Troy Stein doesn’t sugarcoat what he does.

It’s an evil thing that he deals with.

He heads up Without Permission — a nonprofit focused on helping victims of human sex trafficking in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties recover.

Two examples of survivors his organization are helping get their lives back on track are:

*An 11-year-old Stockton boy whose grandmother was selling him for sex as many as eight times a night to support her meth habit.

*The young victims in Turlock of a 16-year-old pimp.

“It’s a profitable, lucrative, and evil industry,” Stein shared with Manteca Rotarians meeting Thursday at Ernie’s Rendezvous Room.

In the past year, the organization that is based in both Stockton and Modesto, has been called upon by law enforcement agencies to help 188 sex trafficking victims that they have freed from their abusers. That’s three new victims a week.

Without Permission is dedicated exclusively to ending sex trafficking. And while prevention through education and justice are part of their focus, the majority of their resources are directed at helping victims restore their lives.

Stein, who was drawn to head up Without Permission after successfully establishing the New Life Church in Lathrop and helping start five affiliated churches, said sex trafficking is something people don’t want to talk about but is a very real and serious plague on the community.

The Central Valley is one of the nation’s hottest spots for sex trafficking as victims are circulated between San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Stockton, and Modesto to confuse them and make them less likely to seek help.

Stein said people who believe victims can simply walk away don’t understand the situations that they are in and how they are misled, coerced, groomed, and forced into sex trafficking.

 Often times, victims are runaways who are desperate to eat or have shelter. Many are groomed via social media.

So far, Without Permission working exclusively in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties has:

*Helped 887 victims with the youngest being an 11 year-old.

*All were victims of sex trafficking.

*91 percent were from the Central Valley.

*98 percent were from California.

*51 percent of the survivors served by the non-profit were under the age of 18.

The organization has a track record of being able to start assisting victims of sex trafficking within two hours of being called by law enforcement thanks to a 24/7 hotline and a paid staff of 14 backed up by volunteers.

“It is evil and disgusting,” Stein said of sex trafficking.

Without Permission has 60 percent of its funding provided by government agencies that deal with abuse and assist victims of crime. The balance is from donations.

Stein works closely with district attorneys in both counties.

For more information, go to withoutpermission.org.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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