Los Angeles holds adoption ceremonies for more than 130 children a year—so many that it requires a special permit from the city to hold one.
But one small girl, known as the first baby in the world to be born on a plane, may have been a victim of child trafficking.
When she was just five-years-old, Jocelyn Carabajal was adopted by her new parents—her biological mother Maria and Juan Carabajal, who was 40 when they gave Jocelyn to Maria.
Juan was an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, and he had come to the U.S. in 2006 as part of a program that allowed undocumented immigrants to learn English and gain jobs.
“Juan is a member of the church where Maria was an altar server, and they were very close. So when I arrived she already knew Juan,” Marie’s sister, Jessica Carabajal, told Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting in Los Angeles. “Maria’s sister was very good to me and I was very grateful.”
At the time, Jocelyn was living with her two other siblings in South Central Los Angeles.
While she was in elementary school, Jocelyn was forced to leave because her mother didn’t feel like she had learned anything for school. During that time, Jocelyn was adopted by two older men who would bring her to a doctor’s appointment and the doctor would give the man money to take Jocelyn to another doctor. When the second doctor wouldn’t treat Jocelyn, the adoptive mother called social services to report that she didn’t take Jocelyn to school for a day. Later, Jocelyn was transferred to another doctor and was able to continue her educations with private classes at school and in local community center. Jocelyn also completed a community college and got a bachelor’s degree in social work.
But after high school, Jocelyn’s family moved to Texas where Jocelyn attended college with dreams of becoming a professional nurse. Despite her plans, Jocelyn’s plan was to go to nursing school, and she signed up for a full scholarship at the University
