According to Russ Tuttle, founder of the Stop Trafficking Project, the technology we give our children to keep them safe, can also lead them to some very dark places.
Tuttle, who is visiting schools in Iola today, said the average age for children to be exposed to pornography is 8 years old. The venue is the internet.
It all comes down to three words, Tuttle said at a forum Monday evening. Exploitation of vulnerabilities. The survivors that we work with, who fit the definition of domestic minor sex trafficking, first encountered pornography online. They go through a grooming process. Conversations turn sexual, then they start sharing naked pictures of themselves online with an adult. Typically it starts with a friend first, but then the friend on social media has another friend. New people come into your social media world and it just keeps getting deeper and deeper.
