SYDNEY—Few people spend their lives walking into brothels and trafficking dens alongside police in search of missing children.
Yet Chris Lawley has been part of 1,000 such missions with Destiny Rescue, a charity dedicated to freeing children from sexual exploitation.
Lawley shared his experiences during the Unchained Rescue Banquet in Sydney aimed at raising funds in the fight against child trafficking.
He also serves as Destiny Rescue’s non-executive director. The group has saved about 28,000 trafficking victims since being established in 2001, half of those children.
“We specifically focus on child rescue,” Lawley said. He personally has been involved in more than 1,000 overseas raids with law enforcement agencies.
“However, it’s inevitable that during the course of our work, we come across adults who are also trapped in the world’s most horrific, disgusting, and unforgivable industry. We can make a significant difference to the children of this world in overseas regions.
“We have seen more than 1,500 people get arrested and face the justice that they deserve, and this year alone, we have been successful enough to claim the freedom of 2,500 [victims] in 2026—that’s on average over 13 a day.”
Lawley said seeing the actual figures can be illuminating, and for him personally, it was a trip to Africa that really brought home the issue.
“I was a normal guy,” he said. “I went through some stuff before I came out to Australia. I actually had a heart problem. I nearly died a few times, and it made me look at life differently.”
During a trip to see gorillas in the troubled [Democratic Republic of] Congo, Lawley learned that one in three women in the region were victims of rape.
He then joined Destiny Rescue and received two years’ training from a former police officer who was stationed in Sydney’s former red light district of Kings Cross during the 1990s.
“And the more and more I travelled, the more and more my eyes became open,” he said.
“The first one that I did with the police was actually in Thailand, in a horrible place called Pattaya. If any of you have ever been there, it’s disgusting. It’s the sex capital of the world, and we ended up doing the raid with about 50 cops.
The Girl Who Didn’t Exist
Lawley said there were four children under the age of 15 at a bar run by a Western man and his Thai wife.
“It was one that I took home and it came into my mind as something that I carry and I still do,” he said.
But Lawley says it’s not like the Hollywood movies, and sometimes endings are sad or uncertain.
He told the harrowing tale of a scared, frail girl named Anu, who posed as a 19-year-old but was actually just 14.
She was sitting in a bar, uncomfortable as a man licked her face.
The organisation had Lawley pose as a client who hired some time with Anu, immediately walking her to a McDonald’s and talking to her with a translator, offering to grant her freedom. Anu told them she could not leave as her sister was being made to work at the same bar.
When Lawley returned to ask for more time with Anu, the staff at the bar denied her existence.
“And to this day, I don’t know what happened to her,” he said.
“And the reason that I tell you the story is because this is not the movies. This is not something that happens with a great ending.”
Lawley said the everyday person didn’t have to “come running into brothels to get kids out,” but they needed to talk about the issue and spread awareness.
Former Policeman Speaks of Faith in God
Gary Raymond, a former police inspector and Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer says his unshakable faith in God has instilled a strength in him when dealing with terrible crimes.
“I am a born-again cop, and I patrolled with God, the Holy Spirit within me and around me in dangerous situations and law enforcement,” said Raymond.
“I worked on homicides. I can tell you from a police point of view, the Bible is the living, inspired word of God from a detective,” he told the event.
Raymond spoke of the contrast with the anguish of victims and the jubilation of those who scream with gratitude and thank God for being rescued.
Naturopath and online influencer Barbara O'Neill, who has over 3 million Instagram and 1 million Facebook followers, shared a similar view to Raymond.
“Having raised eight children, and I have 27 grandchildren, I certainly am very interested in fighting for the freedom of children,” O’Neill told The Epoch Times.
“As a Christian, I know that God is above and over all … I also know that he has a way through every situation, and what’s very dear to God’s heart is his children.”
Battling a $500 Billion Industry
The organiser, Sonia Qutami, who is also a film producer, started the proceedings with a prayer to God to assist with combatting trafficking.
“Every person and every child deserves a voice … because we know child trafficking and human exploitation is a $500 billion industry, and it’s outsourced almost the weaponry and the drug industry,” she said.
“So with drugs, you use it once. With a weapon, the bullets you use once. But unfortunately, these children are used repetitively, five, six, seven times a day.
“I don’t know much about law or much about anything. To be honest, I just have a love for children and a love for justice. I’m simply a mum who just wants to protect these children, and I believe in accountability.”
