Heidi was 15 when she was trafficked, and in Part 2 of her story she tells Dr. Lois Lee what it took to get out and what came after.

She describes how completely her trafficker controlled her, and how she still believed he loved her even as federal agents closed in. When investigators finally reached her, she stayed silent through a ten-hour interview, having been taught never to talk to police. A detective who understood the life eventually earned her trust, and she agreed to testify about how traffickers operate.

Heidi speaks openly about the shame that surrounded her family and friendships, and about the road back. She arrived at Children of the Night to kindness, school, and girls who had lived the same thing, and it was her peers who first told her he never loved her. For the first time, she didn't feel alone.

Dr. Lee also shares what it took in the early days to convince law enforcement that these were children. Heidi carries her story through leaving the shelter, earning her GED, and becoming a young mother, and it ends as she heads back toward the life, setting up Part 3.

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Dr. Lois Lee reunites with a survivor she first met in the summer of 1999, when the survivor testified in the federal trial against the man who trafficked her.

In this first episode of a three-part series, Heidi describes being recruited at 14 by a pimp who approached her at a bus stop in Portland, Oregon, and spent a year grooming her over the phone before convincing her to run away and fly to Miami. There, she was isolated, forced to dress and perform for buyers, and sent out onto the track during Super Bowl season alongside another trafficked teenager.

She recounts repeated arrests, violence at the hands of both her trafficker and buyers, and the circumstances that eventually led to a federal investigation — sparked by her mother's suspicion. Part 2 continues the story.

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Brittany was 17 and living with her mom in Mississippi when her older sister bought her a one-way ticket to Las Vegas, hoping to get her away from a bad home situation. Living under her sister's roof came with rules Brittany resented — and that friction set the stage for what happened next.

In the parking lot of her sister's apartment complex, Brittany met a man she suspected was a pimp before he ever said so. What started as a flirtation turned into Brittany orchestrating her own ""kidnapping"" so she could leave her sister's house — against the warnings of a friend who saw the danger clearly.

On her very first night out, Brittany was sent with a more experienced girl to meet a "client" who turned out to be undercover Las Vegas Vice. Brittany's intuition kicked in early — she noticed unusually heavy police presence around the strip — but her trafficker's threats kept her silent. She and the other girl used a coded signal ("I don't feel good") to try to pull away from the situation before the officer revealed his badge in a casino elevator lobby.

Brittany was taken in for questioning, slipped up by signing her real name on a form, and was ultimately placed in juvenile hall for what became two months while authorities built a case against her trafficker. A juvenile hall guard told her she'd be back — a comment Brittany has never forgotten.

In court, a public defender advocated for Brittany to be sent to Children of the Night rather than a juvenile detention facility, describing her as naive rather than a "bad kid." Brittany went on to testify against her trafficker and described the Las Vegas Vice detectives — the same officers who ran the sting — as her "guardian angels," crediting them and the public defender with seeing her innocence when others hadn't.

Brittany lived at the Children of the Night shelter in 2002–2003, where she talks about the school program, a memorable classroom visit from Traci Lords, and the friendships she formed with other girls in the home. She left the program at 18, just short of the credits needed for her diploma, and reflects on that choice as one of her biggest regrets — though she's now working with Children of the Night to finish her diploma as an adult.

Now a mother herself, Brittany speaks about how her experience shaped her parenting — sometimes in ways she's still working through — and closes with a message about protecting kids from predators, wherever they may come from, and a thank-you to the Las Vegas Vice unit that changed the course of her life.

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At 14, Angelique was approached at a party by two adult women who convinced her to take a "quick drive" to Texas — a decision that led to months of exploitation, control, and fear. In this episode, Dr. Lois Lee reconnects with Angelique, who lived at the Children of the Night home in 2005, to talk about the escape that finally brought her home, the years since, and what she's carrying forward as a mother of three.

Angelique opens up about the moment she knew she'd been deceived, the elaborate psychological control tactics used against her, the harrowing details of her escape via a stolen phone call and a Greyhound bus, and a shocking violation of her privacy — a local newspaper that published her identity and explicit details of her abuse while she was still a minor. She also reflects on rebuilding her life through homelessness, incarceration, and custody battles, and what she wants lawmakers and other survivors to know.

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In Part 2 of her conversation with Dr. Lois Lee, survivor Rose goes deeper into the family dynamics that let her abuse continue in silence — and what it took to finally break that cycle.

Rose talks about the man who molested her serving just 30 days in jail, and how her family's instinct was to protect its image rather than confront what happened. She reveals that her twin sister was targeted by the same abuser — something the two never discussed, even decades later. Rose also describes how the abuser used the family dog as a tool of control, retaliating when she and her sister began to resist him.

