Searching for a savior

(Editor’s Note: The following article contains graphic content that is not suitable for children.)

“My earliest memory is of my mother’s blood-curdling scream,” BJ Glidewell told The Stand. “It’s a sound you never forget – even [if you heard it] as a toddler.”

Glidewell said that moment came when her mother discovered her infant brother dead in his crib, a tragedy that marked a major turning point for their family. At 33, Glidewell can still recall the horror of the police arriving, followed by the coroner, and the sudden absence of the baby sibling she dearly loved.

In the aftermath, her family was never the same. Addiction, abuse, and neglect permeated their home.

A stolen childhood

Struggling to cope with overwhelming grief, Glidewell’s parents turned to alcohol and drugs.

“With addiction always comes other forms of trouble,” Glidewell admitted.

Because of the substance abuse in her home, there was a constant stream of people coming and going. As a result, multiple family members and other adults sexually abused Glidewell and her sister from early childhood into their teenage years.

The girls’ only consistent, godly influence in their lives was their grandmother, who tried to protect and rescue them from the dysfunction. Despite resistance from their parents, their grandmother regularly took the sisters to church and was intentional to teach them Scripture.

Though Glidewell didn’t fully understand the meaning as a child, Psalm 98:1 (NKJV) was her favorite verse she memorized with her grandmother: “O, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things.”

“I wanted to experience marvelous things. [But] our home life was a mess, literally,” Glidewell said. “It was repulsive.”

Multiple times, child welfare authorities were called to investigate. The city threatened to condemn their home on many occasions because of the deplorable living conditions, but the two sisters fell through the cracks. No one came to save them.

“I felt like I was set up to fail,” confessed Glidewell. “People would actually tell us we would never amount to anything.”

Eventually, Glidewell’s parents divorced. As her mother fell further into depression and addiction, she cut off contact with the girls’ grandmother and forbade them to see her.

A glimpse of hope

Longing for relationships, Glidewell began walking alone to a nearby church to attend services on Sundays and Wednesdays. A woman in the church had a heart for the “little girl with bruises” and began to build a relationship with her. She asked if Glidewell had ever attended church camp. Glidewell told her she had not because her family could not afford it. Much to her surprise, the lady paid for Glidewell and her sister to attend church camp, where a 10-year-old Glidewell made a profession of faith in Jesus.

She remembers being excited and hopeful that life would be better after she accepted Jesus as her Savior, but the darkness in her home remained.

“I had no one to disciple me,” Glidewell recalled. “I know those church people loved me, but I think they were afraid to get involved. They knew I was dirty, hungry, and abused, but they also knew my family’s reputation. People with good intentions never visited my house.”

Feeling isolated and disappointed, she became angry with God and began to rebel.

The beginning of exploitation

Desperate for food and necessities, Glidewell began working at a bar at age 14. During that time, a man approached her after taking an “accidental” photograph of her. He complimented her beauty and offered to help her build a modeling portfolio. He provided her with what appeared to be legitimate paperwork from his modeling agency and encouraged her to show it to her mother, who then allowed her to visit his home studio for sessions.

Other teenage girls were also involved in the photo sessions, which initially seemed innocent. However, Glidewell wondered why she never saw the photos. Whenever she inquired about them, he would give her money to pacify her and tell her he was still working on the photos.

The girls were often invited to stay overnight for weekend sessions, which was a welcome break from Glidewell’s home life. She enjoyed having friends and feeling accepted.

Over time, the man began giving them spiked drinks; the girls would then wake up with no recollection of what had occurred.

The exploitation came to light when one girl was hospitalized and nearly died. Authorities later determined she had been drugged. Law enforcement seized the man’s computers, and a detective informed Glidewell’s mother that explicit images had been taken of her daughter and sold without consent.

“I was devastated because I trusted him completely,” Glidewell said.

The search for love

Heartbroken once again and with no parental accountability, Glidewell gravitated toward older, troubled men who offered affection and protection. She became pregnant at 14 but lost the baby. She dropped out of school at 15 to give birth to her first son, then had another baby at age 17. At 19, she conceived a daughter, then married another man with whom she shared two more children.

After six stable years of marriage, her husband abandoned her for another woman. This unexpected betrayal deepened her sense of rejection and brokenness. Around the same time, her grandmother died. Glidewell also faced legal trouble and struggled with multiple suicide attempts. Unable to care for her children, Glidewell placed them in her mother’s care.

A new man took notice of Glidewell’s weak condition, and the two quickly began a relationship. He persuaded her to use methamphetamine to numb her pain.

Her addiction was immediate, and she feared she could not live without this man. However, he became extremely violent and eventually kidnapped her and confined her in a shed in another county. Her mother filed a missing person report. Once Glidewell was finally located about three weeks later, the man was arrested.

The discovery of bondage

Hurt by men since childhood, Glidewell decided to dabble in the lesbian lifestyle – though she was not attracted to women. She reconnected with an “old friend,” who was actually a female trafficker. This “Romeo trafficker” played the role of a loving partner, gained her trust, and then began to sell her to purchase drugs. (See sidebar.) She repeatedly brainwashed Glidewell, who still bears the ownership tattoo branded on her hand by this woman.

Soon, the female Romeo replaced Glidewell with another girl who brought in more money. Discarded once again, Glidewell turned to a man to whom she had previously been sold. He was a preacher’s son and had treated her well. He groomed her to believe he was her safe place, and she fell in love with him.

However, he established a routine of injecting a dangerous mix of heroin and meth into Glidewell’s neck. When nearly unconscious, he would drop her off with other men who would have sex with her for his financial gain. When she was not “working,” he would lock her in a closet – sometimes for days at a time.

The worst experience came when he pumped an overdose of drugs into her body and left her for dead in his closet.

“I knew I was going to die,” Glidewell remembered. “I hadn’t prayed in years, but I was begging God to save me.”

Miraculously, the trafficker was gone the next morning when she awoke. Glidewell managed to muster the courage to escape and walked an hour to her mother’s home. Once she arrived, she slept for two days.

Her birthday was the following day. Although her mother surprised her with gifts and a cake, an old friend called wanting to get high and celebrate her birthday. Glidewell remembered her prayer and how thankful she was that God had saved her, so she declined. However, the old friend’s persistence eventually led her to give in to the temptation.

Shortly after arriving at the party house, SWAT officers burst in and arrested Glidewell for possession of drug paraphernalia and for a warrant related to a missed felony court date. She later learned that the arrest had been orchestrated by her female Romeo trafficker.

The redeeming grace of the Savior

Though devastated by a six-month prison sentence, Glidewell later realized God did answer the prayer she prayed in that closet. Jail time was her only way of escape. Through Bible reading and jail ministry, she recovered from addiction and became sober-minded. After serving her time, she was referred to Transformation Garden (transformationgarden.org) – a long-term residential program for female sex trafficking victims.

“As soon as I stepped into that home, I felt safe,” Glidewell recalled. “I was no longer bound to a condemned house filled with traumatic memories. I was in a beautiful, clean home surrounded by genuine people who were willing to deal with the hard stuff and instill biblical truth.”

When Glidewell entered, she had nothing but the clothes on her back. Now, two years later, she has restored relationships with her children, earned a college degree, secured employment, and purchased a car – as well as her first home. Most importantly, she has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, her Savior. She also has a mended relationship with her mother, who has accepted Jesus and overcome addiction.

“I can now sing a new song,” she said, “because the Lord has truly done marvelous things. I am redeemed.”