For years she was trafficked, sold to others for sex by her husband. The woman said she used drugs, leading to an addiction, and was stabbed several times during an attack.
"I couldn't even walk out of my house without being high because I was so afraid," she said.
On Tuesday the woman began a new chapter, becoming the first graduate of Nashville's human trafficking intervention court.
The program works to identify people who are arrested for crimes such as prostitution or drug offenses but who prosecutors say are sucked into a lifestyle they learned because they are victims of human trafficking. The court program provides resources and puts a focus on treatment.
"I was given a choice and an opportunity to come into this program and I came in with fear and trepidation, but also honesty, open mindedness and willingness," the woman said.
Prosecutors and the woman asked that the woman's name not be published out of concern for her safety, saying the man who trafficked her is not in custody. Her story was corroborated by General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland, who oversees the program.
There are a dozen women participating, Assistant District Attorney General Tammy Meade said. The program began earlier this year amid ongoing efforts in Nashville and statewide to combat the crime.
"The women who come to Nashville, live in Nashville, are just passing through Nashville, who are caught in the cycle of prostitution and human trafficking, we owe this to them," Meade said.
"We have met these women, we have fallen in love with these women, it has been our honor and our privilege to guide this woman here today to get her into a healthy and safer lifestyle, where she didn't need a hand out," Meade said during a Tuesday graduation ceremony in Moreland's courtroom. "She just needed a hand up. We said here. And we love you. And we want to help you."
The program is formally named Cherished HEARTS.
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