My Name Is Ossiana, And I Am A Survivor Of One Of The Most Brutal Trafficking Rings In America
The FBI has my testimony. The men who trafficked me want me dead.
microcosmos | Shutterstock I have an open file with the FBI, have gone to federal headquarters to give testimony, and have also had multiple attempts on my life from people who wanted to silence me about it. The case is still open.
Hi, my name is Ossiana. I am a survivor of one of the most brutal trafficking rings in America.
If I mention who did this to me in circles with similar workers, it’s normal for people to flinch, gasp, or even go pale and say, “Holy cow. You’re here ... you’re alive?” As a trafficking survivor, I wait every day for news related to my case. I watch the news, hoping I’ll see another name or face I recognize in the ink blotter.
And I see Diddy’s trial on the news. It’s scary for me because it sounds a lot like what happened to me. I’ve done one of these before, but I think it’s time I do another one about some more testimonies related to the Diddy trial to give you an idea of what it’s like to survive this.
Cassie left Diddy, and her then-boyfriend’s car exploded. Cassie was Diddy’s long-time girlfriend, and she got away from him. She ended up dating Kid Cudi. According to the testimony, Cudi’s Porsche exploded, and Diddy was a key suspect in the case.
Now that Diddy is on trial with Cassie Ventura as a main victim/character in the testimony, that arson attempt is under scrutiny.
As a trafficking survivor, I’m not in the least bit surprised that Diddy would go that far to get rid of a guy who took his ex, and here’s why:
- Diddy, like most traffickers, doesn’t see people as people. They see them as objects to sell, people to employ, people to exploit, or people who want to buy what they’re selling. If you don’t fit in those categories, you are no one to them. Cassie was his object, not a person. He treated her leaving like stolen property.
- Trafficking rings do not act alone. While there are lone pimps and lone escort agencies, traffickers are not these people. They are a different breed. They’re more like a gang mixed with a corporation, and they will prevent assets from leaving at all costs.
- Being in the spotlight is a major shield. I honestly think Kid Cudi is alive due to his fame. He didn’t get killed because it was a high-profile hit, and he likely wanted to send a message. Don’t be surprised if Cudi cops to doing favors to avoid death. It’s common for victims to become perpetrators in the trafficking world.
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Cassie’s mother paying Diddy to guarantee safety is pretty common in the trafficking world.
If you're trying to leave or if you’ve managed to tick them off, people might have to pay to keep you alive. It’s a form of extortion that makes the victims feel like they are at the mercy of the traffickers and devalues them.
I also found it very predictable that he would threaten to show intimate videos of Cassie and warn her mom about it. That’s one of the most common ways to retaliate in that world.
Diddy said he wanted to “recoup” the money he spent on Cassie as the reason for the extortion. That’s the thing about trafficking: those gifts are never, ever gifts … and they always come with a high price. There’s often a way to buy safety or silence with people like Diddy.
Diddy’s parties were an open secret, much like the parties I was sold at.
After a certain point, traffickers kind of have to operate that way. That means buying secrecy from the police. I found it interesting that a lot of FBI files on Diddy went missing, especially about the jewelry he had. That suggests that he may have had someone inside law enforcement who shielded him or that he lied about having people in the feds to scared individuals.
There was also testimony of people afraid to write a police report because of the ramifications it would mean for them with Diddy. Some people who were victimized in the area of my traffickers went to the police, but the police covered it up because they were receiving services from traffickers in the area.
The escorts that were willingly there were there for a reason, but not the reason you think. Traffickers rarely just have their own “stable” of victims. People pick up when they notice that all the available people have glassy-eyed, drank-the-Kool-Aid stares. Customers also get bored with the regular victims, too.
Escorts serve multiple purposes in trafficking parties:
- They add legitimacy to the events in the eyes of partygoers. If you have escorts who make money for themselves at the party, people don’t ask questions. People just assume the trafficked people are just “escorts who took too much,” and it’s all of a sudden a far more legitimate-looking, non-trafficky party.
- Seeing escorts making money makes others think the trafficked people are making money too. We slaves didn’t make the money we were sold for, even when we were dragged on stage via slave auctions. A friend of mine was sold for $1400 to another trafficker at a slave auction before she disappeared. The money went to our slave owner, not her.
- It’s to normalize intimate acts that are considered extreme, such as being with escorts in front of others or being drowned for fun. It also makes it a lot easier to make adult videos of yourself when you have people who are paid to act. The pressure is real in those parties.
- Escorts who are naive help legitimize the parties to the swinger world or to adult industry groups. Escorts are treated very well at these parties for a reason. They act as spokespeople for traffickers and can deny what happened to those of us who were drugged, tricked, beaten, or brainwashed into compliance. If you have well-known escorts or entertainers at a party, they can be on a flyer and give you more exposure for your client base. Many escorts are not aware of what they've gotten involved with until it’s too late.
Watch his entourage. We’ve already seen this with the Jeffrey Epstein case, but traffickers tend to schmooze with people in high society for a reason. First off, they pay well for intimate favors and secrecy.
Trafficking is a business, and they’re there to cater to clients — the richer, the better.
Second, rich and famous people have power…power to keep traffickers out of the public eye and out of jail.
Third, rich people don’t raise eyebrows. You get a lot more leeway with everything if you’re rich and famous, or just associated with them. And that’s why we’re seeing so many trafficking rings with high-profile guests.
Sexual abuse is very common. RAINN reports that every 68 seconds, an American is a victim of sexual violence. Females are far more likely to be abused and assaulted, and 90% of victims who are adults are women. This is especially prevalent among women who also happen to be college students, which makes their risk three times greater.
Anyone affected by sexual assault can find support on the National Sexual Assault Hotline, a safe, confidential service. Contact The Hotline or call 800-656-HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member.
Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer whose work has been featured in Yahoo, BRIDES, Your Daily Dish, Newtheory Magazine, and others.
