"Alina" (not her real name) was 13 when she was pulled into child prostitution through poverty. In July 2021, she was targeted in an undercover mission that was meant to remove her from sexual exploitation. But during the operation, Alina says she was abused.

DW spoke with witnesses and survivors and sifted through court records and confidential documents to corroborate her testimony. We found that instead of stopping exploitation, the rescue mission created the conditions for child abuse to occur.

The operation was run by Destiny Rescue, an Australian-founded anti-trafficking charity. In this video, Geoff Harrison from Destiny Rescue admits "something went wrong" in Alina’s rescue mission.

But Destiny Rescue rejects responsibility for the actions of men who acted as informants in its operation and who are accused of abusing girls. It says a prosecutor cleared its managers of criminal charges. The alleged abusers remain unidentified.