Toledo, Ohio, United States

Two girls, ages 15 and 14, came home from school as many teens do each day. They did homework, finished their chores and then asked a common request from their parents - the two girls wanted to walk to a nearby Wendy's Restaurant to grab a couple of frozen desserts. The restaurant was less than a mile from their homes, so their parents had no reason to deny the request. The two young girls, both good students and trusted by their parents, set off on their quest just before evening. On the way there, a car pulled up next to the girls and one of them thought she recognized the driver - Deric Willoughby - as the father of a classmate. The mistaken identity led her and her cousin to trust Willoughby enough to get into his car to allow him to drive them to the Wendy's. They were grateful for the ride. The ride, however, was the beginning of their captivity. Willoughby drove to his home, just a couple of miles across town from the teens' homes. He and his accomplices gave them new names (Ambrosia and Heavenly) and fitted them for skimpy outfits after telling them that they would be forced to have sex with men for money. Willoughby used his connections to arrange for a driver to pick up the teens and take them from Ohio and across state lines to truck stops in Michigan where the girls could easily be sold for an evening's entertainment. Both of the girls were forced to service multiple customers. The girls were kept at Willoughby's house during the day and pimped at night. One night, something happened that Willoughby wasn't expecting. One of the truck drivers called the police after being disgusted that such young girls were being offered to truckers at his stop. The call alerted the local sheriffs department which immediately responded. The entire crew was stopped and questioned, save for the 15-year-old, who was being raped in nearby truck. The 14-year-old gave officers a fake name and told them she was over 18. Something about her demeanor prompted sheriff's deputies to arrest her and send Willoughby and his crew packing. Information about this incident came from ABC News which did an in-depth report about this case in Ohio: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=5382645&page=1

Location

United States · Toledo, Ohio · 2008 (location generalized to protect survivors)

Response & intervention

Once alone with the young girl, she told the police her story. They immediately took her to a nearby hospital and called her parents who had been searching for the girl for more than 9 days. Police put out and APB on Willoughby's car. In a turn of events that has yet to be explained, the young girl told police and her parents the location of the house where her cousin was being held by Willoughby. The parents urged Toledo police to act on the girl's description, but for reasons unknown, no action was taken. The next day, the father of the 14-year-old who is uncle to the 15-year-old again called police and made it clear that if they did not respond, he would go to the house himself. After waiting for a short period of time, the uncle grabbed a tire iron and drove to Willoughby's residence. He forced his way into the house and rescued his niece who ran and hid in his car. The niece called police from the vehicle as her uncle went into a rage, attacking Willoughby. However, Willoughby's accomplices came to his aid, and the uncle was savagely beaten with a rock in the front yard of Willoughby's home. Neighbors witnessing the event called police repeatedly, but it would be a total of 2.5 hours from the uncle's first call to the time officers arrived on scene. Willoughby and his accomplices were arrested on multiple charges. The girls were cared for by their parents and local services including medical and counseling services. Other than the names of the traffickers, all parties in this story have their identities concealed. An ABC affiliate arrived on scene approximately 93 minutes before police officers responded.

Sources

Original reporting (abcnews.go.com) ↗

Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). Use “Report a problem” below to add a source or flag an issue.

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