I Believe I Was Sexually Exploited And Recorded Without My Knowledge. Police Say They’re No Longer Pursuing The Videos. What Can I Do?

Location: Michigan

I found videos of me on porn sites conscious and unconscious. I believe I was being sexually exploited/sex trafficked, and that money is being made off of me without my knowledge or consent. I had no idea this was happening. I found out years after the fact, and the videos are the only reason I even knew something had happened to me. There were multiple people involved that i personally knew and trusted that did this to me. Once I discovered the videos, I was able to connect the dots and understand that what I had been experiencing was connected to being recorded, exploited, and harmed without my knowledge or consent.

I’ve only watched porn a few times prior to this, so the chances of me discovering this is unexplainable. I was scrolling through the site, I saw the preview photo for one of the videos and immediately got this sick feeling that it was me. As I looked deeper into the videos, I discovered horrifying things that were done to me. I’ve watched these videos more times than I can count, hoping every time that I was wrong and that it wasn’t me. It’s been a living nightmare since.

When I reported it, I told the investigator I believe the videos are edited. The videos were sent in to be analyzed, and I was told the results showed no signs of tampering. From my knowledge there are ways videos can be downloaded with no trace of tampering. It is visible to the naked eye that these videos are edited. My eyes glitch to a different color, my tattoos become visible, my markings on my body appear throughout the video that match exactly on my body.

The investigator has told me the case is no longer being pursued regarding the videos. The investigator is still sending the case to the prosecutor, but I’m confused because the videos are the only reason I discovered any of this in the first place. I’m also confused about why one of the men involved was contacted over the phone and asked about the allegation that way. What concerns me even more is that I was not told after he had been notified. The investigator interviewed one of the men involved over the phone and asked if he raped me. I told the investigator that there needed to be further investigation before anyone was notified. The investigator still went ahead and contacted one of the guys. I’m not sure what the protocol is, but this was very upsetting to me how the investigator has went about this. I also feel like I should’ve been notified after the interview was done.

After he was contacted, the videos were removed/taken down. That makes me even more concerned about the video/source/uploader part of the case, because I feel like that should be looked into further instead of being dismissed. I informed the investigator that the videos and photos were now removed. They were still on the websites prior to the interview.

I don’t understand why they would stop investigating the videos instead of looking into who uploaded them, where they came from, the porn site profiles/accounts, upload dates, removal history, website records, IP/account information if available, etc.

I’m able to submit a flash drive with my evidence before it goes to the prosecutor. I’m trying to figure out what to include and how to word my request so the prosecutor understands that I am asking for the video/source/uploader side to be reviewed further.

If you took the time to read all of this, thank you. Please be kind. This has been mortifying and dehumanizing. At this point, it feels like I am the one being forced to prove that this happened to me, even though I am the person who was harmed. I feel dismissed, invalidated, and left to figure this out on my own.