FROM TV STAR TO PAEDOPHILE HUNTER

Child-sex trafficking is a multi-million dollar industry and one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world. Marisol Nichols – of CSI, Law & Order and Riverdale – uses her acting nous to go undercover in the real-life role of a lifetime: catching child predators in a dramatic sex sting. By Erika Hayasaki

An actor sits on the edge of a mattress in a $90-a-night, hard-luck motel room, the grimy curtains drawn. Cobwebs cloud the splotchy ceiling and the room smells musty and of old smoke. In the bathroom, the floor tiles peel at the edges and beige streaks stain the tub and toilet. Bulletproof vests hang on the backs of chairs, ready. On the table are bags of beef jerky, barbecue potato chips and oranges. There are cans of body fuel and enough bottles of water for everyone: two dozen law-enforcement officers from the local county sheriff’s department; two from outside agencies; an FBI agent; two civilian decoys; a former government investigator. And Marisol Nichols, star of the hit TV series Riverdale. But she is not on a Hollywood set, she is playing a role – the role of a parent pimping out a child or, depending on what the situation calls for, the role of a child being pimped out to a guy: a dirtbag on his way to a dismal motel to have sex with an 11-year-old girl who doesn’t exist.

Nichols thumbs a message into a hook-up app popular among men seeking sex with children. She pretends to be the child’s father: “In town today/ tonight only, need someone to educate son/daughter while I and ms watch.” (Educate is code for sex.)

Online, Nichols is a trafficker enticing adults who want to sleep with children. On the phone, she feigns the voice of a child, sounding drugged and sheepish. “What do you like?” the men ask, thinking she is 13. She giggles and stammers on cue. Unlike the other roles she’s been cast in, Nichols isn’t being paid for this performance. She flew herself here, halfway across the country from her home in LA, to this midsize, Midwestern city for the two-day op.