The conversation turns toward systemic change: Rose calls for CPS, schools, and lawmakers to look at the whole family picture instead of just the "acting out" child, arguing that behavioral problems are almost always a signal, not the root cause. She closes by reflecting on her own parenting — taking accountability for what her choices exposed her son to, and how that accountability made her a better mother.

Rose ends the episode thanking Dr. Lois Lee and Children of the Night for being a lasting source of stability in her life, more than two decades after she first came through their doors.

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Rose lived at the Children of the Night shelter home in the early 2000s. Today, she's a single mom of two working at a shelter that helps at-risk, homeless youth — carrying forward exactly what was once given to her.

In this first of a two-part conversation, Rose sits down with Dr. Lois Lee to talk about what led her to the streets of Hollywood: years of abuse that began at home, a system that moved her from group home to group home, and a predator who found her at her most vulnerable. She opens up about surviving on the streets across multiple states, the moment her sister's search finally led her to Children of the Night, and the small, unexpected detail — a beloved dog — that ultimately broke her silence and changed the course of her life.

This episode includes discussion of child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and child sex trafficking. Listener discretion is advised.

Part 2 continues next episode — subscribe so you don't miss it.

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In Part 2 of her story, Chelsea continues her conversation with Dr. Lois Lee, going deeper into the years she spent as a runaway minor and the abuse that shaped her path into exploitation. She describes being sexually assaulted as a child by a congressman in her town — a respected, church-going man no one would have suspected — and reflects on how often abusers hide in plain sight behind community trust and status.

Chelsea also opens up about life on the run at 16, including how she gave a fake name to police and effectively became that identity for years, slipping through juvenile-justice loopholes that kept the system from recognizing her as a minor in need of protection. She and Dr. Lois discuss what could have been different had she been fingerprinted as a juvenile, and how those gaps in the system allowed her exploitation to continue undetected.

The episode moves toward healing as Chelsea recounts reconnecting with her mother, who apologized and affirmed her experience — a moment Chelsea describes as deeply healing. She closes by reflecting on what she'd say to her 16-year-old self: a hug, and the reminder that she only ever needed someone to see her and believe her.

This episode makes the case for residential care options specifically for prostituted adults 18 and older, an age group that often falls into a gap in available services and support.

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Dr. Lois Lee sits down with Chelsea, a survivor she personally welcomed into Children of the Night as a pregnant 16-year-old fleeing juvenile detention in Las Vegas. Now 37, a mother of three, and approaching her ten-year anniversary out of "the life" this October, Chelsea shares the story most people never get to hear.

In this episode, Chelsea opens up about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child that no one believed — and how that disbelief set off a decade of group home instability, self-harm, and eventually, life on the streets. She walks through her first encounter with a trafficker at 15, waiting at a bus stop after running away, and the manipulation tactics — food, clothes, cash, attention — that hooked her before she understood what she was agreeing to. She also shares how her final trafficker used her own child to build false hope of a family life, keeping her trapped for years.

This is a raw, unflinching conversation about grooming, disbelief, and the systemic gaps that leave vulnerable kids exposed — and a reminder of why organizations like Children of the Night exist.

Content note: This episode discusses child sexual abuse, grooming, domestic violence, and trafficking. Listener discretion advised.

Part 2 of this conversation is coming soon — subscribe so you don't miss it.

⸻

Listen Now:

🎧 New episodes weekly on Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Podbean, and wherever you listen. Follow & Support

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🕊️ X/Twitter: @LoisLee_COTN

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Part two continues Dr. Lois Lee's conversation with Katey — from the choice she made not to testify against the men who trafficked her, to the winding path through foster care, a broken reunion with her father, and the healing she's found on the other side.

In this episode:

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🎧 New episodes weekly on Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Podbean, and wherever you listen. Follow & Support

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Dr. Lois Lee reconnects with Katey, who came to Children of the Night as a teenager after surviving family abuse, exploitation by a gang who first posed as protectors, and a psychiatric hospitalization where her trauma response was labeled "promiscuity" instead of understood as a symptom of what she'd survived.

In this episode:

Part 2 coming soon — subscribe so you don't miss it.

Content note: This episode discusses child sexual abuse, family violence, and exploitation. Listener discretion advised.

⸻

Listen Now:

🎧 New episodes weekly on Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Podbean, and wherever you listen. Follow & Support

🌐 Website: childrenofthenight.org

📲 Facebook & Instagram: @childrenofthenight

🕊️ X/Twitter: @LoisLee_COTN

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share this podcast to help us reach more listeners and protect vulnerable children.