Houston – Trafficked at age 10, Rhonda Kuykendall was flown from Houston to Lubbock to be sexually abused. The trips that typically took place on a Friday afternoon, would go unnoticed, as Rhonda was always back in her classroom seat at her Fort Bend County school Monday morning.
Kuykendall is a survivor of human trafficking.
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“I stayed silent for about 20 years until I decided to come forward.”
KPRC’s Zach Lashway sat down with Kuykendall in January 2023. At the time, her trafficker, a four-time convicted sex offender was out of prison, but one year later, he is back behind bars.
For an exclusive interview, Kuykendall invited Zach back to her Fort Bend County home for an update in her case.
It was a day last year; Kuykendall was wedding dress shopping with her daughter when she received a text message that stopped her in her tracks.
“I get a text message from TDC saying there’s a warrant out for your trafficker’s arrest. Immediately my daughter says, ‘Mom, what’s wrong?’” Kuykendall explained.
Wondering if she should tell her daughter what the texts said, Kuykendall thought about it and did not want to ruin the moment. She was consumed by anxiety as so many questions raced through her mind.
“Did he hurt someone else?” Kuykendall asked herself, knowing he had been a free man. “He had been living in El Paso and he violated his parole. I was invited to the parole revocation hearing.”
This would be the first time she faced the man who trafficked her more than four decades earlier.
“We were ten feet apart. It was gut wrenching because I stared him down, wanting him to give me eye contact. I wish I could say it was extremely empowering.” Kuykendall explained life since the abuse has been heavy. “It’s almost impossible for victims to get over it. Because we’re always confronted with it when we least expect it.”
Thinking back to the days she was trafficked, Kuykendall remembers some happenings very vividly, while other moments have been erased from her mind. “I can tell you down to what I was wearing. Yes, I do. I remember it vividly. It was a whole weekend of abuse, and the first thing he did was bring out cigarettes and wine bottles of wine.”
Kuykendall’s abuse took place ten years after the trafficker’s first conviction in Texas and at the time “human trafficking charges” did not exist. “It wasn’t codified in language in the penal code until the year 2000. So, his convictions back then were sexual assault by a child, aggravated sexual assault by a child.”
Abuse of children by this man would continue, explained Kuykendall “He was convicted in Kansas and then in California and then back in Texas in 1991.”
He spent years in prison and was released in 2006. He then violated his parole and would return to prison, with a chance at conditional release every year. His freedom came in 2015.
“I took that opportunity to really focus my life on the lived experience with social justice advocacy,” Kuykendall said.
Although the statute of limitations on her case passed, Rhonda dedicated her adult life to helping survivors, whether it’s lobbying for human trafficking legislation in Austin or studying for her masters in social work to continue her education.
“Through lived experience, I know what it’s like,” Kuykendall said.
As for that text message she received last year, the process took about six months, but Rhonda says justice prevailed, she learned of the news through another text message.
“From TDC that said, ‘Guess what?” We’re revoking his parole. He’s going back to prison. … He’s not eligible for parole for five years.” Kuykendall explained. “Absolutely. I’m never going to give up. I’m going to outlast him.”
Authorities encourage you to save the Human Trafficking Hotline number in your phone. That number is 1-888-373-7888. If you suspect a situation of trafficking, you can report in anonymously. If it’s an emergency, call 911.