Mom Fights to Ban Child Sex Dolls After Daughter's Likeness Was Used for One

A mother is fighting back after a photo of her child was stolen and her likeness was turned into a sex doll that was legally for sale on Amazon and other websites.

NBC 6 talked exclusively with the girl’s mother to talk about her quest with a Boca Raton organization to fight for a federal mandate banning child sex dolls. Currently, child sex dolls are only banned in Florida and two other states, but advocates and victims say much more needs to be done to expose this secret.

“I knew it right away. I knew it the one site, I saw her and zoomed in on her face and her hair. I was just, I couldn't believe it," said the mother, who asked to be identified as only Terri.

Terri then took a closer look at the Amazon ad.

“When I saw the one that looks just like my daughter, I clicked on it, and when I saw the face, the poses — I was just, I couldn't stop. I started crying. I was just completely in shock and angry," she said.

The $559 doll resembled her 8-year-old daughter. And not just any doll -- according to the Amazon ad, it was "a high quality sexy dolly live dolls for men." One product review posted in May read, "Good item during these times."

“I can't sleep sometimes because that's all I can think about, men who have sex with those dolls, and I can't get them back. I just want to burn them," Terri said, in tears.

The same doll appears naked on another website, which NBC 6 has verified but we are not identifying.

Terri says she freaked. She reached out to Amazon – and four days later the ad was removed. In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said, “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. This product has been removed.”

But Terri said she found the same doll on other sites on the internet.

“And some of these websites have her completely naked and they have a video of people trying to explain how this child sex doll works," she said.

A quick search shows similar child sex dolls on other popular sites.

“They should be charged as sex offender. They should be fined. And these websites need to be shut down," Terri said. "I knew at that moment I couldn't do this fight alone. I knew I needed someone to help me because I can't get these dolls off 13, 14, 15 websites."

Terri paired up with the Child Rescue Coalition, or C.R.C., a Boca Raton-based organization that is dedicated to stopping and identifying predators that trade illegal child sex materials.

“This is a real child who's been affected, this isn't a hypothetical doll that was created," said Carly Yoost, the CEO of C.R.C. "This is something made out of someone’s own likeness and took images from this mother."

The C.R.C. wants Congress to pass a federal law banning the sale and purchasing of child sex dolls.

“The more a predator consumes online images and video of children being abused and purchasing of dolls that act out their sexual fantasies, the more likely they're gonna be a hands-on abuser of a real kid," Yoost said.

For Terri, it's a fight she's ready to take on. And fighting is something her family is used to -- her daughter has an immune deficiency and requires regular life-sustaining plasma transfusions. 

“I never imagined that I would be in this fight to get sex dolls off the internet. I knew within 35 hours, even though this is the worst thing to ever happen to my family, I knew I had to do something," Terri said. "I knew I had to turn this negative into something more positive and make the best situation out of a nightmare."

Tennessee and Kentucky are the two other states that have banned child sex dolls. The Child Rescue Coalition has started an online petition to make them illegal in the United States.