oh my god. >> where is your clothes at? don't move. stay in the seat until i get your clothes. >> they go hand in glove. section for sale, and drug addiction. >> we arrest hundreds and hundreds of girls involved in prostitution. >> get your clothes on. >> i would say only a handful are the ones not involved with a narcotic. >> did you find the heroin? >> yep. >> all across america, more and more women are turning to drugs like crack and heroin to kill the pain that comes with being bought and sold. msnbc goes under cover with michigan's human trafficking task force for a sobering look

at the overwhelming power of drug addiction in the business of sex for sale. >> i thought that i could just do it once and stop. >> it's a growing epidemic that can touch anyone, even the all american girl next door. >> this is going to sound crazy, but it's not that hard to go from using drugs from point a to point b of selling yourself. how will you get that much daily when your addiction is out of control and you're using so much of it. how are you going to get that money every day? ♪ it's a saturday night in detroit, and the city is jumping. the local economy is finally on the rebound, and people are out on the streets again looking to celebrate and have a good time. to some, that means buying a woman for sex.

>> hey, it's sanchez. >> state trooper richard sanchez is part of the michigan human trafficking task force. >> they say my girl is walking the track right no in grand river wearing blue jeans and a black coat. she goes by honey. >> the task force combines federal, state, and local investigators to combat michigan' underground growing sex trade. >> a lot of these girls have ran away from home, or do not have the support at home or the love they feel, the attention they need at home. so when they leave home, these predators and pimps start to locate them, manipulate them, groom them, and they feel loved. somebody care's about pem. whether it's mental, physical, emotional abuse, it's still a type of affection. >> tonight, the team will be traveling from hotel to hotel. >> we have tons of motels.

>> undercover officers set up dates with women. >> i can see his head in the door. >> close cover officers monitor the rendezvous by wire. >> knocking on the door. >> and arrest teams move in once a deal for sex has been made. >> can i get dressed? >> the first goal of the task force is to identify and rescue juveniles from traffickers. >> i'm not from here. >> how old are you? >> i'm 18. >> you're what? >> 18. >> in this case, the young woman we'll call nicki is 18. but she's not from detroit and investigators suspect she's being trafficked. >> did you purchase the room or someone else purchase for you? >> somebody did. >> are they still here with you that we need to notify? >> no. i'm here by myself. >> they suspect nicki's pimp may be nearby watching and waiting but she's not giving him up.

>> these girls are brought into a hotel, separated from their family and friends or any support group they have, and they stay in a hotel waiting for the next call. >> before you go anywhere, is there anything i need to be aware of that's in the room? any guns? >> no guns. >> little bit of weed? >> no weed. there is some alcohol. >> nicki tells police she was recently kicked out of her mother's house and is relatively new to the game. without meaningful intervention, sanchez says girls like nicki are at high risk of addiction. >> we arrest hundreds and hundreds of girls involving prostitution, and only a handful are the ones not involved with any type of narcotic. >> going to be on the backside of the building with the office. >> just an hour after nicki's arrest in a cheap motel only blocks away, police find the all

too common union of drugs and prostitution on full display. >> 115, right? >> oh, my god. >> where are your clothes at? don't move. just stay in the seat until i get your clothes. >> 33-year-old holly is no stranger to the game. >> what's going on? >> a resident of ohio, she's been in michigan for a month staying at various motels and posting online ads for sex. >> get your clothes on. >> a quick search of her room turns up condoms, $259 in cash, and dozens of used syringes. >> that's the most i've seen in forever. >> what do you use the needle for? do you have diabetes or anything? do you have medical problems or other purposes? >> other purposes. >> okay. that's all i need to know. >> how many packs do you shoot a day? >> just barely nothing. >> you don't have any with you? >> i don't have any drugs. i just have needles. that's all. >> you have to have something here.

>> a thorough search of the room yields no drugs tonight. but police suspect holly's supplier may also be her pimp. >> he is probably out here somewhere. >> you have pimps that will use drugs to control the girls quite a bit. what they will do is supply the girl, get them hooked. say they're on heroin or cocaine or crack, and at that point that girl is dependent on that drug. >> i have to take a photo of you. >> so it's like a vicious cycle where the girl is hooked. she needs the drugs. the pimp says do this and i'll give you drugs. >> here is some of her girlfriends. >> among her belongings are photographs that show her in younger days including with an unknown male. one shot she appears naked on a bed covered in money. they're the fading mementos of a troubled young woman who now uses heroin to cope.

