The Preventable Disaster

Later, when Mitchell arranged for two of Kim's cousins to live at his house, members of the church congregation grew suspicious. They approached Kim and asked her what was going on in the minister's home. She responded by telling everything to police.

"I came out with this story because I realized that he was going to, or already has, inflicted a lot of pain on my cousins," Kim says. "I knew if I waited too long, they would suffer a lot more. I went to the police to save them from the suffering."

During their investigation, police found photos of young girls from other countries. He traveled frequently to such places as Ecuador, Thailand and the Philippines, Kim says.

With Kim's testimony against him, Mitchell was convicted of rape, indecent assault and battery. He served just over three years in prison, his passport was taken away for 10 years, and he was banished from his church.

Kim does not think this was enough punishment for the six years of torture and sexual abuse. "I think nothing could be enough for what he has done to me and maybe other hundreds of victims out there that we don't even know."

The lesson from this, Kim says, is to recognize that child sex trafficking is not just happening someplace else. It is happening right here.

"Traffickers don't come in one uniform profile," she says. "They come in many shapes and forms. As you see, this man was respected so much in the community. And I hope that people will wake up not only in other parts of the world, but right here in the United States."

Determined not to be seen as a victim, Kim uses her experiences to help end human trafficking. She speaks at international conferences and works to educate youth about human trafficking issues in schools around Boston.