Update: Child victims of sex trade in Cambodia

Dateline: Do you know how to lock the door?

After Dateline exposed the ugly truth of Svay Pak…

Dateline: And how old are you?

Tau: 10.

Cambodian authorities cracked down.

So what's it like today?

This is the main street of Svay Pak. Five years ago it was lined with brothels. Now, Svay Pak is a changed place. Many of the brothels have closed their doors and moved out of town, replaced by restaurants, a phone store, even a children's community center serving children, some of the same children who were once exploited here.

This front part is new here.This building used to be a brothel. Now, thanks to an American charity, children and women come here for classes and counseling.

It's just one of several efforts apparently inspired by our reporting.

James Pond says seeing our story changed his life.

James Pond: And it was one of those seminal moments where seeing this thing, we were just completely gripped by it. My wife was in tears. I couldn't get up off the couch. And it was one of those things that once you've seen it, it's, you either have to do something about it, or it will not- it'll just keep haunting you.

And so Pond, at the time a successful sales executive in California, sat down with his wife and three children to discuss what they could do. They made a dramatic decision.

Chris Hansen: You sold your house?        

James Pond: Sold our house.

Chris Hansen: Sold the cars?

James Pond: Sold the cars. Sold our furniture to all of our neighbors.  Quit my job. My job thought I was absolutely insane.

They took a last trip to Disneyland and then the whole family moved to Cambodia. James, a former U.S. Marine, and his wife Athena, established a center for teens rescued from brothels. They battled bureaucracy and a tough environment, but over two years managed to hire a staff and take in more than two dozen girls who'd been trafficked.

Chris Hansen: Was there any time when it was just so frustrating or so overwhelming that you said, "Geesh?"

James Pond: Anytime-- anytime that we felt overwhelmed, you would go spend time with those girls. You'd look in their faces. You'd see them smile at you. And it was like a rejuvenation occurred.

James Pond: See you later.

James Pond: With the right amount of heart and effort, you can make a difference in someone's life. You don't change the issue, you change a life one at a time.

But changing the lives of girls who've been forced into sexual slavery is an enormous challenge.

Especially when they're teenagers.

Most of the girls we saw rescued five years ago were teens at the time.

They were taken to specialized group homes.

Many of those teens left the shelters; some even returned to the sex trade. 

But what about the younger girls? What's happened to them since their rescue?

Recently we had a rare invitation to visit four of the girls from the organization caring for them.

Bob Mosier: Okay, that's okay. Come here.

This was Yau five years ago.

This one of the youngest: Tieng...

This was Loeum. Sold into slavery by her own mother, she spent a year trapped in the brothels.

And then there was an image we'll never forget:

This girl, Tau, distraught, unable to stop crying.

This is Tau today.

And the three other girls.

Back in 2003, they were 7 to 10 years old, now they're 12 to 15.

What seems so normal, is really a miracle.

Four girls, playing and studying.

In school, they're doing algebra and, we're told, catching up academically.

They seem to be flourishing, learning traditional Cambodian dance. And even martial arts.

They were proud to show me their new skills.

Sue Taylor has overseen their care.

Sue Taylor: The Tai Kwan Do was to gain confidence in themselves, so that they can feel like they can have some control over their life.  If somebody comes up to them, they know some self-defense.

Chris Hansen: It is a-- an amazing transformation, to see that girl once so frightened, once so battered, to be out there and being able to perform a traditional Cambodian--           

Sue Taylor: A beautiful dance. Yes.

Chris Hansen: --dance on stage. That's gotta be pretty rewarding for you.

Sue Taylor: That's what makes all the difference, I think. 

The rehabilitation of girls who've been so severely abused is far from simple -      

Talmage Payne: They come with some drug addictions. They will come with a whole lot of fear. They don't trust people.

Talmage Payne runs Hagar, the charitable organization caring for the girls.

Talmage Payne: You know, you you come in with great intentions and telling you're gonna help them -- but that's what the last abuser did.  That's what the last person that purchased them did. 

The girls all have undergone intensive therapy one-on-one, he says, but they still suffer.

Talmage Payne: Of the four girls that you have, one of 'em has a history of-- when a traumatic memory comes back, she goes into almost like a stroke-like situation. You know, she's just out.   

Chris Hansen: Blanks out?

Talmage Payne: Blanks out. 

In spite of all they've been through, the girls agreed to sit down with us to talk about their lives.

They acknowledge it's not been easy...

Chris Hansen: Millions of people in America will see this story. What's the most important thing you want to say to them about your experience?

Tau: I would like to tell them that I came from a dark and dirty place and now I'm very happy. And I'm preparing for my future.

Chris Hansen: Do you ever think about some of the girls who didn't get this opportunity to come here?

Loeum: Yes.            

Chris Hansen: And what do you think about when you--

Loeum: The children in the brothels who cannot escape are stuck in a dark world. They're helpless.

Even though some of these children were sold into slavery by their own parents, Hagar takes them to visit their families a few times a year, - usually on holidays - and always with a guardian.  

Remarkably, the girls say they appreciate the visits.

Chris Hansen: Do you ever think you'll go back and live with them?

Loeum: I could, but I don't want to go back.

Chris Hansen: You like it right here?

Loeum: Yes.

Chris Hansen: Do you ever go back to Svay Pak at all?

Tieng: I want to forget that story.           

Instead, they say they prefer to focus on the next chapter of their lives.

And they expect it to be a happy one-

Yau: When I grow up, I want to be a dance teacher.

Loeum: I want to be the CEO of a company or run an organization.

Tieng: I want to become a doctor.           

That they're able to have those dreams shows just how far these girls have come.

All in all, Sue Taylor says, they’re coping pretty well. 

Sue Taylor: I think they will always have scars. I think those scars will never heal totally.

Chris Hansen: What do you think the chances are that they'll grow up to have a normal, successful life?

Sue Taylor: I feel quite confident that they will. I think that they came in so young. And that was the-- the great thing, that they were rescued young. And so they've had a lot of intervention and a lot of healing and a lot of counseling. And so I-- I really have a lot of hope for them. 

It's easy to see why. 

When it was time for me to leave Cambodia, the girls insisted on seeing me off at the airport. 

A touching moment and a time to reflect on how fortunate I feel to have met them.

We shared some ice cream, a few tears, and a promise we'd see each other again.

The International Justice Mission is still working to fight child prostitution in Cambodia. In the past five years, the group has trained nearly 300 police officers and has helped in the arrests of more than 130 people.

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