>> i would say that's common. if you think about it, that girl is about to have sex with a stranger for money. doesn't know if that guy is going to rob her. guys are violent sometimes. so it's a coping mechanism to get them to separate themselves from their body just to get through this. coming up, a mother of four struggles to feed her habit and her children. >> i mean, i don't approve of what you're doing here. but if you're going to do it, you've got to be safe about it. >> my baby's birthday is tomorrow. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer through 6 months. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections.

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it's saturday night in the motor city, and investigators with michigan's human trafficking task force are conducting undercover sting operations. >> oh, my god. >> where are your clothes at?

just stay in the seat until i get your clothes. >> tonight's arrest begin to provide us with a rare and unsettling look at the chronic drug addiction that often goes hand in hand with the underground sex trade. >> that's the most i have seen in forever. >> the unfortunate reality of it is that we arrest hundreds and hundreds of girls involved in prostitution. i would say only a handful are the ones that aren't involved with any type of narcotic. >> get your clothes on. >> but as time goes on, these girls need that numbness or that fix in order to continue to go on from the work that they're doing. >> in countless hotels and motels up and down the broad boulevards of the motor city, the same scenario plays out tonight and every night. a young woman sits in dark drinking or shooting dope trying to forget the last john and waiting for the next one. >> he is rolling in right now. i see his brake lights.

>> but sometimes that next date is actually an undercover cop. >> 219. >> that's the call sign. >> the woman in room 219 is no stranger to police. >> i don't approve of what you're doing here, but if you're going to do it be safe. >> my baby's birthday is tomorrow. it really is. whatever. >> she is 32-year-old crystal manuel, a mother of four with a long history of prostitution and drug charges. >> she indicated to us that she started when she was under age. she did not come from a strong family background. she started hanging out with the wrong crowd and she got hooked up with a gentleman she thought was her boyfriend and now he is her pimp. >> i'm from livonia. yeah. my kids, four of 'em. >> tonight police find her intoxicated and a search of her

room yields crack cocaine and a makeshift pipe. >> with crystal, i think narcotics plays a huge role along with alcohol. she's just trying to put food on the table for her children because she's not getting support from anybody. in order for her to do that and cope with what she has to do on a daily basis, she resorts to narcotics. >> been drinking a bit tonight? it's okay. just want to make sure you're okay? you want to see your baby? >> i'm good. i'm good. >> we can make it happen. >> detective sanchez might be willing to cut crystal a break in exchange for information about her pimp. a man named gregory smith also known as g. >> are you still working with g.? >> no. i have a baby by him -- >> i know you have a baby by him. >> she'll deny it. every time we've come into encounter with her she denies she's working for g. or anyone

else. but he has abused her in so many ways. she has a child by him. >> he text me earlier today and said he should have left me in jail. >> who said that? >> g. >> crystal and g. were caught up in the 2007 murder of a juvenile named kathleen jasmine hahn. crystal arranged an outcall date for the girl and g. delivered her to the john's apartment where she was tortured and killed. while the teen's killer got life in prison, jasmine's trafficker was never punished. >> we ready to talk about that yet? >> i know all about it. >> why haven't you talked to us about it? >> it's not my problem. >> investigators are working to build a federal trafficking case against g. and want crystal to cooperate. >> i know who you are, you're not a bad person. you're not a bad person at all.

i think you got hooked up with g. when you were too young. >> no. >> come on. he's not good news. you know that. >> but crystal is not about to give up g. tonight. in the jargon of the underground sex trade, she remains true to the game. >> the girls will deny they have any type of pimp. that they're just doing it themselves. they don't want to see him get in trouble and have the repercussions of what he can do to them if they give them up. so we still see they're continuously scared to testify against these pimps. >> he's not good for you. >> no, i know -- >> he's not, you deserve better than this, you know you do, i know you do. >> these guys take advantage of these girls. play their little game with them. and then what happens to the guys? nothing. the girls have to go to jail all the time. they don't deserve it. they got babies to take care of. becau because daddy's not taking care of the babies.

