Virginia’s Appomattox County High School hid a teenage girl’s transgender identity from her parents, leading to the teen being trafficked twice. The FBI found the girl, Sage, after being trafficked to Maryland. Sage was unable to be returned to her parents after a judge ruled that her parents are unfit for not affirming her gender identity. Sage was later trafficked again and found in Texas.
From The Federalist:
Sage’s Law, or the Child Protection Act, is being introduced this week in the Virginia House of Delegates by Delegate Dave LaRock in honor of this young teen from Appomattox County, Virginia. Sage hopes sharing her story will help protect others from the abuse she suffered at the hands of predators, precipitated in part by the very institutions that should have protected her. School policies and state laws that encourage concealing information from parents purport to protect vulnerable minors. In practice, as tragically demonstrated by Sage’s case, such policies open the door to predators by removing children’s greatest protection from their lives. ... Sage is a slight, pretty, 15-year-old girl with elfin features and an edgy style. Recently, reflecting back on her transgender identification, she told her mom: “I don’t know who I was. I’m a totally different person now. I never was a boy. Everybody was doing it, I just wanted to have friends.”
