The price of running

“I was trafficked as a child and an adult,” Karla Solomon told The Stand.

As a young child, Solomon experienced sexual abuse, trouble at home, and abandonment. Her mother and stepfather were heavily involved in drugs, and after seeing the drugs’ effects on them, Solomon was horrified and ran away from home at age 11. Quickly, she learned nothing was free, even for a child. Food, basic necessities, and a warm bed all had a high price tag.

Trouble starts

Soon after Solomon left home, a woman who knew her mother built a relationship with her. Eventually, Solomon started calling her “Mom number two.”

However, as time progressed and trust was built, the woman introduced the preteen to drugs and older boys. She then sold Solomon’s virginity.

“After that incident, my life spiraled out of control,” Solomon remembered. “She sold me to drug dealers and other guys. They would come to my school, pick me up, and take me home with them.

“I would spend weeks with this lady strung out on drugs at 12 years old. I felt like my body didn’t belong to me.”

At age 14, Solomon had dropped out of school and been arrested 15 times. As she told her story to law enforcement, officers met her with deaf ears. They then escorted her back to her childhood home.

Again she fled.

She attempted to return to school, but after learning she was pregnant by a 33-year-old, school officials asked her not to return. She hoped the father would give them a safe place to live. But she was still forced to give more than she was willing.

So she ran.

Fast forward

By age 30, Solomon managed a restaurant, was taking online courses, and was a married mom of three beautiful children. However, she was haunted by past traumas, guilt, and shame.

She did what she knew how to do. She ran.

Solomon then met a man she believed loved her, but he was a trafficker. He changed her name, sold her, and stole her identifying documents and valuables. She attempted to flee. But he threatened her family.

“I had no freedom whatsoever,” she said. “I started to accept that I might not make it out of this.”

She soon lay beaten and in pain.

“I looked up to the ceiling and told God, ‘I can’t take it anymore,’” she stated.

But God

Three days later, law enforcement rescued Solomon. Her recovery wasn’t easy. She experienced Stockholm Syndrome, a coping mechanism for someone in an abusive or captive situation.

“I couldn’t handle the memories,” she explained. “I took a whole bottle of Xanax.”

Moments later, her friend Chae called saying she felt the Holy Spirit prompting the call. After Solomon told her what she had done, Chae began praying.

“October 24, 2017, was the day I tried to throw in the towel,” she continued. “But God threw it in my face and said, ‘No, you’ve got work to do.’”

By God’s grace, Solomon never felt the effects of the pills. The next day, she left the house for the first time in a year and got a job. Months later, she helped organize Mercy Gate Ministries (MGM, mercygateministries.com), an organization that helps female trafficking survivors.

Today, Solomon serves as director of outreach and training for MGM and a survivor consultant expert for the Department of Homeland Security. Solomon also enjoys spending time with her family.

“I ask my husband all the time, why he didn’t give up on me,” said Solomon. “Every time, he tells me, ‘God told me I wasn’t supposed to.’”