>> because they don't never. >> they take advantage of you guys and you're like okay, whatever you say, g. you know who i'm talking about. >> don't matter who you're talking about. yep. because when they leave i'm like hey, yeah. here i go. baby, changing the diapers and -- >> there you go, exactly. >> you're the one doing all the work. >> here i go. yep. yep. >> you are. i know you are. >> yep. >> where is he, out smoking some weed, banging another chick? exactly, you know that. >> yep. >> and you're the one that has to go to jail. >> yep. >> and we always protect him for some ungodly reason because he's the nicest guy in the whole world. >> no. i ain't talked to him in years. >> he makes you take care of the babies, doesn't pay for the babies. and you're out here working trying to make ends meet just to feed the baby. i know you're not a bad girl. >> although crystal has not been

legally punished for her role in jasmine's death, detective sanchez says women like crystal cannot escape the sort of day-to-day sentence that often comes with life in the underground sex trade. >> they just don't know where to go, who to turn to, who to trust. they've been beaten down so long to make them feel like they're not existent. they're looking for someone to help them. you can't always do that unless they want to help themselves. that's where we get stuck. not a lot of them want to go that extra mile or get away from their comfort zone because they lived that life so long they have no place to go. you run into that quite a bit. did you find the heroin? >> yep. >> up next, addiction can touch anyone. even the all-american girl next door. >> i thought that i could just do it once and stop. you know, i didn't know that i would do it the one time and

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lights. >> tonight, investigators with michigan's human trafficking task force have shown us how life in the underground sex trade can easily lead young girls and women into a downward spiral of alcohol abuse and drug addiction. >> been drinking a bit tonight? it's okay. i just want to make sure you're okay. you're working with gracie? >> i'm not working with anybody. >> gracie's stuff is here. >> who's gracie? >> you know grace. >> yo, i don't. >> police suspect grace may also be selling sex out of the room. >> okay, there is a white female here roaming around with dark brown hair. she is probably 5'2". >> yeah, i have a female, she's inside on the phone, this has got to be her, can you bring id over here? >> grace, what are you doing

here? why are you hanging out with crystal? >> i let her use my room. >> why? >> i don't know. >> what's going on? who you working with now? >> nobody. >> was that cocaine in your purse? >> in my purse. >> there was some cocaine. >> in what purse? >> in your room. >> in what purse? >> we've got to find out which one is yours. >> where are we going? >> where'd you go last time? >> downtown detroit. >> well, that's where you're going this time. >> for what? >> grace is no stranger to detectives. >> come on. you know me. i'm not no drug addict. want to piss test me? >> why are you still working? >> i'm not, sanchez. >> be real with me. you are working the track anywhere? >> just the hotels. >> just be honest. >> i'm sick today. i'm not working. >> although grace admits to being a little drunk, she did not break any laws and police

cut her loose. >> you're lucky i like you. >> if i catch you next time you're going, you understand? >> yes, sir. >> police say cases like crystals where women slide from prostitution into drug addiction are all too common. while she is bound yet again for jail, the task force moves on to their next target. >> conversing with this female through e-mail. she posts on the casual encounters. possibly just to save money. on craigslist. >> an undercover has made an outcall date who posted an craigslist casual encounters rather than an ad for sex. >> we're trying to do an outside date. she wants to get a room here. once he makes the deal outside, we'll go in and arrest her. >> making his approach. >> outside a quiet suburban motel, close cover officers eyeball the rendezvous while arresting officers move in

slowly waiting for 234e good deal signal to make the bust. >> she agreed, she's out of his ride. good deal, good deal. >> the woman selling herself is a 20-something college student we'll call dana. upon arrest, she tries to thwart investigators from looking in her car. by hiding her keys in her pants. >> where are those keys? you didn't throw them. do you have them crotched or something? do you have the keys hidden on you. >> no. >> she's saying they're right up here. i didn't see her throw them. >> during the conversation with her, she concealed the keys from us and concealed her phone which made us believe there's something in the vehicle she doesn't want us to see. >> so what's your deal? what's going on? what are your concerns? talk to me. >> i have a drug problem. >> so you got a bit of drugs in the car. no big deal. okay. did you find the heroin? >> yep. >> says she got a bunch of

