Please wait as we load hundreds of rigorously documented facts for you.



What You’ll Find

For example:


Citation Generator
X
APA
MLA
Chicago (for footnotes)
Chicago (for bibliographies)

Introductory Notes

Accurate and comprehensive data on sex trafficking is scarce due to the covert nature of these crimes.[1] [2] [3] Many aspects of this issue can only be measured through surveys, but such surveys often involve nonrandom convenience samples that may not be representative of broader populations.[4] Thus, Just Facts uses this data critically, citing the best-designed surveys we find, and detailing their methodologies in our footnotes.

Another factor that masks this issue is that surveys on sex trafficking sometimes have small sample sizes, and hence, their margins of sampling error can be significant. For reference while interpreting the surveys in this research, here are some approximate margins of error based on various sample sizes:

Sample Size Out of

a Population of 100,000

Margin of Error

with 95% Confidence

10

± 31%

50

± 14%

100

± 10%

500

± 4%

1,000

± 3%

[5]

General

Definitions & Penalties

* The word “trafficking” means to “to carry on trade or business, especially of an illicit kind.”[6]

* Contrary to a common perception, trafficking is not limited to illegally transporting people or products across borders but includes other illicit exchanges of goods and services, regardless of where they come from or where they are sold.[7] [8]

* “Sex trafficking,” as defined by federal law, is a “severe” form of human trafficking “in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age….”[9] [10]

* Under federal law:

  • a “commercial sex act” is “any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.”[11]
  • “coercion” means any of the following:
    • “threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person.”
    • “any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person.”
    • “the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.”[12]
  • inducing someone under the age of 18 to perform a sex act in exchange for something of value (such as money, shelter, transportation, or food) is considered sex trafficking. Force, fraud, or coercion need not be involved.[13] [14] [15]

* Some of the federal penalties for child sex trafficking include:

  • a minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life if the victim is under the age of 14, or if force, fraud, or coercion is involved.
  • a prison sentence of 10 years to life if the victim is 14 to 17 years old.[16]

* All the laws and penalties detailed above apply regardless of whether a child misrepresents herself or himself as an adult. Prosecutors are not required to prove that a defendant knew the victim was under the age of 18.[17] [18] [19]


Victims

* A 2011 U.S. Department of Justice study of 389 confirmed cases of sex trafficking involving 460 victims found that:

  • 94% of the victims were female and 6% were male.
  • 75% of the victims were U.S. citizens/nationals, 14% were illegal immigrants, 1% were permanent residents, and 9% were of unknown citizenship.
  • 35% of the victims were black, 22% were white, 21% were Latino, 4% were Asian, and 18% were of other or unknown races.
  • 54% of the victims were below the age of 18, 31% were ages 18 to 24, 10% were 25 and older, and 3% were of unknown ages.[20]

* For a University of Pennsylvania study of child sex trafficking, investigators interviewed children in 17 U.S. cities who were sexually exploited for profit via prostitution, pornography, stripping, and other means.[21] The study found:

  • Among 210 victims, 24% were from households in poverty, and 76% were from working- and middle-class households.[22]
  • Among 107 girls and 63 boys who were prostituted, the “the age range of entry into prostitution” was 12–14 years for the girls and 11–13 years for the boys.[23] [24] [25]
  • “At least 95% of all the commercial sex engaged in by boys is provided to adult males.”[26]

* A sampling of news about sex trafficking cases in the U.S. includes the following:

Pointing to a “grotesque combination of physical abuse and emotional manipulation,” a federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and five life sentences of a South Florida man who forced women, including minors, to work as prostitutes. … The 22-page ruling, citing “horrific crimes,” said Williams physically abused and threatened the women and forced two of them to have abortions after they became pregnant.
–CBS Miami, 2021[27]
An East Stroudsburg man has been sentenced to 17-and-a-half years imprisonment for his role in a northeastern Pennsylvania sex trafficking operation. … Members of the Black P-Stones, including but not limited to Battle, used threats, force, drugs and intimidation to coerce females to engage in prostitution.
–Pocono Record, 2021[28]
One 17-year-old solicited on Facebook allowed [Justin] Strom to pick her up in his car at her home, but when he spelled out what he expected, she told Strom she wanted out. In response, he “slammed her head against the window of the vehicle,” forced her to ingest cocaine, and slashed her arm with a knife, according to court documents. That night, he took her to an apartment complex and rented her out to 14 men.
– CNN Money, 2012[29]
In November, federal prosecutors struck again in South Dakota, this time bringing sex-trafficking charges against a couple in Tea, a city of 4,600 also just off Interstate 90. They were convicted of using coercion and threats to force underage girls, some as young as 15, into prostitution.
– Washington Times, 2011[30]
On Monday, prosecutors in Brooklyn announced the indictments of the four people—two men and two women—on charges including sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and endangering the welfare of a child. The couple who kidnapped the 13-year-old girl were also charged with kidnapping and rape.
– New York Times, 2011[31]
Cristina was just 24 years-old, living in a rural farming village in Mexico, when Amador Cortes-Meza told her he was falling in love with her. He promised her marriage and a good job, and then brought her to the United States. But when she arrived in the Atlanta area, he physically abused her and forced her to work as a prostitute.
– NBC News, 2011[32]
Federal and local investigators swept through the Twin Cities area Monday and arrested more than 20 suspects in an extensive human trafficking investigation involving Somali gangs, sources confirmed. … An indictment against 29 suspects was unsealed Monday morning, alleging that members of Somali gangs based in the Twin Cities victimized at least four women—three of whom were younger than 15 at the time—by turning them into prostitutes.
– Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2010[33]
Brooklyn prosecutors have busted Bloods gang members on charges of running several sex trafficking rings that recruited girls from junior high schools, the Daily News has learned. Prostitutes as young as 15 were routinely beaten and deprived of food if they didn’t earn $500 a day selling their bodies, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office found.
– New York Daily News, 2010[34]
In New York … Consuelo Carreto Valencia, a 4-foot-10, 61-year-old grandmother, pleaded guilty in July to smuggling dozens of women from Mexico and violently coercing them to perform sex acts. Prosecutors said that Valencia was the matriarch of an extensive prostitution ring based in Mexico. The victims were compelled to perform sex acts 12 hours a day and were subjected to beatings, rape and forced abortions, they said.
– MSNBC and Telemundo, 2008[35]
A couple held a runaway teen captive in a hollow bed frame for weeks and forced her to have sex for money with people they found on the Internet, police said. The 15-year-old girl managed to call family members for help while 18-year-old Matthew Gray and 19-year-old Janelle Butler were sleeping Monday night, authorities said. The two were arrested Tuesday. The girl ran away from her El Mirage home in September and met the couple through a friend about three hours after she disappeared, police Sgt. Andy Hill said. They took her to a park, bound her and had her gang raped for hours, police said.
– Associated Press, 2005[36]

