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Utah teens raise money to surprise sex trafficking survivor in a big way!

Posted at 3:05 PM, Nov 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-18 17:05:42-05

Coco Berthmann escaped a life of sex trafficking in Germany after 15 years of trauma.  Coco says she was trafficked by her own family and didn't even realize it was wrong, because it was her "normal".

In 2009, Coco was brave enough to pack her backpack and run away from home, which then was the start of her survival story.

Now, 10 years later Coco is living in Utah and speaking about her situation to hopefully help others.  She says human trafficking happens all the time in the United States, right under our noses.  In fact, she says there are hundreds of thousands of victims a year.  But she believes that by sharing and talking about the issue, society can become educated and fight back against sex trafficking.

Coco's survival anniversary party was held earlier this month at the Stone Gate Mansion in Pleasant Grove, Utah - and a group of 14-year-old girls surprised Coco in a big way!  The teens from Mountain Ridge Junior High school in Cedar Hills babysat, cleaned houses, cleaned window wells, and made bracelets to earn money for two, tenth row tickets to Celine Dion's concert.

Coco says Celine's music gave her strength through her hardest times and helped give her the courage to escape.  Coco says she literally put Celine's music in her ears as she ran for freedom!