heroin in there. >> inside dana's car police say they find what is $300 worth of heroin and three syringes. just enough of a fix to get the woman through the night. >> take a photo quick. what's going on with you that you're getting so addicted? you don't appear to be the woman that needs to be on that stuff. >> i know. that's why i'm doing it. because i'm addicted to it. and you know -- >> how long you been out here? >> what do you mean? >> involved in prostitution? >> almost a year. since last january. >> that's the way you're feeding the addiction? >> she's been in far year and has an addiction with heroin. she feeds that addiction through prostitution. >> back at the state police post, dana confesses she's been fighting heroin addiction for over two years. >> so what got you started in prostitution? >> just paying for it. you know, my habit, it grew out

of control. >> with a $300 a day habit, it's a battle she's losing. >> heroin especially heroin. i mean, it just changes your brain and how you think. when you don't have it you feel like you're dying almost. your body tricks itself. it's like you have to had it or you will not load anywhere, like you're dying. >> unusually articulate, educated, and self aware, officers are surprised to learn her downward spiral from honor student, to addict, to prostitute gan began from a sports injury. >> i had a bad rotator cuff. i was at the point where i could keep playing, but i was basically putting a bandage over it with taking painkillers like vicodin because it got so bad i had to take them to play. >> dana says she graduated to heroin when her health insurance ran out and she could no longer afford prescription drugs.

in the cold quiet of her jail cell, struggling without heroin and facing charges, she realizes she has hit rock bottom. i had scholarship offers from -- i mean, i can't even count how many universities. i mean, i could have basically played sports anywhere that i wanted to. [ heart beating, monitor beeping ] woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this?

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here's what's happening. a manhunt is on in northern california for a suspect in the murder of an 8-year-old girl. officials say the girl was found by her brother after he found a male intruder in the home. police are telling residents to keep their doors locked and report anyone considered suspicious. thousands remain without power in the houston area after several inches of rain caused widespread flooding. emergency crews conducted nearly 50 water rescues. now back to "msnbc undercover."

there is nothing more shocking than understanding that this young woman, who we will call dana, was a highly recruited college athlete just a few short years ago. at dana's request, we refrained from mentioning specifics. >> i had scholarship offers from i can't even count how many universities. i could have basically played sports any where that i wanted to. >> i have a drug problem. >> okay. >> we met dana had what she show admits was the lowest point of her life. strung out on heroin and selling her body for cash. she was arrested in a federal sting aimed at rescuing trafficked girls. >> she was not a typical case. she was an independent. she did not work for a pimp. she had a little bit of heroin with her. she was reluctant to assist us at first because she was scared. >> between years in the lockup, she admitted to being addicted

to heroin after a devastating sports injury. she said this was not the life she planned. >> i was a really happy go lucky kid, outgoing, had a lot of friends, played a lot of sports. was really active. >> raised in rural michigan, dana personified the all american girl. studious and athletic, dana wasn't just good. she was exceptional. >> i was always a bright child, very athletic. anything i picked up i excelled at very quickly. >> looking back now, she says the punishing physical grind and pressure to succeed led to her because alcohol. >> you're playing sports six or seven days a week. that's hours long practices and tournaments, and you know, just different training sessions, weight lifting, running, everything. and it's just, it consumes your life. >> big 10 schools and duke came

calling offering dana scholarships. but she says she started to rebel and chose to stay close to home. >> by the time i got to college, i just wanted to hang out and have fun with my friends. it felt like a job at the time. the enjoyment was gone, the fun was gone. it was so serious because at that point, it's all about paying for your school. >> after a shoulder injury and with her scholarship on the line, dana started self medicating to play through the pain. >> my body started hurting. but knees and backerer hurting. i was in so much pain i would take ibuprofen all the time. that escalated to vicodin and stuff like that. >> after a year of prescription drug and alcohol abuse, dana entered rehab and was introduced to heroin. >> you know, i tried heroin one time and that was it. it was a wrap. i don't know how to describe it. it felt like any pain, any hurt

in my life, anything negative when i did it it was just gone. >> these are kids that grow up in great households, stable households. >> dana's story isn't shocking to scott macy who says he counsels many high achieving young women and men who have sold themselves for drug. >> heroin addiction or opiate addiction is physical and a mental, you know, we consider it a brain addiction. >> a former addict, scott macy knows firsthand the devastating impact of what is known as chasing the dragon. like dana, he lived a double life going back and forth from his white collar job to detroit's east side to feed his addiction. >> addiction just takes over any type of thought process. any type of, you know, just takes over their life. and you know, it's just an obsession of the mind. >> dana says her $20 a day fix quickly escalated to a $300

