The Morning Brew: Human trafficking in Oklahoma

by Juliana Keeping

Published: Wed, December 28, 2016 5:00 AM

It's Wednesday.

Human trafficking in Oklahoma

They were first sold into the sex trade as toddlers. They are runaways who have fallen prey to hustlers. They are addicts.

Victims of human trafficking come from every walk of life, reports The Oklahoman's Josh Dulaney.

When they arrive at new organization called Dragonfly House, they have one thing in common, he reports.

They have nothing.

“One rule for the game that pimps follow is that you leave with nothing,” said Whitney Anderson, co-founder and executive director of the Dragonfly Home Human Trafficking Relief and Restoration Center. “That's what we've seen as service providers. They come in with typically nothing.”

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Related Photos

Whitney Anderson, of the "Dragonfly Home Human Trafficking Relief and Restoration Center", a state-certified center that provides services to victims and survivors, is executive director of the organization in Oklahoma City, Okla. Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The...

Micco Pohlemann, a Kiowa and Seminole, talks with other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, stands with other inmates during a break for a count in the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Inmate Michael Benham, a Choctaw, walks near the fence during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

An inmate dances during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, watches during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

<figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-b59a1f2eaf80a17785d34531089b366d.jpg" alt="Photo - Whitney Anderson, of the "Dragonfly Home Human Trafficking Relief and Restoration Center", a state-certified center that provides services to victims and survivors, is executive director of the organization in Oklahoma City, Okla. Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman " title="Whitney Anderson, of the "Dragonfly Home Human Trafficking Relief and Restoration Center", a state-certified center that provides services to victims and survivors, is executive director of the organization in Oklahoma City, Okla. Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman "><figcaption>Whitney Anderson, of the "Dragonfly Home Human Trafficking Relief and Restoration Center", a state-certified center that provides services to victims and survivors, is executive director of the organization in Oklahoma City, Okla. Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-s_84e12b775ce30ddbd360e47bcff9fea4.jpg" alt="Photo - Micco Pohlemann, a Kiowa and Seminole, talks with other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="Micco Pohlemann, a Kiowa and Seminole, talks with other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>Micco Pohlemann, a Kiowa and Seminole, talks with other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-4d20bedd236d6e192ccde5c829e07eb8.jpg" alt="Photo - Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, walks past other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, walks past other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, walks past other inmates during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-83835c33a1740d73ed2061bdff4795a0.jpg" alt="Photo - Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, stands with other inmates during a break for a count in the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, stands with other inmates during a break for a count in the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, stands with other inmates during a break for a count in the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-d9bc7e65a1fba8028c266ed0e3304aa3.jpg" alt="Photo - Inmate Michael Benham, a Choctaw, walks near the fence during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="Inmate Michael Benham, a Choctaw, walks near the fence during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>Inmate Michael Benham, a Choctaw, walks near the fence during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-ab0aa88a277e3eec719e5caec5182a90.jpg" alt="Photo - An inmate dances during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="An inmate dances during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>An inmate dances during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-27a851de48bc773d84f0052335ef2556.jpg" alt="Photo - Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, watches during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman" title="Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, watches during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>Inmate David Arkinson, a Sioux, watches during the 27th Annual Confined Inter-Tribal Group Gourd Dance & Pow-Wow inside Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla., on Friday, September 9, 2016. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure>

Juliana Keeping

Juliana Keeping is on the enterprise reporting team for The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com. Keeping joined the staff of The Oklahoman in 2012. Prior to that time, she worked in the Chicago media at the SouthtownStar, winning a Peter Lisagor Award... Read more ›

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The Morning Brew: Human trafficking in Oklahoma