearing hundreds of heartbreaking stories from these children, but this one haunted me until it came out in my writing. I lost the original article written by the camp director with the boy's first name, but I'll call him Michael.
Michael shared the traumatic events of his life, and the retelling of his story goes something like this:
Around the glowing campfire, a handsome teen boy with blond hair took the mic provided to campers. During this time, the director encouraged everyone to share something they'd learned at camp or to tell their life story. The boy talked about living homeless with his mom and younger sister. One day, a lady approached his mom, saying she had a safe place for her kids to stay. They would have food, clothes, education, and a nice home. His mom believed her and gave her kids away, but it was all a lie. Michael described how traffickers separated him from his sister and took them to different locations. He was taken in a van along with other boys who seemed frightened and hopeless. They were driven across the country, city to city, state to state, to find customers who paid to abuse them. Michael said if they tried to escape or resist, the men who owned them used starvation, drugs, and other threats to keep them under control. The men treated him like a worthless animal, and he never knew where he was or the time of day. Michael's captives earned more money for him because of his blond hair and blue eyes, so they kept a close watch on him to make sure he never escaped. But when they stopped in Orange County, CA, he found a chance to run away, and after several years of captivity; he finally found help. He ended up in a group home that sent him to Camp Alandale.
Michael gazed at the campfire, the stars, and the trees, while the other counselors and middle school campers listened to his story with compassion and disbelief. The love everyone showed him at camp was something he’d never experienced before. For the first time, he saw beauty and understood peace. In front of all the other campers and counselors, he broke down in tears, saying his sister was still missing. She was blond too, and pretty, but he knew God would help her and they would see each other in heaven, if not sooner.
When he arrived at camp, he couldn’t talk or make eye contact with anyone, but gradually he started communicating and participating in the program. He stated that he was convinced of the truth of the camp leaders' statements about God due to his own complete transformation. If not, he wouldn't have been able to share his story with everyone or feel the love, acceptance, and joy of being part of their camp family.
My Inspiration
Reading this story motivated me to delve deep into research about sex trafficking and the exploitation of boys in the US in particular. Authorities suspect that boys and men are less likely to report such abuse, so the number of cases is probably much higher than anyone knows. I wanted to make others aware that girls and women aren’t the only victims of forced prostitution.
As I started talking with others about my research, suddenly men I knew, some of whom I’d known my whole life, started talking about their sexual abuse as a child. It seems many men out there still suffer alone and in silence.
My heart’s desire is for this subject to come out into the open and for all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation to know they’re not alone. I especially pray other male victims will find hope and healing in the Lord and through the love and support of God’s faithful servants.
Resources
http://menshatteringthesilence.blogspot.com/
Safe Kids - How to Protect Your Kids in this Generation at: www.campalandale.org/about/resources.
My husband, Jon, and I have worked with many male victims of child sexual abuse, so I accepted the chance to participate in the writing of Camp Alandale’s “Safe Kids” materials several years back. It's dated, at this point, but this booklet offers ways for protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse, for talking to children about this issue, and gives insight into handling a child sexual abuse issue that may arise close to home.
Look for my first email from [email protected], and feel free to reply with any questions or to just share your story.
May the Lord shower you with peace and embrace you with comfort today!
Crystal
