LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Secret Service visited Broadbent Arena to execute the Operation Angel Summit.

The event is an educational event aimed at preventing child exploitation. Thousands of students in Jefferson County attended. 

U.S. Secret Service Agent Rick Nord is an ambassador for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

While Nord warned students against sending explicit photos, whether to a partner or to a person they communicate with online, he also encouraged students to reach out for help to take care of the matter.

"One thing that you do have control of is clicking send. When you click send you lose all control of that photo," Nord said. "Please don’t try to fight the bad guys alone. They’re professionals."

Nord said in some instances, students connect with people online who groom teens, pressure them to send photos, and then blackmail the teen. Predators will threaten to send the photos to family or friends in exchange for money.

"If you give them $5,000, $10,000, if you give them $10 million, they're still going to send pictures out no matter how much you get them," Nord said. "We (the Secret Service) are very victim driven. When you call us, we're going to respond to you. We're going to help you. It's not your burden to investigate, that's ours."

Nord also reinforced students to trust their instinct if someone is acting inappropriate towards them. He added in many cases, a predator may be someone seen as a trusted adult.

"We say preachers, teachers, cops and coaches," Nord said. "Then who do I trust? Who do you think you can trust? They're sitting in your seat. You trust yourselves.” 

In addition to sharing possible scenarios and warning signs, Operation Angel Summit shared local resources for teens, including: Future Healers, YMCA Safe Place Services, and the Take It Down website.

Take It Down is a website run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that helps remove explicit photos of people under 18.

What resonated most with students, were people sharing their real life experiences.

A teenage spoke about how she was groomed by a man she met online when she was just 14 years old.

"I never thought that such a simple greeting can turn into such a nefarious act. That same greeting turned into hours upon hours of chatting every single day, every morning, I would wake up to a good morning text. We would talk throughout the entire day," said the teen who stayed anonymous.

She said after a couple weeks, her predator's requests became more forward, like asking for personal photos. 

Months later, the man booked a hotel near her home and pressured her to meet him in-person.

"He told me to make sure I shaved everything, where little to no makeup, wear a dress, how to do my hair, what Chapstick to wear, what lotion to wear, everything he wanted everything to be his way and I obey," she said. " For four hours, I was repeatedly assaulted and raped by Christopher. With a gun just a couple of feet away from him, I live frozen and helpless, terrified of what he would do if I said no."

The teen reported the assault the next day. Her predator is now behind bars. Despite this, the teen described the long-term effects it has had on her and her family.

"I would sit on my bed and stare at myself. I wouldn't go to school. I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't sleep. When anyone touched my skin, it reminded me of his dirty fingers touching my skin. I didn't even want my own father to touch me," she said.

Amy Grace also shared her story.

Her 7-year-old daughter, Gabbi Doolin, was kidnapped from her brother's youth football game in 2015. Yards away from the game, Doolin was sexually assaulted and murdered by a man her mom described as an acquaintance.

"I need you to say no to someone you might have been taught to trust. Please, trust your gut if it feels off. Protect your friends, let them protect you. If you see a friend heading in the wrong direction, tell them. Your warning can save them and their families from extreme pain," Grace said.

The third and final speaker was Theo Fleury, a retired NHL player who won a Stanley Cup and a gold medal.

But during that time Fleury said he struggled with substance abuse issues, because the coach that discovered him as a young teen, raped him 150 times in two and a half years after he moved away from home to play junior hockey.

"I kept this secret inside for 27 years, and I didn't tell anybody. And so I've spent the last 16 years traveling exclusively all over North America talking about trauma, mental health and addiction, and how they're all connected, because when we're traumatized, it leaves us with emotional pain and suffering," Fleury said.

In his final words, he encouraged people to ask for help if they find themselves in a bad situation.

"If you're experiencing anything like this, it's my wish and my hope that you find the courage and the strength to talk to somebody, because it's so important," Fleury said. "It'll save your life, I guarantee it'll save your life."

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