Page 7 - The Wayne Dispatch

Human trafficking awareness month starts here

By Carolyn Marnon your sister?” he asked, meaning his
Learning how to recognize the “wife.”
signs of human trafficking is one of Feeling bad, she went to her older
the first steps you can take to put a sister and explained what happened.
stop to this terrible dilemma that Her older sister promised her it
can strike any community. By Presi- wouldn’t happen again.
dential Proclamation, January is Na- The second time it happened, her
tional Slavery and Human sister again told her it wouldn’t hap-
Trafficking Prevention Month. pen anymore. The third time, her
You may not realize it, but human older sister got aggravated. Devaun
trafficking can happen in Wayne. In didn’t say anything more. Over the
fact, it has happened in Wayne. The span of the next year, the sexual as-
victim? A teenage girl sent to live in saults increased.
what was thought to be the “stable” A month before her 14th birth-
home of her sister. This home was lo- day, Bill declared he wanted to throw
cated in the neighborhood behind a big party in her honor. He said he
the Rite Aid at the Wayne Rd/Michi- wanted to share her beauty. He
gan Ave. intersection. called it her “coming out party” and
Devaun Chandler grew up as the took her shopping for new clothes.
youngest of six children to a single They weren’t the clothes Devaun en-
mother, living in Kentucky and other visioned. She says he took her to the
southern states as a child. At the age lingerie shop down the road. She re-
of 9, she was removed from her members the saleslady looking very
mother’s home and sent to foster uncomfortable while Bill picked out
care because the husband of one of “clothes.” Imagine seeing a 30-year
her sister’s assaulted her. Devaun old man buying lingerie for a 14-year
says her foster home was a stable old girl. Devaun says the woman
place with two parents in the house- asked her if she was okay. Not want-
hold. She felt comfortable there. ing to upset Bill, she said she was.
When she was 11, Devaun was re- After buying approximately $300
turned to her mother. She missed worth of lingerie for Devaun, they
the stable life she had been living in left.
foster care. She started acting out The night of her birthday party,
against her mother. By the time she an upstairs bedroom that had been
was 12 or 13, it was decided that De- used for storage was now equipped
vaun would move to Wayne, Michi- with a desktop computer with web-
gan to live with her sister who was cam, water, and the various outfits
nine years older and her “husband.” purchased for Devaun. She was in-
Devaun calls him her brother-in-law, troduced as the “guest of honor” to a
but he and her sister were never gentleman she referred to as The
married. He was here from another Doctor. The Doctor checked her
country trying to get his citizenship. blood pressure. He gave her pills to
Her time in Wayne started out take. She now says it was to keep
well. They bought her nice clothes. her medicated. She says she was
She says her brother-in-law was in- scared at the time because she had
credibly nice to her. That didn’t last Devaun Chandler no idea what was going on.
long. Down in the living room, there
About three months into her stay, whatever it would take to start tear- with Devaun. She says it was playful were so many people “you couldn’t
little things began to change. She ing her down. He would tell her she wrestling at first. He told her he see the furniture,” Devaun recalls.
was told to change the way she was beautiful and then later, she was wanted to make sure she could fight Her sister played hostess, passing
dressed. Surprisingly, it wasn’t to overweight. for herself. Although she had been out drinks and snacks.
wear less, but to wear more. Her Then the next step, the physical scared when it started, she was now As the first man came into the
brother-in-law, let’s call him Bill abuse, started. She recalls how she feeling proud that he wanted that for room and picked an outfit for her,
from now on, wanted her to cover up jokingly called him a jerk. He pulled her, to fight for herself! Bill gave her a hug, told her he was
her body and to respect her body. her hair back hard and told her she The wrestling would progress to proud of her and left the room.
This respect was part of his religious needed to be put in her place. While feeling parts of her body. One night, More men took their turns with
beliefs. Because she was young and this happened, her sister did noth- he came into her room where she her. In between men, The Doctor
eager to please, she did what she ing. Devaun says Bill was loud with shared bunkbeds with her elemen- would come into the room, check
was told. her sister and kept her sister in her tary-school aged niece. He told her if her blood pressure and make sure
Slowly, Bill began to become ver- place. Devaun would be bit and she woke up her niece, he would do she was not hurt. She was crying so
bally abusive. Things were in the pinched hard, leaving bruises. what he was doing to Devaun to the
wrong place, she did the wrong thing, Eventually, Bill started wrestling little girl. “How could you do this to See Trafficking, page 10
The Wayne Dispatch · January 2019 · 7