Domestic sex trafficking, or the sexual exploitation of U.S. citizens domestically, is a persistent problem that remains underexplored. Empirical anti-sex trafficking research is fragmented in its use of theory, which hinders the advancement of policy and practice. The research questions concerned the: 1) overall correspondence between the first two stages of the theoretical cycle of objectification, fragmentation, and consumption and the means of control (MOCs) endorsed by survivors of domestic sex trafficking, or SDSTs, in the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) dataset, 2) whether MOC use differed by recruiter relationship type, and 3) if those patterns differed within majority status groups (i.e., adult or minor). As the present study used secondary data, the focus was on cisgender women and girls who were registered with the CTDC as SDSTs. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to analyze SDSTs’ reported MOCs in the CTDC dataset and explore the single-factor and inter-factor loadings onto the objectification and fragmentation stages. Binary logistic regression was used to answer the second and third research questions. The final ESEM model confirmed an overlapping two-factor solution with two item-level error covariances. The MOCs loaded or cross-loaded significantly onto the objectification and fragmentation factors. Binary logistic regression results indicated that in the objectification stage, majority status was the predominant predictor and financial abuses were the predominant MOCs. In the fragmentation stage, both distal (friends and others) and proximal (intimate partners and family members) recruiter relationship types were the predominant predictor and bodily abuses as well as threats of harm to the SDSTs or loved ones were the predominant MOCs. Finally, in the overlap between the objectification and fragmentation stages, distal recruiter relationship types and majority status were predominant predictors and MOCs related to restriction or withholding were predominant outcomes. There was overall acceptable correspondence between the CTDC dataset and the objectification and fragmentation theoretical cycle stages. The present study employed a novel approach, ESEM, to explore theory testing around an understudied population. Binary logistic regression findings also offer opportunities for additional research to enrich, clarify, or challenge understandings of power and control dynamics in domestic sex trafficking.