Children

* Per a 2015 Congressional Research Service report on child sex trafficking, “It is more profitable for a trafficker to prostitute a child than to commit other crimes such as dealing in drugs.” This is because “the commodity (child) is reusable” and “technological innovation has allowed traffickers to reach a wider client base and connect more quickly with buyers.”[37] [38]

* According to interviews conducted by the New York Times with more than two dozen convicted pimps: “While most of the pimps said they prefer adult women because teenage runaways involve more legal risks, juveniles fetch higher prices from clients and are far easier to manipulate.”[39] [40]

* Interviews with five ex-pimps in Chicago conducted by researchers at the DePaul University College of Law found that they knowingly prostituted underage girls:

“They all claimed to be 18, but I knew for a fact that some were 15 years old.” One said “as young as 15,” another “as young as 14. It was the nature of the business.” Still another said, “If they were bleeding they could work for me.”[41] [42]

* The following undercover footage is from Shared Hope International, an organization that “strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex slavery, restore victims of sex trafficking, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children.”[43] The video shows a trafficker demanding a premium for sex with a child:

* Per a 2001 University of Pennsylvania study of child sex trafficking:

Reliable estimates of the number of commercially sexually exploited children [CSEC] in the United States do not exist. This is due to: 1) the highly secretive and illegal nature of the CSEC; 2) gross under-reporting of known cases of the CSEC by law enforcement and human service authorities; 3) the absence of national or local registries of confirmed cases of the CSEC; 4) the absence of national and local prevalence studies of the CSEC; and 5) widespread societal disbelief concerning the nature, extent and severity of the CSEC within the United States.[44]
Without equivocation, the investigators can confirm that the presence of pre-existing adult prostitution markets contributes measurably to the creation of secondary sexual markets in which children are sexually exploited. Indeed, in every community we visited in which a substantial adult prostitution market exists—Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco—we also found substantial numbers of young people being sexually exploited—often alongside older prostituted women and men soliciting sex on the same streets and pursuing the same clients.[45]

Recruitment & Coercion

* Sex traffickers often invest considerable time, money, and effort to target victims because the monetary incentives are substantial. Prices charged by traffickers for a sexual encounter range from $25 to $400, and trafficking victims report being forced to service 5 to 45 buyers per day. Victims also report being assigned quotas (enforced by beatings, gang rapes, and threats to kill their families) that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per day.[46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56]

* In 2005, the United Nation’s International Labour Association estimated that sex traffickers in industrialized countries reap an average profit of $67,200 per victim per year.[57] [58]

* From October 2006 through September 2008, Shared Hope International employed U.S. Department of Justice-funded task forces to conduct field assessments of domestic minor sex trafficking in ten U.S. locations. The report summarizing these assessments states:

Utilizing a conservative estimate, a domestic minor sex trafficking victim who is rented for sex acts with five different men per night, for five nights per week, for an average of five years, would be raped by 6,000 buyers during the course of her victimization through prostitution.[59]

* Characteristics such as drug or alcohol abuse, homelessness, and runaway or illegal immigrant status may make potential victims more vulnerable to recruitment.[60] [61] [62]

* Sex traffickers frequently target children because they tend to be more naive and easier to manipulate than adults. Traffickers initiate contact with their targets by spending time at places where children congregate, such as malls, coffee shops, parks, skating rinks, sports events, and youth shelters.[63] [64] [65] They sometimes use children who are already under their control to ensnare new victims.[66] [67] [68]

* Traffickers also troll for potential victims on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.[69] [70] [71] [72] [73] Since 2011, the internet has been the “top location of recruitment” among federal sex trafficking cases.[74]

* Sex traffickers lure and gain the trust of their targets through a variety of means, such as romance, friendship, gifts, promises of a job, and providing shelter and food to runaways.[75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] A former Chicago pimp told researchers from DePaul University: “We eat, drink, and sleep, thinking of ways to trick young girls into doing what we want them to do.”[83]

* As detailed in the following reports, sex traffickers establish and maintain control over their victims through psychological intimidation, fostering physical and emotional dependency, beatings, rapes, drugging, blackmail, abduction, and confinement:

I was 14 years old, and the way the pimp came at me was that at first I didn’t even know he was a pimp. He came at me like a boyfriend. Yes, he was an older boyfriend but he cared about me ….Six months later he told me “Let’s run away together. We can have a beautiful house and family.” And I did believe him, and we ran away, and then the story changed…. I had to go out every night and work the streets—the alternative was being gang-raped by a group of pimps while everyone watched.”
– Tina Frundt, founder of Courtney’s House and survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking[84]
The victim is often encouraged to take a short trip with the “boyfriend” for what seems like a reasonable cause. … The “boyfriend” may start the process of exploitation by introducing the victim to other groups of men and asking the victim to provide sexual favors to the men…. If the victim doesn’t agree to do so, she will then be subjected to violence, abuse, or other coercive measures…. By this stage, the victim may be in no position to refuse the “boyfriend’s” commands and is frightened and compliant. She may find herself in an unknown part of the city, or perhaps a different city all together. The victim realizes that she, her family, nor anyone else knows where she is.
– U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center[85]
Last month, police in Nashville, Tenn., arrested two men and charged them with holding a young Mexican woman as a sex slave, driving her across Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, where she was forced to engage in prostitution with as many as seven men a day, court records said. Investigators alleged that the woman, 22, was tortured, stabbed and cut with an ice pick to ensure her obedience. They said the men also threatened to kill her family in Mexico and her sister in Atlanta if she did not follow their orders.
– MSNBC[86]
Once a trafficker/pimp identifies the physical and/or psychological needs of a child, he seeks to fill them. If the child lacks a loving parental presence, the trafficker/pimp morphs his tactics to become the parent figure. If a youth needs a safe place to sleep, the trafficker/pimp provides housing. In this way, traffickers/ pimps work to create a dependency between the minor and themselves.
– Shared Hope International[87]
After the child has been manipulated into a relationship with the pimp, the pimp begins training or “seasoning” her by normalizing the life of prostitution and making her completely dependent on him. The child may be given a sexual education or be exposed to pornography to desensitize her to sexual images and terms. To solidify his control, the pimp or someone acting at his direction, will beat, torture, or starve the child to force her into obedience.
– U.S. Department of Justice[88]
Linda ran away from home at age 14 and one day while walking down the street from Jack-in-the Box she was kidnapped by 6 men. They drugged her, beat her, and took her to a house where they tied her to a bed and each proceeded to rape her vaginally then anally. That same evening she was taken to a mansion and sold to a pimp.
– University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy[89]
BG is an African-American male in his 50’s. He has been a pimp all of his working life. He traffics girls between Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu and Vancouver. He mostly recruits young girls in Vancouver, brings them to Hawaii and keeps all of their papers so they can’t leave. He drugs them; hand cuffs them and then makes them have sex with his dog. He photographs these sex acts and then uses the photos as blackmail, threatening to send them to magazines or family members.
– University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy[90]
To manipulate the child, the pimp also uses emotional tactics such as renaming her to break down her identity and telling her that she has no value except as a prostitute. The pimp also separates the child from biological family and friends as well as anything familiar. Additionally, the pimp keeps all of the profit earned by the child and delivers violent punishment if the child withholds any money. The pimp uses a combination of praise and abuse that causes the child to constantly work for his affection. The child becomes completely dependent on the pimp for food, clothing, shelter, and attention. The pimp’s control often is so complete that victims are incapable of leaving.
– U.S. Department of Justice[91]
Yuki, 25, who fears for her safety and only gave her first name to The Chronicle during an interview in Seoul, said she was trafficked from South Korea to a karaoke bar in Inglewood (Los Angeles County), where she was assured that she would simply be serving drinks to men. Once there, she was ordered to sell $3,000 worth of drinks each month. When she failed, she was sent to the “touching room,” a private suite where men could have their way with her for $400.
– San Francisco Chronicle[92]
One 40-year-old woman with a sixth-grade education explained that her mother was a prostituted woman who physically and sexually assaulted her and put her out in prostitution at age 12. “My mother was my first pimp. She used to sell me to the landlord and other men who wanted a young girl. She was a junkie.” After she ran away, she was picked up by a pimp and held against her will, and later was held captive by another. “I thought that was normal.”
– DePaul University College of Law[93]
Lloyd Mack Royal III, 29, of Gaithersburg [Maryland] … received a 37-year sentence in July for using what prosecutors said was “physical violence, drugs, guns and lies” to force three girls younger than 18 into prostitution. … According to court records, Royal forced the girls to engage in sex; threatened to harm them and their families; hit the girls and held one of them at gunpoint; gave them cocaine, PCP, marijuana and alcohol before forcing them to have sex with customers; and, to assert his authority, forced them to “kiss his pinky ring.”
– Washington Times[94]

Facilitators

* In 2006 and 2007, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation conducted interviews with 113 men who purchase sex from prostitutes. Among these men, 87% said that women freely choose to become prostitutes.[95] [96] In 2001, the Center for Impact Research conducted interviews with 222 women who currently or recently worked as prostitutes in the Chicago metropolitan area. By virtue of the study’s methodology, this sample consisted only of women who were able and willing to meet with interviewers. Among these women:

  • 61% said they entered prostitution before the age of 18, and 35% said they entered prostitution before the age of 16.
  • 59% said they could leave prostitution without being physically harmed, 27% said they could not, and 14% did not answer the question.[97]

* A survey of 104 prostituted juveniles arrested during 2007–2008 in Clark County, Nevada, found that 78% of them wanted to leave prostitution.[98]


Strip Clubs & Massage Parlors

* For a 2001 University of Pennsylvania study of child sex trafficking, interviews were conducted with 170 children who had been prostituted. The researchers found that, “Modeling, nude dancing, lap dancing and similar sexually provocative activities frequently are used to lure girls into prostitution.”[99]

* The following excerpts are from an interview with Shamere McKenzie, who took a job in a strip club to earn money for college and was physically assaulted and forced into prostitution.

