Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers, and I'm Britt.

And January 11th was human trafficking awareness day. And in fact, January is now human trafficking

awareness month. So the story I want to tell you today is all about a girl who is believed

to have fallen victim to this modern day slavery practice. And this is one of the episodes

I think is super important for young people to hear. So parents share with your kids,

high school and college students listen close because according to the United Nations International

Labor Association, over 40 million people across the world are exploited, trafficked, and enslaved

with women and girls being disproportionately affected. Human trafficking isn't something

that happens far away in poor isolated regions. It can happen anywhere at any time and

anyone, including a high school soccer star on her spring break, can fall victim. This

is the story of Brittany Drexel.

Brittany Drexel just wanted to have some fun. Her family life in Rochester, New York was undergoing

some dramatic changes during her junior year of high school. Her parents had recently decided

to divorce. Her dad Chad, who had adopted her as a little girl after marrying her mom

Don, had just moved out of the house. And 17-year-old Brittany was taking it really hard. Now she

normally enjoyed school and she loved being on the soccer team, but the problems at home

were difficult to cope with, as she tried not only to navigate these new waters for herself,

but also be there for her younger brother and sister through the divorce. Her normal spark

around this time was just dimmed. But as winter ended and spring break of 2009 got closer,

Brittany saw an opportunity to reignite it when a trio of seniors from the high school

invited her to go down to Mertle Beach, South Carolina with them for spring break. This

is a big deal to be invited by the older kids. This is kind of a tradition for the seniors

...