Day of Defense on Sept. 20 equips families to fight exploitation

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

To Corrigan, the Sept. 20 Day of Defense is more than an event. It’s part of a larger calling to rally Colorado around protecting children and restoring those who’ve been harmed.

Colorado ranks tenth in the nation for human trafficking, despite being only 21st in population. That reality is what Abby Corrigan, CEO of the Colorado Faith Alliance, says drives her organization’s work. She believes the fight begins with a clear truth.

“Pornography is the root issue of sex trafficking. America is the number one buyer of sex in the world… they are after our children and it all leads to trafficking in some form or another,” Corrigan said.

Research supports Corrigan’s concern. One in three kids see hardcore porn by age 12 — most of them by accident — and much of today’s mainstream content is violent or degrading. That kind of early exposure is linked to skewed beliefs about sex and higher odds of coercion and exploitation later, which traffickers and online extortionists can exploit.

Corrigan said the link between pornography and trafficking is not abstract but real, showing up in children’s lives every day. Algorithms target minors based on their interests, online games hide vaults where predators extort children. And once exposed, the images often fuel a cycle of trauma and addiction.

“They pretend to be a friend of the child for up to two years. And then they begin to say, ‘Will you send me a picture of you without your clothes on?’ Once the child does that, then they threaten them. They say, ‘Pay us money or do what we say.’ Some try to get these kids to kill themselves,” Corrigan explained.

Corrigan said the influence of the pornography industry itself shows how deeply it fuels trafficking. Corrigan recalled how Troy Brewer, who has rescued more than 11,000 children, was warned not to mention pornography at a Washington, D.C. trafficking conference. “The first word out of his mouth was, ‘Pornography is the root issue of trafficking.’ And a man in a big yellow suit got up and left,” Corrigan said. “That was the head of Pornhub. And according to statistics, industry lobbyists spend millions each year to influence Congress, senators and governors.”

That concern isn’t theoretical. The FTC and Utah recently penalized Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, $5 million for failing to keep child abuse and nonconsensual content off its sites — a case Corrigan says Colorado families should pay attention to.

For Corrigan, this reality moves her to arm families with both knowledge and tools.

On September 20, the alliance will host its first major event, Day of Defense, at the RidgeGate Conference Center in Lone Tree. The event is designed to give families a toolkit for defense — from learning how predators operate online to practicing ways to break free from a physical grasp, all undergirded by a message of faith and restoration.

Corrigan’s own call to this fight came through a dream. “I had a dream and these little girls were crying out saying, ‘Help me.’ And Jesus said, ‘Will you use your voice for me?’” she explained. That moment convinced her to step into the work her sister and nationally recognized artist, Lynne Barletta, began in Florida.

Twelve years ago Barletta flew to Singapore, where her older brother was serving as Foursquare’s director for Southeast Asia. He and his wife were digging wells, building homes for orphans and helping victims of sex trafficking. 

“She met girls that had been trafficked and abused. She drew a huge mural with them — she thought she would change their lives, but they changed her,” Corrigan recalled.

“Her heart just broke as she heard their stories and saw how their identity needed to be restored. They did not think they were worth anything,” Corrigan added.

Lynne put her artistic talents to work as art and mentoring programs as an outlet for overcoming the abuse, and they witnessed a transformation, rediscovered identity and worth. 

They met a girl who’d been trafficked by her father since the age of eight, Beverly. Corrigan explained that despite the weight of her past, Beverly’s story did not end there. After meeting Lynne, she traveled to Florida for a visit and became part of their extended family. “I met Beverly after my sister did. She came for a visit to Florida… to see her at 18 and her father still calling her, telling her to get home and make money for the family,” Corrigan said.

Despite the trauma, Beverly’s resilience and capacity to heal and help others moved the family. 

That experience sparked the creation of the Florida Faith Alliance, which Barletta has led for more than a decade. Its programs now range from Don’t Take the Bait peer-to-peer videos for schools to art therapy courses that bring healing to survivors.

Now Corrigan has brought her sister’s Florida model to Colorado, a plan she’s been shaping for about a year and a half.

One story explains her urgency. She described an 11-year-old boy in Montana who was groomed online, pressed for money, then blackmailed. He died by suicide. “It was traced back… they did finally find the person in Iraq,” Corrigan said.

“This is what’s happening online. It’s horrific. It’s gotten so much worse since 2020, since everything went more online,” Corrigan said.

The Day of Defense is designed to help families act before tragedy strikes. The program will feature:

• Tyler Weaver, a world champion martial artist and father of four, who will teach children practical self-defense skills in an interactive setting.
  
• Lynne Barletta, who will walk families through the hidden dangers of gaming platforms, online “vaults,” and the algorithms predators use to target kids.
  
• Commander Amanda Weiss of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Special Prosecutor Abby Hegarty, who will provide insight into local cases and prosecution strategies.

Corrigan said the event will also highlight digital safety tools, including the Bark app, which monitors online activity and blocks dangerous connections.

Colorado Faith Alliance is built on three pillars: awareness, education and restoration. That bigger vision is taking shape through local partnerships. Corrigan has connected with Uncovered Colorado, which provides housing and support for survivors over 18, and Silenced Saved, which advocates for younger children. 

She believes humility is the only way organizations will make progress. “If this is about us, what are we doing? This has to be about the kids,” she said.

For Corrigan, this work is also deeply spiritual. “I always think of it as bringing children into who they really are — into their destiny and their identity. Those who have been harmed can be brought into revelation that they are so valuable and so loved,” Corrigan said.

The Day of Defense event begins at 9 a.m. on September 20. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, with livestream access also available. More details are at the event page.

Those who cannot attend are invited to support the work of Colorado Faith Alliance directly.

What started in Florida with one artist’s heartbreak has become a growing movement. And if Abby Corrigan has her way, Colorado will be the next state to show that families are willing to stand in the gap for children who cannot defend themselves.