* A San Francisco Chronicle investigation of sex trafficking in California found:

Many of San Francisco’s Asian massage parlors—long an established part of the city’s sexually permissive culture—have degenerated into something much more sinister: international sex slave shops. … Sex slaves who work in massage parlors and bars are often locked in their place of business by double security doors, monitored by surveillance cameras and only let outside under the guard of crooked taxi drivers who ferry them to their next sex appointment.[100]

Workers & Public Officials

* Field assessments of domestic minor sex trafficking in ten U.S. locations conducted by Shared Hope International under a grant from the Department of Justice found:

Facilitators, or accomplices, avoid direct responsibility for sex trafficking crimes by creating distance from the immediate criminal activity, but they profit from and make possible the sex trafficking of children. Some common facilitators in the crime of DMST [domestic minor sex trafficking] include taxi drivers, hotel workers, and owners of adult sexual entertainment venues.[101]

* Interviews conducted by the DePaul University College of Law with 25 ex-pimps in Chicago found that 60% of them said they had bribed police officers or public officials in order to conduct business, which sometimes included prostituting children. The pimps also said they supplied prostitutes for strip clubs and escort services and “shared profits with a host of other actors, including lawyers and doctors, but also bellmen, hotel clerks, bartenders and cab drivers, all of whom were regularly paid for referring customers.”[102] [103] [104]


Backpage.com

* The AIM Group, a consulting agency specializing in interactive media and classified advertising,[105] estimated in February 2013 that five leading online sellers of classified ads for “adult services” generated roughly $37 million in revenues over the past year through ads for “escorts” and “body rubs” in 23 U.S. cities. The website Backpage.com, which is owned by the founders of Village Voice Media,[106] [107] accounted for about 80% of this revenue.[108]

* In July 2011, the mayor of Seattle reported that since the outset of 2010, 22 children “advertised on Backpage.com were recovered by the Seattle Police Department. No juveniles were discovered on any other sites in that time—that includes ads on Craigslist, The Stranger, and other adult sites.”[109]

* In a May 2012 interview with CNN, Liz McDougall, an attorney for Backpage.com, was questioned about sex trafficking, and she stated:

  • “The Internet is unfortunately the vehicle for this, and within the Internet, we are trying to be the sheriff.”
  • Backpage employs about 100 people to examine each “adult services” ad before it is posted, and the company reports about 400 suspicious ads per month to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  • “Prostitution is illegal, and we don’t permit illegal activity on the website. [We sell ads for] legal adult entertainment services.”[110]

* On March 8, 2013, the first ten ads posted in the “body rubs” subsection of the “adult services” section of BackPage.com (New York) all showed revealing pictures of females alleged to be 21 to 24 years old. Nine of the ten ads contained language suggestive of prostitution, but one of the nine proscribed certain sexual activities and had a note stating, “I am NOT an escort.”[111]

* In November 2012, researchers and investigators with Arizona State University, the University of Minnesota, the Phoenix Police Department Vice Enforcement Unit, and the Minneapolis Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit examined 1,332 new ads posted over a 12-hour period in the “adult entertainment” section of Backpage.com in five U.S. cities. Based upon the pictures and language in the ads, the researchers concluded that 60% were for illegal prostitution services, and of these, 21% showed multiple indications of potential sex trafficking.[112]

* In March 2013, Just Facts conducted a study of news reports published over the previous month that mentioned both Backpage and sex trafficking.[113] Over this period, the following reports about separate cases of alleged sex trafficking stated that the perpetrators marketed their victims on Backpage.com:

