Here is an outside view of the Leo Chesney Correctional Facility, a former women’s prison which the Church of Glad Tidings hopes to renovate to house children rescued from sex-trafficking. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

SUTTER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Church of Glad Tidings in Sutter County is actively working to raise funds for the Peace of Heaven project which aims to transform a 57,500-square-foot prison into a sanctuary for victims of child sex-trafficking.

“Child-trafficking is so horrendous that a lot of people don’t like to even think about it and the problem seems too big to solve,” said Dave Bryan, pastor of Glad Tidings. “But our ministry motto, the one that's guided us for the past 38 years, is ‘find a need and meet it, find a hurt and heal it.’ So when we find out about urgent needs, we just put our heads together and say what can we do to help?”

Bryan became acutely aware of the proliferation and implications of child sex trafficking while working to rehabilitate a young man who had been “pimped out” by his uncles on a barge docked between Oakland and San Francisco. He later recounted the story to a vice admiral in the Navy Seals who, unbeknownst to Bryan, arranged a rescue team to identify the barge’s location.

“He called and said ‘Can you help me find a place for 801 kids, because we’re a military base, we can't keep these kids,’ and unfortunately, I didn’t,” said Bryan.

The experience weighed heavily on Bryan and he soon started brainstorming solutions. When the Leo Chesney Correctional Facility, an abandoned women's prison in Live Oak, went up for sale, Bryan decided to negotiate.

“The State of California outlawed private practitioners being involved in the prison system, so here is this prison that sits on 10 acres, it's built as a prison and it's really not marketable for much else,” said Bryan. “We looked at it and we thought, ‘You know what we could convert this,’ it would be expensive but it's doable, we could convert it from a women's prison to a children's paradise.”

The initial purchase price was $17 million but Bryan said he was able to persuade the sellers to sell it for $4 million. Glad Tidings has already raised $2 million but still needs to raise the other half by the end of June.

“There will be a renewal clause on the last day of June but there's a $50,000 late fee that we want to try and avoid,” Bryan said. 

The Leo Chesney Correctional Facility lies just five miles north of Glad Tidings, located at 2800 Apricot St. Bryan’s vision for the space includes a garden, pool, medical facilities, classrooms and enough space to house approximately 350 children. His goal is to take ownership by June and host an open house during the church's first Anti-Human Trafficking Summit from June 20 to 22.

“The conference really is bringing together all the brightest and the best that are involved in anti child trafficking,” said Bryan. “I think it will be the largest anti-trafficking conference ever held in America and probably the world.”

Some of the names and organizations associated with Bryan’s conference include Mary O'Neill with America's Future, Bazzel Baz with the Association for the Recovery of Children (ARC), Troy Brewer with Child Trafficking in Texas, Mike Smith producer of "Out of Shadows,” Gregg Phillips with True the Vote, and Craig Sawyer with Veterans For Child Rescue. According to Bryan, most if not all will be in attendance at the conference in addition to Jim Caviezal who played Jesus in the “Passion of the Christ” movie, Craig Sawer, a former Navy SEAL and federal law enforcement agent, and Lara Logan, a South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent.

“We’re trying to promote the awareness of child trafficking, we’re trying to let everybody know about all the wonderful ministries that are trying to do something about it, and we’re trying to promote the fact that we’re doing a one-of-a-kind solution, which is the Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise,” said Bryan.

Whether Bryan can fulfill his vision of Peace of Heaven, he plans to hold the anti-trafficking convention. More information about the event can be found on the Church of Glad Tidings website at churchofgladtidings.com under events. More information on the Peace of Heaven project and links to donations can also be found at churchofgladtidings.com/peace-of-heaven.

Facts and statistics on Child Sex Trafficking:
Child sex trafficking remains a global crisis, impacting millions of children each year. According to the International Labour Organization, approximately 1.2 million children are trafficked annually, making up 28% of all trafficking victims worldwide. UNICEF reports that this number is even higher in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America, where children account for over 60% of victims.

In the United States, the Heritage Foundation states that more than half (51.6%) of active human trafficking cases involve minors. The Ballard Brief highlights that the most vulnerable populations include runaways, foster children, and homeless youth, who are at the highest risk of exploitation. Reuters reports that child trafficking cases have increased 25% since 2019, with children comprising 38% of victims in 2022, up from 35% in 2020.                        

The Polaris Project warns that traffickers often use social media, false job offers and coercion to target children. The Migration Data Portal emphasizes that trafficking is vastly underreported, due to fear, stigma and the hidden nature of trafficking networks. Experts stress the need for stronger prevention strategies, increased law enforcement efforts and better victim support services.