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Local group to host gala to show support for trafficking victims

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This week, there have been multiple human trafficking cases in our area.

The chilling details have sparked conversations with lawmakers in hopes of pushing for stricter laws and consequences to help victims.

Local nonprofits say North Carolina ranks among the top 10 in the country for human trafficking.

[LINK: Information about Justice Ministries gala for trafficking victims]

Justice Ministries Charlotte will be holding its annual “Light the Way” gala to raise support to help trafficking victims at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4.

Channel 9 reporter Stephanie Tinoco will be emceeing the event.

"There's 50 states, so Charlotte is in the 10. What does that say about the activity we are seeing?" said Mark Blackwell, executive director of Justice Ministries.

The most recent trafficking case happened in northeast Charlotte when a 17-year-old girl escaped after being kidnapped and forced into prostitution so her trafficker could buy drugs.

A woman was inside the Captain D’s on Eastway Drive in Charlotte in the afternoon of Sept. 14 when she saw a teenage girl mouth “Help me.”

The woman rescued the 17-year-old, who was trying to escape a man she accused of forcing her into sex trafficking.

The rescuer, who did not want to be identified, was inside the fast-food restaurant to get something to eat.

[Man charged with human trafficking after teen escapes to restaurant]

She watched Patrick McManus and the minor walk into the restaurant and noticed something was off.

McManus stayed unusually close to the teen.

They went to the restroom and when they returned, the girl looked terrified, the woman said. The victim and the customer made eye contact with each other. That was when the teen mouthed the words “Help me” multiple times.

[Bill proposed to provide funding for nonprofits that help human-trafficking victims]

The woman immediately walked outside and called 911.

McManus and the teen left the restaurant, but police swooped in within minutes.

[LINK: National Human Trafficking Hotline]

"They told him to put his hands up, and she just yelled out, ‘Thank you, thank you,’ crying and stuff, as a sigh of relief,” the woman said.

(McManus)

McManus is being held at the Mecklenburg County jail.

His bond is $106,000.

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