A 30-year-old Orlando, Fla., man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for enticing a 14-year-old girl into prostitution by convincing her she was his girlfriend and plying her with alcohol, Ecstasy and other drugs. … He schooled her on what to charge, how to draw business—in part through the backpage.com website—how to steer clear of law enforcement and how to perform sexual acts, federal prosecutors said.
– Times-Picayune (Louisiana), February 7, 2013[114]
Two of the juvenile victims in a sex trafficking case testified Thursday morning in the trial of Carl Campbell, a Chicago native accused of running a prostitution ring in Sioux Falls through violence and coercion. … She, J.R. and others talked about Campbell posting ads for prostitution on the web site backpage.com. The ex-girlfriend said the pair had posted ads in at least four states.
– Argus Leader (South Dakota), February 7, 2013[115]
Two men are facing arraignment after being indicted on multiple counts related to a child prostitution ring. Kareen R. Wiggins, 21, and Robert A. Wright, 26, are being held at the Rutherford County Jail. … [Police officer Clyde] Adkison said their investigation, which included more than a dozen subpoenas and five search warrants, began after reports of a solicitation for sex ad on the website backpage.com.
– DNJ.com (Tennessee), February 12, 2013[116]
Detectives Googled the phone number used to register the [hotel] room, and sure enough—it was linked to dozens of escort ads online. They were advertising on backpage.com. … Inside room 202—a man and two women were prostituting a 13-year-old runaway from Miami.
– WWBT NBC12 (Virginia), February 12, 2013[117]
[A]gents arrested Jessica M. Washington on Wednesday and accused her of prostituting a pair of teens from her apartment on Upper Riverdale Road. … The teens were allowed to come and go as they pleased, but were forced to have sex with Washington’s customers—men who responded to online ads on Craig’s List and backpage.com—to earn food, shelter and clothing.
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 14, 2013[118]
[T]hree 17-year-old girls were recruited by acquaintances to have sex for money with men in the area. … The three girls … were featured on the site [Backpage.com], even though they were underage at the time.”
– WSAW NewsChannel 7 (Wisconsin), February 19, 2013[119]
The girl told FBI agents that when she was 15, she worked as a prostitute for “D” and his girlfriend, whom she knew only as Tara. … These were the first important building blocks of a federal child-sex-trafficking case that would culminate this week with the arrest of Dontavious Mingel Blake and Tara Jo Moore, according to a complaint unsealed Friday in the West Palm Beach federal courthouse. … According to the complaint, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a tip to FBI agents in July 2012. The tip reported that an ad on the online classified site Backpage.com featured a girl under the age of 18 and listed a Miami phone number.
– Sun Sentinel (Florida), February 22, 2013[120]
A foreclosed home in St. Albans was a house of horrors for two young women who were kidnapped, beaten and forced into prostitution allegedly by a man who picked them up off the street by posing as a john, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. … Aided by his girlfriend, 22-year-old Darcell Marshall, [Hikeem] Green allegedly imprisoned the two inside a vacant home on Springfield Boulevard for two months late last year, posting photographs of them on the controversial website backpage.com.
– Times Ledger (New York), February 22, 2013[121]
An Edison man who allegedly used violence and threats of violence to enslave women in a high-priced prostitution ring based in New Jersey has been arrested… [Percival R.] Williams allegedly kept the women at his house or in nearby hotels, and would solicit clients for the women by placing sexually suggestive ads on the website Backpage.com.
– MyCentralJersey.com (New Jersey), February 28, 2013[122]
Women were lured from Asia and forced into prostitution in Arizona, Illinois, Virginia and Washington, according to a federal indictment. … According to court documents, undercover officers were directed to the Amli apartment complex, across from Bellevue Downtown Park, after following up on an ad for “sexy Asian women” in the “Body Rub” section of backpage.com.
– KIRO 7 Eyewitness News (Seattle), March 4, 2013[123]
North Texans Deundrea R. Miller, 27, and Brittainie Brattain, 21, are charged with felony sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion. The U.S. Attorney’s office claims Miller and Brattain enticed the 15-year-old and then sold her into prostitution via Backpage.com numerous times between September 2012 and January 2013.
– Dallas Morning News, March 5, 2013[124]
Two men charged last year with the first human trafficking cases in Grand Forks say they want to go to trial on the charges that could put them in prison for life, one of them going back on an earlier plea deal. … [Meredith] Larson [the prosecutor] said they pimped a 17-year-old girl to several men in Grand Forks motels and residences in early 2011. Larson said [Johsua] Harry advertised the girl, using photos of her unclothed, on the well-known website, <www.backpage.com.>
– Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), March 5, 2013[125]

* In 2012, Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, the controlling owners of Village Voice Media, announced that they were selling the company’s 13 newspapers to a new company called Voice Media Group. Regarding this:

  • The announcement said that the company would be funded by unidentified investors and led by the current president and CEO of Village Voice Media, Scott Tobias.
  • The newspapers owned by Village Voice Media—including the Village Voice (New York), Westword (Denver), LA Weekly (Los Angeles), New Times (Phoenix), New Times (Miami), Observer (Dallas), Houston Press, SF Weekly (San Francisco), and several others—were losing advertisers due to public pressure over sex trafficking victims who had been marketed on Backpage.com.
  • Larkin and Lacey stated that they intended to retain ownership of Backpage.[126] [127] [128] [129] [130] [131]

* In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice seized Backpage and obtained a 93-count federal indictment against Lacey, Larkin, and five other people involved with Backpage.[132] [133]


Craigslist

* Craigslist.org—a leading forum for classified ads[134]—made the following changes while under pressure from citizens, politicians, and law enforcement after sex trafficking victims were marketed on its website:

  • In 2008, Craigslist modified its policy of providing free ads and began charging $5 for ads that offered “erotic services,” which was the most visited section of its website.[135] [136] The purpose of this was to obtain phone and credit card numbers that could be used to trace unlawful activities. Craigslist donated the profits to charities. This led to an 80% drop in ad postings to this category, but many of these ads migrated to the “casual encounters” section of the website (which is free). People also used untraceable credit cards and phone numbers to continue posting ads in the “erotic services” section.[137] [138] [139] [140]
  • In 2009, Craigslist shut down the “erotic services” section of its website and replaced it with an “adult services” section for “legal adult service providers.” The fee to post ads was raised to $10, and Craigslist said employees would review each ad before it was posted and reject those that “blatantly advertise prostitution” or show “nude pictures.” The company also stated that it would no longer commit to donate the proceeds from these ads to charity.[141] [142] [143] [144]
  • In 2010, Craigslist shut down the “adult services” section of its website. At the time, Craigslist was the leading online purveyor of classified ads for adult services, with estimated revenues from these ads of $45 million per year.[145] [146] [147] [148]

* On March 8, 2013, two of the first 10 ads posted in the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist (New York) contained revealing pictures of females with language suggestive of prostitution.[149] [150]

* In March 2013, Just Facts conducted a study of news reports published over the previous month that mentioned both Craigslist and sex trafficking.[151] Over this period, the following reports about separate cases of alleged sex trafficking stated that the perpetrators marketed their victims on Craigslist.org:

