Breaking The Silence
Donation protected
My name is Jenny Lynn, I am 21 years old. First time momma with a 15 month old baby.
I was placed in foster care when I was 12 years old, I went through several homes up until I turned 15. That's when I was told I had to be moved to a group home, which was not ideal statiscally speaking. So I instead got a full time job to get my first apartment at 16 yrs old. I then put focus towards obtaining my GED which I had worked hard enough to then graduate at 16 years old from highschool. I took a year off trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and I was then given the opportunity for a full scholarship to attend a culinary school of my dreams. I graduated when I was 19 from PICA in December 2019.
I had started getting into the social media industry and when covid hit it became my main source of income. I hit a peak in my social media career where I was able to travel all around North America meeting other influencers & supporters.
Little did I know what meeting strangers online; even though you think you may know them and talk to them for months. Would ever lead to being held captive for 6 months of my life. 6 months that I won't ever get back.
I am a survivor & victim of human trafficking.
I was his 5th victim & I stand here today in front of you on behalf of all his victims, if only my voice will be enough. After almost 2 years of court hearings. My abuser has plead guilty on two felony charges, & was served a 4 year prison sentence on each count.
May 8th 2020 I met Jaswinder Singh Gill in person. I previously met him online and knew him as Jesse his alias for about 6 months prior to meeting him. He physically and emotionally abused me for several months until I finally escaped in September 2020.
On May 8, 2020, I arrived to the United States and met Jaswinder. I was going to stay in a hotel, but he said I could stay with him to save money. 10 days later I never made it on my return flight.
My return flight was cancelled due to COVID-19 and I was unable to leave another way, as Jaswinder took my identification and hid it from me.
Immediately, Jaswinder began to abuse me physically, emotionally, psychologically, & through blackmail to coercion.
Jaswinder (Jesse) also took my bank card upon my arrival and drained my savings account. He then opened a joint account in both of our names but cut up my card from this account so I could not access that either.
If I ever tried to leave him or go stay somewhere besides his house, he would threaten to commit suicide and send me videos of him cutting himself. He would harass me on social media and threaten those around me.
Everytime I tried to leave he would retaliate and it would only get worse. He got smarter every time, from the beatings getting more severe, the abuse getting worse. With more weapons being involved from knives, to brass knuckles, to tasers to guns. From controlling & down to isolating me in ways such as, choosing when I was allowed my phone, to who I am allowed to talk too, or to even see, to the point of messaging people pretending to be me. Deadbolting the bedroom door so I wasn't allowed to sleep, deadbolting the pantry so I wasn't allowed to eat. Even as far as locking me in the house by nailing the doors and windows shut. Those are a few facts of just the beginning of it all.. throughout the 6 months I was held captive.
September 12th, 2020, I went to the hospital at around 11pm because I was having severe nausea and other pregnancy symptoms. I was about five months pregnant at the time. While I was in the hospital getting fluids and a check-up on the baby, Jaswinder was sending me threats via text, saying “I’m going to call a bomb threat to the hospital” or “I’m going to come and rip the IV out of you and take you home and kill you.”
At 3 am, after I was discharged from the hospital. I started walking home I didn't get very far as I was about to walk across the crosswalk, Jaswinder pulled up screaming at me to get into the car, opening the car door and pulling me in. The entire ride back to his house he was telling me things like “I’m keeping you alive just for the baby, then I’m going to kill you.” He was also driving very erratically, swerving towards oncoming vehicles. When we finally got home, he started beating me. He punched my head, neck and shoulders repeatedly. I was terrified he wouldn't stop and I knew I needed to get out of there otherwise I knew I wasn't gonna make it out alive. The next chance I got I tried to run to the door. Jaswinder was faster and caught me, dragging me back into the living room. He put his arms around my neck from behind trying to strangle me. I was within arms reach of the front window blinds so I grabbed the blinds pulling it right off the window in hope someone might see in. But he put the blinds back up and put furniture in front of the door as a barricade so I could not try to escape again. I tried to crawl under the kitchen table to escape the beating. But he dragged me out from underneath the table by my hair. He then continued to strangle me with his hands around my neck to the point I couldn't breathe. He then went to his bedroom and got his shotgun, and came back and put it against my head as he told me, “I’ll fucking kill you, you’re not getting out.” I knew the safety was off he rarely even had it on, and I was terrified.
Because I was so weak to begin with from being sleep deprived and malnutritioned add the beatings and choking and stress, I blacked out. On September 13th 2020, I lost consciousness from the assualt that day. It was 4 pm when I regained consciousness Jaswinder was asleep next to his shotgun. To test if he was asleep, I told him I was going to feed his dog, and when he didn’t respond, I went to the front door and managed to move the barricade just enough to get myself and the dog out.
I went to the neighbor rang the doorbell and when they answered all I could say was "I need help, he hits me", & police arrived soon after and set up a perimeter around the house. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance for my injuries. I was placed in protective custody at the hospital and was discharged and taken to a safe house from there which I stayed for 3 months.
Escaping that day meant saving me and my sons life who was not yet born, I was 5 months pregnant at the time. But also losing everything, from shoes to clothes, passport to birth certificate.
My experience was painful emotionally, mentally, physically, & financially. It was terrifying & traumatic in many ways.
The whole situation is scary because it has made me really pay attention more to those around you and the danger around in as simple of a setting as a hospital or someone sitting in a car at a red light.
A HUGE, Thanks to many supports from the police officers and responders from that one call in September 2020, to community members. I have managed to restart my life, from being placed in protective for 3 months to getting my own place to call home and then welcoming my son in the world this year. With everything we have endured there is light to it, and things will get better.
"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." - Roman's 15:4
The funds raised through this gofundme will go towards my son, in obtaining nesscities & paying bills. Such as, clothes, diapers, & medical bills. Etc.
