Sean Wheeler
As a preteen, Sean lived in a small midwestern town. Before he was five years old, predators came into his life; they groomed him sexually and went on to share him with others until he was almost ten years old. At seven, Sean was used in child sexual abuse material along with two other children and several adults, one of which was a woman. Over 30% of those who used Sean as a preteen were women, yet many deny that women are ever involved. During those years, Sean also experienced satanic ritual abuse as well. Even though Sean’s family eventually moved away from the town where he was trafficked, other predators found Sean in his teen years. The last assault took place when Sean was age 19. That’s when he decided he would not be a victim ever again, but his anger turned inward and became depression, and he went silent about his past for decades.
In 2018, Sean and his wife Susan founded Starfish Ministries to fight child sex trafficking in the US and abroad, providing a voice for boys. Boys are significantly under-represented in efforts to inform the public about this tragic issue. Of the total federal dollars spent to educate people about child trafficking, 99% of the information presented is a one-gender message. Yet according to a 2013 study by PACT, boys represent a large percentage of victims in the US, likely as much as 50%. Additionally, a 2008 study of the CSEC population in New York City found roughly half of victims to be boys. Regardless many organizations (including faith-based groups) will not recognize this and update their message to support boys as well.
One common phrase today is, “women and girls are a disproportionate number of victims” yet no one can answer this question. What exactly was Sean’s proportionate share? Even if boys are just 1% of victims, don’t they still deserve help? Another statement Sean hears is that statistics don’t support the need to help boys. That is because few (if any) organizations are willing to track statistics on boys and abuse, so it’s easy to simply pretend they don’t exist or matter. Sean believes all sexual violence is gender based, because all victims are chosen on the basis of their gender. Regardless of the ignorance and indifference promoted by some, Sean will keep speaking for the millions of men and boys around the globe who do not have a voice.
In addition, there is a huge gap in services for sexual assault victims in the US that are for boys and men. Too often, boys who are rescued are simply put into the juvenile justice system and wrongfully assumed to be predators and not victims, simply because they are boys. In such centers, boys, face being abused again. Starfish wants to change this dynamic. In an effort to get services for male survivors of all ages, Starfish supports two projects to build safe homes in southern Colorado. One is called Restoring Joseph to provide a home and help for males 18 and up, and the second is called Daniel Academy, for boys under 18.
Daniel Academy will operate through Sarah’s Home in Colorado Springs.
Sean is on the Survivor Voice Council with PACT and consults with the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe and Polaris in the USA. He also works with Veterans for Child Rescue in Arizona. Since he started speaking in 2014, over 6 million people in 150 nations world-wide have now heard his testimony. He is also the author of Wretch: Haunted by Shadows – Rescued by Jesus, available online and through book sellers online. His website includes interviews and other media about Sean’s work. He can be reached by email at sfhelp@zoho.com. Though Starfish is faith-based, we have worked successfully with secular groups to shine a light together in the fight against human trafficking.