Michelle Randall on Thursday was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for nine charges relating to the prostitution of two underage girls. … According to available Franklin County District Court documents, on Feb. 18, 2011, Randall forced a 14-year-old girl into a situation in which she was sexually abused and generated sexually explicit content involving the minor. … Police learned that Randall was prostituting the girl after Randall posted a personal ad on craigslist. … Her phone contained pornographic pictures of 14- and 7-year-old children. The investigation revealed Randall had arranged numerous sexual acts with the two children in several counties….
– KearneyHub.com (Nebraska), February 8, 2013[152]
[A]gents arrested Jessica M. Washington on Wednesday and accused her of prostituting a pair of teens from her apartment on Upper Riverdale Road. … The teens were allowed to come and go as they pleased, but were forced to have sex with Washington’s customers—men who responded to online ads on Craig’s List and backpage.com—to earn food, shelter and clothing.
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 14, 2013[153]
A Boise man accused of attempting to prostitute a toddler on Craigslist is now facing 23 federal charges after a grand jury indicted him this week. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 40-year-old Jason Lloyd Schaber is accused of offering a 3-year-old for sex on Craigslist. … In this case, court documents show the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Schaber after a citizen saw the ad on Craigslist and contacted Boise Police.
– KTVB News (Idaho), February 15, 2013[154]

Rescue & Prevention

General

* A group of law enforcement task forces developed under the FBI’s “Innocence Lost” initiative focuses on rescuing children from sex trafficking. From 2003 to 2019, these task forces contributed to the “recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims and more than 2,700 criminal convictions of traffickers.”[155] [156]

* The rescue of trafficking victims is thwarted by the following obstacles:

  • The cooperation of trafficking victims is often necessary to convict and imprison traffickers, but victims are frequently traumatized and afraid to cooperate for fear of retaliation against them and their families.[157] [158] [159]
  • Traffickers induce financial, emotional, and substance dependency in their victims to make them feel incapable of leaving.[160] [161]
  • Trafficking victims sometimes develop a “trauma bond” with their traffickers, a psychological response in abusive relationships wherein victims develop positive feelings toward their abusers.[162] [163] [164] [165]
  • Law enforcement officials are often unaware of anti-trafficking laws and have not implemented protocols to identify trafficking victims. Thus, police, prosecutors, and shelters sometimes misidentify trafficking victims as willing prostitutes.[166] [167]
  • Traffickers rename underage victims and provide them with false identifications that misstate their ages, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify them as minors.[168] [169] [170]
  • Traffickers distance themselves from the risk of arrest and prosecution by forcing their victims to conduct criminal activities on their behalf. This serves a dual purpose of delegitimizing potential witnesses in the eyes of police, prosecutors, and juries.[171]
  • Specialized care, support, and housing for domestic victims of sex trafficking are markedly below needs for these services.[172] [173]
  • Online platforms that facilitate sex trafficking may locate their servers abroad while operating in the U.S., which hinders law enforcement’s ability to investigate and intervene.[174]

* Some initiatives and proposals for rescuing trafficking victims and preventing others from becoming victims include:

  • increasing public, parental, and youth awareness about the prevalence of sex trafficking and the methods used by traffickers to conscript and control victims.[175]
  • training law enforcement and other organizations how to quickly and accurately identify trafficking victims.[176]
  • training law enforcement in specialized techniques to rescue victims and obtain their cooperation so that traffickers can be prosecuted and imprisoned.[177] [178]
  • promoting policies and values that foster intact families. A survey of 104 prostituted juveniles who were arrested in Nevada during 2007 and 2008 found that 85% of them came from single-parent families.[179]
  • raising awareness among buyers of sexual services that they may be funding criminal enterprises that engage in trafficking.[180] [181] [182]
  • applying public and legal pressures on businesses that facilitate or enable trafficking.[183]

Legalizing Prostitution

* Some individuals argue that legalizing prostitution curbs sex trafficking because outlawing prostitution “forces the entire market underground, making it harder to enforce the distinction between minors and adults or between willing and coerced participants.”[184] [185] They also argue that legalization provides sex businesses an incentive to protect their legal status by not employing workers who are underage or coerced.[186]

* Other individuals argue that legalizing prostitution increases sex trafficking because it creates a safe haven for traffickers and stimulates demand for sexual services by reducing prices, eliminating legal risks, and diminishing “social and ethical barriers to treating women as sexual merchandise.”[187] [188] [189] [190] They also argue that legalization causes the demand for sexual services to outstrip the supply of willing prostitutes, which provides an added incentive to engage in trafficking along with the normal incentives of not having to pay the victims and supplying customers’ desires for underage and foreign girls.[191] [192] [193]

* Because sex trafficking is an underground phenomenon, one cannot accurately measure the full extent of it or trends associated with it.[194] [195] [196]

Netherlands

* Prostitution has never been illegal in the Netherlands, but a ban on pimping and brothels was enacted in 1911 “to protect prostitutes from exploitation.” This ban was not enforced since 1960, and in 2000 it was removed from the penal code. Per a Dutch governmental report, “One of the most important objectives” of the bill that removed the ban on pimping and brothels “was to prevent and combat human trafficking.”[197] [198] Per the same report:

  • From 2000 to 2009, the number of reported trafficking victims in the Netherlands grew from 341 people in 2000 to 909 people in 2009.[199]

Reported Human Trafficking Victims in the Netherlands

[200]

