Sheri Lopez was the middle daughter in a family with busy professional parents. She wasn't a troubled kid, but lacked in self confidence, so was flattered when a popular boy in her high school reached out to her to be his girlfriend. What she didn’t know, is he was the first step of a carefully orchestrated three-month grooming process, that led to a seven-year nightmare of sexual trafficking.

He talked her into attending parties thrown by his father. The first couple of parties were uneventful. But then, she realized that afterwards she couldn’t remember what happened, and by the time she realized she was being drugged and brutally abused by grown men, it was too late.

Sheri credits a brave woman named Pearl who befriended her years later at the mailboxes where she was kept, with finally helping her to break free. Since then, Sheri has dedicated her life to educating parents, agencies, and the public about the warning signs of grooming and trafficking.

She is breaking stereotypes. Sheri wasn't kidnapped, in fact during her first three years of being trafficked she was still living at home and going to high school. She never "walked the streets." And once rescued, it took nearly 25 years to process what happened to her: the abuse, the darkness she was subjected to, the loss of freedom she faced, why her parents never suspected anything, why she could not tell anyone what was happening, the 12 operations to fix her damaged internal organs, and the reality that other human beings preyed upon her for money. 

Sheri is a true hero, taking her tragic past filled with trauma and hurt, and dedicating herself to creating a hopeful future for children.

To learn more about Pearl at the Mailbox, click here: https://www.pearlatthemailbox.com/ 

Original air date: October 16, 2025.