A woman who turned to sex work at just 14 years old has told of her harrowing life of battling drug and alcohol addiction before turning her life around.
Ashley Huffman Clark, 38, from Worthington, Ohio, spend two decades in the industry after having a ‘very toxic’ childhood, born to a mother while she was serving time in prison, that saw her give birth to her own kid when she was raped aged 14.
Now at 38, Ashley is sharing her story to warn other women about the ‘trauma and dangers’ of the sex work industry, and has written a book about her experiences.
‘I had a very toxic childhood. My mom was serving an 18-month jail sentence when I was born. She died a few months after her release in 1987. Though my biological father is still alive, I’ve only crossed paths with him a handful of times and was raised by my maternal grandparents until my tweens,’ she recalled.
A woman who turned to sex work at just 14 years old has told of her harrowing life of battling drug and alcohol addiction before turning her life around
Ashley Clark Huffman, 38, is a former sex worker whose shared her harrowing experience on TikTok. Pictured left and right on her TikTok
‘Shortly after my grandfather died of lung cancer, I went to live with my aunt and uncle, who had two older sons. My uncle was always high on drugs, and we’d have pimps arrive at his house at all hours of the night demanding money for hookers he hadn’t paid. My aunt was always drunk, and the cops were often called to our door.’
Ashley recalled how she was molested multiple times by family members and, despite telling her aunt about the abuse, it continued.
Trying to fill a void, she began soliciting older men she met on AOL chatrooms, Craigslist, and Yahoo Messenger chatrooms. Soon, she was working on the streets, canvassing movie theatres and malls for new clients, and binging on heroin, fentanyl and alcohol.
On her 14th birthday, Ashley fell pregnant after her ‘first crush’ raped her.
‘I only found out I was pregnant when I was in my third trimester, so abortion wasn’t an option,’ she recalled.
‘When my son Cameron was three, I put him up for adoption, thinking he’d have a better life growing up in a more stable household. Sadly, he wound up in county jail on a murder charge just days before his 20th birthday. He is now 24 and still serving a life sentence.’
Talking about her days working as a sex worker, Ashley admitted she had slept with so many people she lost count.
‘I probably serviced over 16,000 clients, charging $1,000 for just 30 minutes. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. I stole from clients, blackmailed married men, and once even stabbed someone. It wasn’t until I had a near-death experience that I realized I couldn’t continue living my life that way,’ she said.
Ashley, who is now 38 and from Worthington, Ohio, spend two decades in the industry after having a ‘very toxic’ childhood
She was born while her mother was serving time in prison. She was also gang-raped later in life
‘In 2017, I was gang raped and beaten close to death. Just a few weeks later, I was imprisoned on drug-related charges,’ she said. Pictured left is Ashley in 2021 and right in 2022
‘In 2017, I was gang raped and beaten close to death. Just a few weeks later, I was imprisoned on drug-related charges. During my sentence, my gran died. After spending time behind bars, I left my jail cell a different person. For the first time, I wanted to quit drugs and alcohol.
‘Being sober for a week or two wasn’t hard, but staying sober for long periods was almost impossible. I would get flashbacks and relive past trauma, ultimately leading me to reach for a bottle or pills.
‘I overdosed in December 2018. I had OD’ed before, but this time was different because while unconscious, I saw my mom and my grandma, and I knew they were dead, so that was a huge wake-up call for me.
‘I told my girlfriend, Brittany, who is now my wife, that I needed help. The next morning, I walked to the methadone clinic, which was two miles down the road in the middle of winter. I walked to and from that clinic for several weeks until I had finally overcome my drug habit.
‘I haven’t touched an opiate since. I still prostituted after I got sober but quit that too in 2019.’
Ashley explained that she was given methadone when she first stopped doing drugs, and now she takes Suboxone, a prescription medicine used to treat opioid addiction.
In addition to Cameron, who was put up for adoption, Ashley has four other children, a 17-year-old daughter named Janessa and three younger children whom her ex-husband has custody of: Arriyanna, nine, Messiah, nine, and Jax, eight.
During her sentence, Ashley’s grandmother died and, after spending time behind bars, the sex worker wanted to quit drugs and alcohol
‘Being sober for a week or two wasn’t hard, but staying sober for long periods was almost impossible,’ she said
Ashley now takes Suboxone, a prescription medicine used to treat opioid addiction. Along with being a TikTok star, she has also written books about her experiences
Ashley, who now lives with her wife and Janessa, started sharing her story online during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘I started my TikTok channel because I wanted to better inform women who were looking to start their own career in sex work about the trauma and danger that comes with this line of work,’ she explained.
‘It wasn’t until I started sharing my story online that I felt heard. Even if my feelings are being validated through strangers on the internet, it still brought me a sense of peace I’ve never had before.’
In addition to being a content creator, positing candid videos to her 1.8M followers, Ashley is also the author of two books: It’s My Pu$$y, I’ll Do What I Want: Trashley 2 Ashley and Diary Of A Mad A$ Hooker. She is also currently in the process of trying to regain custody of her children.
‘I have big plans for the future,’ she said. ‘I am going to continue writing and self-publishing books. My wife and I just bought our first home together, and I’m rebuilding my relationship with my children.’