a day habit. transforming her into a vulnerable fiend. >> a drug dealer who had been very fond of me kind of made me an offer i couldn't refuse where he said i'll give you "x" amount of drugs if you let me sleep with you. >> the memories of selling herself remain a source of trauma for dana. >> the first time was really hard on me. i was so upset i was crying afterwards. i felt so weird. i sat in the shower for a half hour afterward just crying like what am i doing? am i going crazy? >> those who are open about their sex work experience, i would say it's about 95% also admit some sort of drug addiction. >> the trafficking survivors that she counsels say that pimps and drug dealers use the need for drugs to enslave women. >> drugs cause physical addiction.

your body goes through withdrawals. so even if the pimp is nowhere near them, the physical need for the drug overwhelms any urge to leave or to report that pimp, to go home, any of that. because they have this physical addiction, and it's not like they can go up to a cvs and say may i have some heroin? >> once i saw how much money from the drugs i made, it hushed any concern or any negative feelings i had towards it because there was no other way that i could get that amount of drugs for, you know, doing anything else. >> you are aware of all of the parties going on? >> yeah, they have them all over. >> the night she was arrested, dana told investigators about a underground network where men buy women out fear of police detection. >> i ended up meeting a man from craigslist that knew about kind of this underground almost like

society, if you will, of men that created an online website where the girls would go there and, you know, post. and you know, people could call you and set up a date with you. >> these are kind of like a secret society te of website where the average person has to apply to gain access into the society. you basically fill out a form on the internet, and they do a background check on you through the information that you provide to them. and it's very difficult to get into these websites. >> and what kind of men frequent the secret society? >> it messed with trust issues with me, with trusting people. you look at them and you see that just like the deception there, and sometimes hearing people you're with calling their wives as they're in the room with you saying i'm at the grocery store, i'll be home in an hour, and i'm thinking now

you're going to sleep with me right r phone with you i dealt with that a lot, that was hard. >> she says despite the mystique, there is nothing sexy about women who are bought online. >> it's hardly glamorous, it's violent and it's ugly and it's quick and it's nameless and it's hurtful. 3 >> fighting to stay clean remains a daily struggle for dana. with the support of her family, she made the difficult decision to go public in order to help other struggling teens. >> mreal hope is that from my experiences, if i could help one person teetering on the edge of addiction and trying a harder drug or maybe someone who is already addicted or thinking of selling themselves to help step back from that, would make me feel like everything i went through wasn't for nothing. coming up, a wake up call

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everyone grows with miracle-gro. while some women like dana might be able to operate in the underground sex trade like hers without a pamp, police say a case like her is not the norm. >> she was an independent, and that's not typical. many girls one way or another are around a pump. it may start out i'm going to post myself, but it doesn't end that way. there's going to be a pimp involved one way or another. >> police say it's not uncommon for some pimps to require their working girls not only to sell sex acts for money, but also to recruit other girls to join the stable. >> these two young ladies are

doing calls -- how come there are >> i think this young lady teaching that young lady. >> we witnessed that on a sting at an upscale hotel in the suburbs of detroit. >> how much was it? >> $250, but that was a surprise, i thought there was just going to be one young lady here. when it walkedn, tas two. >> does that happen a lot? >> not really. >> at 19, police say this young woman named april is actually the experienced one. she's familiar to the task force from a prior arrest where the team also nabbed her pimp. a 32-year-old man named jason. >> who's this guy over here? >> on that sting they met with the undercover officer. once the girl had the money, she slipped the money up under the door to jason. he picked up the money. he was detained in a stairwell by the arrest team with a laptop on him and the undercover money.

