BATON ROUGE - The state of Louisiana has had skyrocketing numbers of cases being investigated where predators pursue children online.

In 2021, 3,478 incidents were reported. In 2022, reported cases rose to 6,128. By 2023, the number had increased to 13,644 reported cases in the state, an overall increase of 112% from 2021 to 2023. The Attorney General's office told WBRZ they expect numbers for 2024-2025 to surpass previous years.

Officials also stated this represents nearly a 1200% increase compared to the number of cases reported ten years ago.

A recent AG's office case began online, resulting in a Baker teen being trafficked to Pittsburgh, where she was held in a basement and abused.

In East Baton Rouge, the Metanoia Manor offers a safe haven for victims in these types of cases. Founder of the Metanoia Manor, Father Jeff Bayhi, says they help provide recovery, education, and therapy for trafficking victims.

"We are a complete care residential facility. We take juveniles, we can take them from 0 to 18, and we can keep them till the age of 21, and basically, we create a bubble for them to heal in."

"How brutal this can be, how prevalent this is in our country, and how local it is, and as of this week, we will have taken 138 children in our shelter for recovery of female victims who have been sold into the sex trade.

He says it's not the child that needs healing.

"If a child has been trafficked and is able to be reunited with the family, and that's a big if, I think family therapy needs to go into understanding, someone needs to understand how the child makes their demands, what is reasonable parenting for a child that has been raped 1500-2000 times", Bayhi said.

Experts say the increase is due to kids having more access than ever to do some type of electronic devices. Bayhi urges parents to set boundaries for their kids' phones.

"Do not let your teenager take your phone to bed after 9 o'clock at night; they don't need it for school after 9 o'clock at night. You pay for that phone, put it on your bedside table," he said.