I was placed in foster care when I was 12 years old, I went through several homes up until I turned 15. That's when I was told I had to be moved to a group home, which was not ideal statiscally speaking. So I instead got a full time job to get my first apartment at 16 yrs old. I then put focus towards obtaining my GED which I had worked hard enough to then graduate at 16 years old from highschool. I took a year off trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and I was then given the opportunity for a full scholarship to attend a culinary school of my dreams. I graduated when I was 19 from PICA in December 2019.
I had started getting into the social media industry and when covid hit it became my main source of income. I hit a peak in my social media career where I was able to travel all around North America meeting other influencers & supporters.
Little did I know what meeting strangers online; even though you think you may know them and talk to them for months. Would ever lead to being held captive for 6 months of my life. 6 months that I won't ever get back.
I am a survivor & victim of human trafficking.
I was his 5th victim & I stand here today in front of you on behalf of all his victims, if only my voice will be enough. After almost 2 years of court hearings. My abuser has plead guilty on two felony charges, & was served a 4 year prison sentence on each count.
May 8th 2020 I met Jaswinder Singh Gill in person. I previously met him online and knew him as Jesse his alias for about 6 months prior to meeting him. He physically and emotionally abused me for several months until I finally escaped in September 2020.
On May 8, 2020, I arrived to the United States and met Jaswinder. I was going to stay in a hotel, but he said I could stay with him to save money. 10 days later I never made it on my return flight.
My return flight was cancelled due to COVID-19 and I was unable to leave another way, as Jaswinder took my identification and hid it from me.
Immediately, Jaswinder began to abuse me physically, emotionally, psychologically, & through blackmail to coercion.
Jaswinder (Jesse) also took my bank card upon my arrival and drained my savings account. He then opened a joint account in both of our names but cut up my card from this account so I could not access that either.
If I ever tried to leave him or go stay somewhere besides his house, he would threaten to commit suicide and send me videos of him cutting himself. He would harass me on social media and threaten those around me.
Everytime I tried to leave he would retaliate and it would only get worse. He got smarter every time, from the beatings getting more severe, the abuse getting worse. With more weapons being involved from knives, to brass knuckles, to tasers to guns. From controlling & down to isolating me in ways such as, choosing when I was allowed my phone, to who I am allowed to talk too, or to even see, to the point of messaging people pretending to be me. Deadbolting the bedroom door so I wasn't allowed to sleep, deadbolting the pantry so I wasn't allowed to eat. Even as far as locking me in the house by nailing the doors and windows shut. Those are a few facts of just the beginning of it all.. throughout the 6 months I was held captive.
September 12th, 2020, I went to the hospital at around 11pm because I was having severe nausea and other pregnancy symptoms. I was about five months pregnant at the time. While I was in the hospital getting fluids and a check-up on the baby, Jaswinder was sending me threats via text, saying “I’m going to call a bomb threat to the hospital” or “I’m going to come and rip the IV out of you and take you home and kill you.”
At 3 am, after I was discharged from the hospital. I started walking home I didn't get very far as I was about to walk across the crosswalk, Jaswinder pulled up screaming at me to get into the car, opening the car door and pulling me in. The entire ride back to his house he was telling me things like “I’m keeping you alive just for the baby, then I’m going to kill you.” He was also driving very erratically, swerving towards oncoming vehicles. When we finally got home, he started beating me. He punched my head, neck and shoulders repeatedly. I was terrified he wouldn't stop and I knew I needed to get out of there otherwise I knew I wasn't gonna make it out alive. The next chance I got I tried to run to the door. Jaswinder was faster and caught me, dragging me back into the living room. He put his arms around my neck from behind trying to strangle me. I was within arms reach of the front window blinds so I grabbed the blinds pulling it right off the window in hope someone might see in. But he put the blinds back up and put furniture in front of the door as a barricade so I could not try to escape again. I tried to crawl under the kitchen table to escape the beating. But he dragged me out from underneath the table by my hair. He then continued to strangle me with his hands around my neck to the point I couldn't breathe. He then went to his bedroom and got his shotgun, and came back and put it against my head as he told me, “I’ll fucking kill you, you’re not getting out.” I knew the safety was off he rarely even had it on, and I was terrified.
Because I was so weak to begin with from being sleep deprived and malnutritioned add the beatings and choking and stress, I blacked out. On September 13th 2020, I lost consciousness from the assualt that day. It was 4 pm when I regained consciousness Jaswinder was asleep next to his shotgun. To test if he was asleep, I told him I was going to feed his dog, and when he didn’t respond, I went to the front door and managed to move the barricade just enough to get myself and the dog out.
I went to the neighbor rang the doorbell and when they answered all I could say was "I need help, he hits me", & police arrived soon after and set up a perimeter around the house. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance for my injuries. I was placed in protective custody at the hospital and was discharged and taken to a safe house from there which I stayed for 3 months.
Escaping that day meant saving me and my sons life who was not yet born, I was 5 months pregnant at the time. But also losing everything, from shoes to clothes, passport to birth certificate.
My experience was painful emotionally, mentally, physically, & financially. It was terrifying & traumatic in many ways.
The whole situation is scary because it has made me really pay attention more to those around you and the danger around in as simple of a setting as a hospital or someone sitting in a car at a red light.
A HUGE, Thanks to many supports from the police officers and responders from that one call in September 2020, to community members. I have managed to restart my life, from being placed in protective for 3 months to getting my own place to call home and then welcoming my son in the world this year. With everything we have endured there is light to it, and things will get better.
"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." - Roman's 15:4
The funds raised through this gofundme will go towards my son, in obtaining nesscities & paying bills. Such as, clothes, diapers, & medical bills. Etc.
Organizer
Jenny Lynn
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