>> tonight police say jason was using april to break in this new recruit we'll call laurie. >> she tried to convince me that her friend was okay, cool, and here to have a good time as well. and she looked nervous and out of place. it was evident to me this was her first rodeo, she was very out of place. >> back at the state police post, investigators separate the women for further questioning. >> how are you doing, you want to give a statement or talk to me? >> no. >> not at all? >> no. >> how come? >> because i don't want to talk. i want my lawyer. >> okay, not a problem. tonight, april takes the fifth, but her friend laurie is ready to talk. she tells police that she was unwittingly tricked into the on-call situation by april and her pimp jason. >> she was told she would just answer the calls and she was encouraged to watch, and if she

felt like she could, she was supposed to get involved. and she was upset about it, you know, felt awful about it. >> police say young women like lori usually don't fall into prostitution overnight. it's often a process that takes a lot of time and smooth talk from so-called romeo pimps like jason. >> pimps will take months to groom a girl because they know towards the end that girl is going to be selling her body for them, they're going to make money from that. so they will take them out to dinner. they will say i have feelings for you. ey wil buy them gifts and all that. and they might start off slow. hey, i've got these other girls doing that. i just need you to, say, answer the phones. you don't have to have sex. but at some point that's going to ange. >>ht jason was arrested outside the hotel room that he rented for april and laurie. but he does his best to convince

detectives that tonight's run-in misunderstanding. >> what happened with you tonight? >> apparently somebody that was in the room that i rented out did something wrong and the facts that it was my room is the reason i came down here. >> do you think you were wrongly brought down here? >> i definitely believe i was. i didn't do anything wrong. if something went wrong in the room or whatever, i wasn't there. it's just the fact it was my room. that's what i got brought down here for. >> jason's on camera performance is just one example of a pimp's capacity for smooth talk and lies as he seeks to put distance between himself and his girls. >> that's typical. most pimps will do that or exploiters where they will distance themselves from the room or the girls and act like they don't know them. >> it's just we got to see what evidence might be in the cell phones and the connection between your cell phone and her cell phone. >> sergeant ed price says that romeo pimps like jason often

possess a natural talen for deceiving and manipulating vulnerable young women. >> it's like a sports player. some guys are good at hitting a baseball. some guys are good at jump shots. these guys are good at lying to females. or just lying in general. >> i'm not a human trafficker, that's for shush. i don't know too much why i'm here right now. >> really? >> no. >> do you know what human trafficking is? >> i believe that human trafficking is, you know, forcing people underage to do sexual things for money or something. or forced to do -- >> okay, this is your -- >> this is the effort, i mean, they should be stopped, that's terrible. but i don't understand, you know, where people that don't have anything to do with that is washed up in the whole mix. i don't understand, you know. it is what it is. >> i think the reason that you were brought down is because the girls in your room, one of them whom i guess is your girlfriend

had -- they made an appointment with a undercover officer to have sex with him for money. >> you know what, i don't believe that. you know, until i talk to who was involved and i don't know what was going on. i wasn't there. so that's bizarre to me that somebody that would be my girlfriend would do something like that. i don't know who was there or what was going on. i don't know if you have the right person or what as far as who is my girlfriend. >> jason's ongoing effort is finally thrown aside when police release his girl april. >> so is this your girlfriend? >> yeah. what's wrong? >> just like you saw he told you all those things and when it's time to leave at the end of the night with their tickets, they walked out together. >> you've got to come get me. they're not going to let me go unless you come get me. >> as far as laurie's concern,

police hope tonight's trip to jail will be enough to make her think twice before hanging out with friends like april and jason ever again. >> sitding here and you have to sit in the lobby with the dirt bag. >> my take on it is that she's got an acquaintance and bad friend that every parent worries about. the friend that makes the bad decisions. >> i feel like thie a s will b you'd like to think this did change her. >> i feel like this is will be a good night for her because she will hopefully get a wakeup call. hopefully realize what a dangerous road this is. and kind of see the error of her ways. up next, -- >> are you taping me? >> -- neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night could save these troubles souls from feeding their hunger for drugs. >> how powerful is that addiction? >> very. l was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom.

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for those who wonder what ully hped women when they cannot make more money for their pimps, look no further than the prostitution track. >> this area has a lot of drug activity and prostitution going on. >> every city has one and it's haunted by ghostly women and shattered lives. >> unfortunately the ones on the street are just trying to basically survive. >> here on john r. stroll, it only takes investigators a minute to spot desperate women out in the rain and trolling for dates. >> what's going on? >> slow, slow, slow. >> is it slow today? >> we are slow. >> everything okay out on the streets though? >> ain't nothing out here. it is what it is. >> unfazed by law enforcement or our cameras, the woman speaks openly about her work. >> you got young girls out here? >> kind of. >> young, young. like babies.

