Postal worker spotted a teen 'crying' and shaking behind a bush—his swift response rescued her from sex trafficking
Trigger Warning- This article contains mentions of drugs and abuse, which can be distressing for some readers.
A postal worker's will to help while driving on a mail route ended up saving a 16-year-old girl from a harrowing future. The teen, Allen, had been kidnapped and held captive after a new friend managed to convince her to come to Sacramento with them. There was no possible way for Allen to escape the place. But one day, an opportunity showed itself and the teen managed to take it by jumping out of the car while her captors were not paying attention. However, she didn't know what to do next. That is when the postal worker, Ivan Crisostomo, showed up to help, per ABC 13 Eyewitness News.
Allen's mom, Stacy Ohman, recounted that her teen daughter had been "lured" to Sacramento by a friend. However, she had no idea that she would get kidnapped. "I was kidnapped and held captive and abused and stuff," Allen told the outlet. The teen came to know that her captors were involved in drugs and sex trafficking as well. "They had guard dogs and people who would watch us all the time and not let us leave. I was tied to chairs," the 16-year-old told CBN. According to a statement from the Mayor's Office in Sacramento, the teen had been at the place for three months. But one day, she was in the captors' car in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood.
She could see that there was a chance for her to escape and get help. So she jumped out of the car and ran. Ivan was driving on his mail route at the same time. The man found the teen crying while she was hidden from her captors. "I heard this crying when I came out of the vehicle, so I approached her and I asked her. She was afraid; she didn't want to talk," Ivan told ABC 13. The teen had taken one of the phones from the car when she escaped, so the postal worker asked her to call her mom. "She was frantic. I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't even understand her," Ohman shared.
"She was so upset and that's when I told her she had to reach out to someone for safety and she gave the phone to Ivan and he instantly kicked into gear and told me that he would save my daughter," Ohman explained. Ivan helped Allen get to his postal truck and managed to hide her there until the police arrived at the scene. "He stepped up where a lot of people would have just kept driving down the road. He made a huge positive impact in this young girl's life," Deputy David Cuneo from Sacramento County Sheriff's Department mentioned.
The man had worked as a Postal service worker for 30 years, according to the Mayor's office. He shared that his father had taught him to show compassion and help others when he was a young person. "The way I see her. She has a wonderful future. She's doing so well. I'm happy. I'm really happy," Ivan told CBN. "I don't see myself as a hero. I see myself as a person who really wants to help. That's what I did. I helped."
If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453
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