  • From 2007 to 2009, 46% to 57% of these trafficking victims were exploited in the sex industry, and 26% to 32% were exploited in unidentified sectors (breakdowns from earlier years are not available).[201] [202]
  • “Double-counting cannot be entirely ruled out in the statistics up to and including 2006.”[203]
  • The figures above do not include a “large number of cases of human trafficking that are probably not known about,” and thus, these figures don’t “directly reflect developments in the total number of cases of human trafficking.”[204]
  • “The likely explanation” for the increase in reported trafficking victims is “intensification of investigations by the police and the public prosecution service” and “the growing attention to human trafficking.”[205]

* Varied reports published in the mid-2000s found that the licensed prostitution sector in the Netherlands was relatively free of sex trafficking, but that a large segment of the industry was unlicensed and taking place under illegal conditions. Then an investigation launched in 2006 discovered dozens of sex trafficking victims in at least five Dutch cities who had been working for years in licensed “window prostitution” brothels.[206] In these brothels, women are marketed by placing them on display in storefront windows.[207] Some of them were allegedly beaten with baseball bats, forced into lakes during the winter, subjected to forced abortions, and tattooed with the names of their pimps.[208] A July 2008 report from the National Criminal Investigation Service of the Dutch National Police Agency found that:

  • government reports and other literature had concluded that the licensed prostitution sector in the Netherlands was “reasonably clean,” while dozens of sex trafficking victims were on display in storefront windows.
  • a wide range of facilitators were plausibly aware of these victims but did not report the situations to police.
  • a survey of window prostitution inspectors in three cities found that they estimated “the percentage of women working involuntarily at 50–90%.”[209]

Sweden

* Up until 1999, prostitution by individuals was legal in Sweden, but there was a ban on pimping and brothels. In 1999, Sweden criminalized prostitution to thwart sex trafficking. In order to focus on the demand side of the problem, the law imposed penalties on buyers but not on prostitutes. This differs from the U.S., where a 2005 study found that prostitutes in New York, Boston, and Chicago were arrested at 6 to 11 times the rates of buyers. The penalties for buyers in Sweden include public exposure combined with fines or prison terms of up to six months.[210] [211] [212] [213]

* Swedish government reports have concluded that the law criminalizing prostitution “functions as an effective barrier against the establishment of traffickers in Sweden.”[214] Data alleged to prove this are not definitive, but phone taps of crime syndicates and interviews with rescued trafficking victims in Europe reveal that some traffickers avoid Sweden because of the country’s legal structure and enforcement. Also, interviews with rescued sex trafficking victims in Sweden reveal that some traffickers are frustrated by a lack of buyers.[215] [216] [217] [218]

Footnotes

[1] Paper: “Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” By Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. World Development, January 2013. Pages 67–82. <www.sciencedirect.com>

Page 69: “One of the biggest challenges of doing research on human trafficking is the scarcity of reliable and comparable data. Human trafficking is a clandestine, criminal activity, with those being trafficked and involved in such activities being part of ‘hidden populations’ (Tyldum & Brunovskis, 2005). Therefore, the true number of human trafficking victims is unknown (Belser, de Cock, & Mehran, 2005).”

[2] Paper: “Study on National Legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children.” By Andrea Di Nicola and others. Transcrime (for the European Parliament), August 2005. <ec.europa.eu>

Page 7: “Quantitative and qualitative information on THB [Traffic in Human Beings] for sexual exploitation are lacking, fragmented, and not comparable across-countries, especially with reference to victims. This, of course, is primarily due to the fact that we are dealing with a hidden population.”

[3] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 89:

Since human trafficking is often hidden and victims are often unwilling or afraid to speak out15 (or do not realise that they are victims16), there are probably a large number of unknown cases of human trafficking (a large ‘dark number’). Consequently, statistical trends based on the number of known cases of human trafficking usually do not directly reflect developments in the total number of cases of human trafficking17. The number of known situations of human trafficking depends to a large extent on factors such as the public attention for human trafficking, the priorities of the investigative services and the public prosecution service, the method of registration employed by victim support organisations, and changes in the law. …

15 For reasons of fear, shame or guilt. Non-Dutch victims could also face a language barrier and/or not know who they can report to in the Netherlands. Furthermore, victims living illegally in the Netherlands sometimes fear the police because they are afraid of being deported. Sometimes victims are also ‘in debt’ to the human trafficker, a debt that they believe they have to pay off. Or non-Dutch victims feel an obligation to send money back regularly to their family (NRM1 § 4.5, NRM3 § 3.6).

16 For example, victims of “traditional” loverboys who are in love with their loverboy (NRM3 § 3.2.2) or non-Dutch victims who prefer being exploited in the Netherlands to the situation in their own country (NRM5 § 3.2.1).

17 In other words, including the large number of cases of human trafficking that are probably not know about.

[4] Book: Statistics for Business and Economics (10th edition). By David R. Anderson, Dennis J. Sweeney, and Thomas A. Williams. Thomson South-Western, 2009.

Page 290:

Convenience sampling is a nonprobability sampling technique. As the name implies, the sample is identified primarily by convenience. Elements are included in the sample without prespecified or known probabilities of being selected. For example, a professor conducting research at a university may use student volunteers to constitute a sample simply because they are readily available and will participate as subjects for little or no cost. …

Convenience samples have the advantage of relatively easy sample selection and data collection; however, it is impossible to evaluate the “goodness” of the sample in terms of its representativeness of the population. A convenience sample may provide good results or it may not; no statistically justified procedure allows a probability analysis and inference about the quality of the sample results. Sometimes researchers apply statistical methods designed for probability samples to a convenience sample, arguing that the convenience sample can be treated as through it were a probability sample. However, this argument cannot be supported, and we should be cautious in interpreting the results of convenience samples that are used to make inferences about populations.

