MODESTO -- Seventeen-year-old Emily Blair hasn't met anyone who was taken and sold for sex, but she knows it happens, and she knows it happens most often to girls no older than she is.
The Enochs senior and her teen team are behind an eclectic concert Friday to raise awareness about human trafficking and money to do something about it.
Traffickers are at least recruiting here, because Stanislaus County teens are turning up in raids in Alameda County, said Carol Shipley, Stanislaus County's assistant district attorney. Shipley said she suspects far more of it goes on, but few here know what to look for.
That's where Emily's concert comes in.
"They know it's here, but they haven't been trained yet," said the Modesto teen. Proceeds from the concert will go toward training for law enforcement about human trafficking, Emily said.
A program at her youth group of Centenary United Methodist Church opened her eyes.
"I thought it was really important for teens to know this is happening," Emily said in a moment between speaking engagements to civic groups and her tennis matches. She's also editor of the Eagle Eye school newspaper and is taking honors and Advanced Placement classes.
Her good deed has turned into an education of its own in time management, large event planning and public speaking. She's developed a two-minute speech, a 10-minute speech and a PowerPoint presentation that are getting good use.
She's also learning to ask for money — not usually in her nature, Emily said. "The first day we went to every store in the mall. We were rejected by every store in the mall. That was a bad day," she said.
Then a friend of the family pitched in, a business owner she knew through her church helped out and from there it's gotten easier. Sponsors printed the 1,000 tickets and have covered most of the concert's costs.
She started working on the concert in May — "the day after my last AP test," she said. Months of intense preparation will all come together Friday — timed to be over before midterms.
The strumming of acoustic guitarist Megan Slankard from Tracy will open the show. Slankard will slip out immediately after and rush to another concert engagement that night. Local heavy metal band Wicked Jester is performing for free. Radio Friendly, a Christian rock band, will bring its sound — and its sound and lighting equipment for the show.
Emily said she's had help from community mentors, but most of the work is being done by local teens.
Enochs senior Andrew Wong filmed and produced the video they'll première at the concert. A leadership assignment brought classmates together to describe teens most at risk of being tricked into virtual slavery: Lonely. Lost. Abused. Angry. Overwhelmed.
In short, any teen at some point, noted Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. O'Malley formed the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit in her office, called HEAT Watch.
The unit is where Emily found information and inspiration. The unit's law enforcement training service is where concert proceeds will be going, Emily said.
O'Malley, a former sex crimes lead prosecutor, described human trafficking as one of the most vicious and destructive crimes she sees.
Those who haven't heard of it soon will, she predicted. Safer and more profitable than drugs, trafficking of 14- to 16-year-old girls is attracting those involved in other criminal activities, O'Malley said.
"It's really money-driven," she said. A child put on the street at 10 a.m. will bring in an estimated $1,000 before the day's work ends at 7 or 8 p.m. Unlike a prostitute, young sex slaves "won't see a dime of that," O'Malley said.
Other experts estimate that a minor brings in about $600,000 a year.
What distinguishes trafficking victims is that they are lured in. Girls typically agree to go on what they think is a date, but instead are taken far from home, beaten and repeatedly raped. Once taken, victims are isolated, their phones, clothes — anything familiar — stripped away.
"Sadly, what we see is once the power of the trafficker sets in, they are less likely to try to get away," O'Malley said. Even if left alone, "they're too frightened to death to go through the door."
The number of children taken isn't known.
Alameda County has prosecuted 229 suspected traffickers and convicted 140 since 2006. Some of the rescued teens were abused before or emotionally needy — kids likely to be at risk. Others were "just teenagers, thinking there's no danger in the world," O'Malley said.
It could be anyone, maybe someone getting into a car right now, right here, and that's what pushes Emily.
The Stop Human Trafficking Concert will be 6-10 p.m. Friday at Enochs. Gates open at 5 p.m. Cost is $5 for students, $7 for adults.
Bee education reporter Nan Austin can be reached at naustin@modbee.com or (209) 578-2339.
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