A young girl believed she had met the perfect person and would live happily ever after, but she soon realized that the person she had trusted and placed so much hope in was not who she thought he was and that her dreams of a perfect relationship were just illusions.
At just 12 years old, Karla thought that she had met her Prince Charming, who would save her from her impoverished life and make her dreams come true.
“He bought me clothes and shoes. He told me, ‘You’re going to be my princess,’” says Karla.
But three months into the relationship, her scam artist boyfriend revealed his true intentions. It turns out that her 22-year-old “prince” was actually a pimp and part of an organized crime ring.
Karla quickly went from living in a fairy tale to living out her biggest nightmare.
Her pimp sold her for se- all across Mexico, forcing her to keep a daily log of the men she slept with. She was forced to have se- with at least 30 men every day for four years without a single day off.
“I started at 10 a.m. and finished at midnight,” recalls Karla. “Some men would laugh at me because I was crying. I had to close my eyes so that I wouldn’t see what they were doing to me and that I wouldn’t feel anything.”
The now-23-year-old estimates that from age 12 to 16, she was ra-ed no less than 43,200 times.
After finally escaping those four years of pure hell, Karla has made it her life’s mission to raise awareness about the dangers of se- trafficking. From press conferences to public events, she’s told her survival story to anyone willing to listen. Karla even shared her heartbreaking journey with Pope Francis at the Vatican and spoke to the US Congress in hopes of getting legislation passed to prevent other young girls from being trapped in human trafficking rings.
“I’m going to fight against this until the end,” says Karla. “Every day when I wake up, I wonder if I’m going to be alive at the end of the day because of what we do, and what I have experienced makes me a target. Death is lurking.”
But even the threat of death is not enough to stop her from fighting against the twisted industry that has scarred her for life, along with thousands of other helpless girls. See more of Karla’s brave story in the interview below.
Featured Image — Representative
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