>> no. >> anybody under 189 or -- >> not that i know of. >> detectives suspect this woman is out here in the rain today to feed a serious drug addiction. >> i would lean towards crack or heroin for her, just her face or lack of teeth. your first hit you can get addicted to crack, it's highly addictive. >> these abandoned houses serve us a drug dens. >> sometimes they will self dope out of the vacant homes. that way if the police come by they don't have any connection with that house. sometimes they will live somewhere on the block, but they will store their dope in a vacant house. >> vacant houses can serve as makeshift brothels where dealers

pimp out female addicts that perform sex outs out in the open in full view of others. >> in some crack houses even, there are women who are sold as just extra to the drugs. you buy the drug, you get a woman. and they are just in there. and the idea is that they keep the women high so that they are just there as the extra large fries with the milk shake, if you will. >> out enjoying the weather a little bit. >> a few minutes later detectives spot another woman out for a stroll in the pouring rain. >> what you doing, sweetheart? >> nothing. >> not at all? nothing? no fun. >> maybe a little bit. >> how much? >> i don't really want nothing like that. >> at first the woman is understandably wary of these clean cut men in suits but what follows is a compelling bit of cat and mouse that speaks

volumes of the overwhelming power of drug addiction. >> are you a cop? >> do i look like a cop? >> i don't know. >> have you got a place around here? >> yeah, i've got a room actually. >> where at? >> motel. >> how far is that? >> few blocks. >> what's the name of it? what room number? >> i don't know. you're making me kind of nervous. sorry. >> visibly nervous, the woman gets suspicious and hurries away but after one more trip around the block, she's ready to make a deal. >> i'm telling you, these girls are in a situation where they need money and sometimes they don't think. >> okay. i'll go to the room. >> are you good with that? can we do both at different times or -- >> one at a time. >> i'm doing a documentary on addiction and trafficking of young girls, so i just wanted to ask you about why you would be out here in the pouring rain and the hail working. you're okay,

>> i don't want to get you in trouble. how bad is it? >> i'm not on heroin or anything but i left my family and dropped out of college and nursing school about six months ago, so -- >> you were in nursing school? >> uh-huh. >> how powerful is that addiction? very. >> and then did you have children? >> yeah, i have four. >> and where are they now? >> they are grown. they live down south. i never used drugs when i was pregnant. >> at 41, this mother of four says she's been out on the streets for about a year and admits her addiction to crack leaves her powerless to change. >> i would do it but i just can't hardly. i don't want go to jail or rehab because i've already done that. i just can't seem to get -- i can't seem to get over the hump.

that's why my friends have been killed out here. >> really? from what? >> dates, people. i have a girlfriend that was shot in -- i was with her and they shot her a few weeks ago. >> who was she shot by? a john? >> i don't know the person. i know what he looks like but i don't know him. >> was it a date? >> uh-huh. >> or was it a pimp? >> no, there's no such thing as pimps out here. >> you're out on your own? >> hopefully. you don't want anybody to grab you. they will beat you and take your money. >> so somebody killed your girlfriend? >> uh-huh. >> were you with her? >> that night i was and i didn't want to go where she went and i didn't go and she was killed when she got there. >> although the unsolved murder of her friend still terrifies her, the woman says the need for

crack cocaine keeps her out on the streets. >> if people weren't so harsh if they helped you instead of forcing you, maybe you could make it. i just don't -- my advice is just don't try anything. not even a little. if you're uncomfortable, get through it. thank you so much. >> good luck to you. >> as the woman disappears into the downpour, we are reminded of dana who also walked these desperate streets, hungry for her next fix. but today dana says that staying sober is the only way to stay off the street. >> it's a fight. but it's a fight worth fighting for, you know, to stay clean and i am aware of that. i just really hope that i can continue forward and just don't ever go back to it.

they ce to america hoping to improve their lives. >> i was supposed to go to virginia beach for work as a waitress. >> but from the moment they arrived, they became captive property of dangerous men with horrifying plans. >> translator: he said look, fresh meat from el salvador. >> forced to work under threat of death in america's booming sex industry. >> these are slaves, but it's the most egregious kind of slavery, it's sex slaves. >> it's a billion dollar industry thriving in the heart of our cities. >> it's living quarters. >> how many people do you think live back here? >> i would say about four or five of them. >> where young women and girls