[5] Table constructed with data from: “Margin of Error Calculator.” ComRes, 2013. Accessed March 20, 2013 at <www.comres.co.uk>

The margin of error shows the level of accuracy that a random sample of a given population has. Our calculator gives the percentage points of error either side of a result for a chosen sample size.

It is calculated at the standard 95% confidence level. Therefore we can be 95% confident that the sample result reflects the actual population result to within the margin of error. This calculator is based on a 50% result in a poll, which is where the margin of error is at its maximum.

This means that, according to the law of statistical probability, for 19 out of every 20 polls the “true” result will be within the margin of error shown.

[6] Entry: “traffic.” Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins, 2003. <www.thefreedictionary.com>

vb -fics, -ficking, -ficked (intr)

1. (Business / Commerce) (often foll by in) to carry on trade or business, esp of an illicit kind

2. (usually foll by with) to have dealings

[from Old French trafique, from Old Italian traffico, from trafficare to engage in trade]

[7] Entry: “traffic.” American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin, 2000. <www.thefreedictionary.com>

“5. (Business / Commerce) trade, esp of an illicit or improper kind drug traffic

[8] Webpage: “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on the Prostitution of Children.” U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. Updated May 28, 2020. <www.justice.gov>

Child Sex Trafficking is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1591. …

Section 1591 is called “Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion.” Most people think of “trafficking” as involving movement across state or international borders. However, Section 1591 does not require proof that either the defendant or victim crossed state or international lines.

[9] U.S. Code Title 22, Chapter 78, Section 7102: “Trafficking Victims Protection – Definitions.” Accessed July 26, 2021 at <www.law.cornell.edu>

(11) Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons

The term “severe forms of trafficking in persons” means—

(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

[10] Report: “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.” By Kristin M. Finklea, Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, and Alison Siskin. Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2015. <fas.org>

Page 1:

[The] Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) [is] the primary law that addresses trafficking ….3

3 P.L. 106-386. This act is also called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The TVPA is codified under 22 U.S.C. §7101 et seq., 42 U.S.C. §14044 et seq., and 18 U.S.C. §1591 et seq. (the criminal statute pertaining to sex trafficking of children).

[11] U.S. Code Title 22, Chapter 78, Section 7102: “Trafficking Victims Protection – Definitions.” Accessed July 26, 2021 at <www.law.cornell.edu>

(4) Commercial Sex Act

The term “commercial sex act” means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.

[12] U.S. Code Title 22, Chapter 78, Section 7102: “Trafficking Victims Protection – Definitions.” Accessed July 26, 2021 at <www.law.cornell.edu>

(3) Coercion

The term “coercion” means—

(A) threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person;

(B) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or

(C) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.

[13] U.S. Code Title 22, Chapter 78, Section 7102: “Trafficking Victims Protection – Definitions.” Accessed July 26, 2021 at <www.law.cornell.edu>

(4) Commercial Sex Act

The term “commercial sex act” means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person. …

(11) Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons

The term “severe forms of trafficking in persons” means—

(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age….

[14] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page iv:

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of American children within U.S. borders. It is the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident under the age of 18 years. The age of the victim is the critical issue—there is no requirement to prove force, fraud, or coercion was used to secure the victim’s actions.

Page 5:

The sex trafficking of children occurs when minors (under the age of 18) are commercially sexually exploited. The commercial aspect of the sexual exploitation act is critical to separating the crime of trafficking from sexual assault, rape, or molestation crimes against children. The term “commercial sex act” is defined in the TVPA [Trafficking Victims Protection Act] as the giving or receiving of anything of value (money, drugs, shelter, food, clothes, etc.) to any person in exchange for a sex act. Importantly, the money or item of value provided for the sex act can be “given to or received by any person.”6 This means that the child can be the direct recipient of the money, food, and/or shelter, and the situation is defined as sex trafficking and, most importantly, the child is defined as a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking. This issue arises frequently in cases of homeless youth engaging in “survival sex” to secure food, housing, transportation, and other items of survival. In the absence of a trafficker/pimp selling the youth, the perpetrator paying for the sex act with food, a bed, or a ride can become the trafficker.

[15] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 11: “Many youth involved in the exchange of sex for money or other considerations (e.g., food, shelter, drugs, etc.) do not perceive themselves as engaging in prostitution but rather as doing ‘whatever is necessary’ to ensure their survival. For purposes of this study, however, ‘survival sex’ and ‘child prostitution’ are understood to be the same phenomenon and the terms are used interchangeably.”

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[16] Webpage: “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on the Prostitution of Children.” U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. Updated May 28, 2020. <www.justice.gov>

Child Sex Trafficking is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1591. This statute makes it a federal offense to knowingly recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain a minor (defined as someone under 18 years of age) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the victim is a minor and would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act. “Commercial sex act” is defined very broadly to include “any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.” In other words, it is illegal both to offer and to obtain a child, and cause that child to engage in any kind of sexual activity in exchange for anything of value, whether it be money, goods, personal benefit, in-kind favors, or some other kind of benefit. Section 1591 also makes it a crime for individuals to participate in a business venture that obtains minors and causes them to engage in commercial sex acts. …

If the victim was under the age of 14 or if force, fraud, or coercion were used, the penalty is not less than 15 years in prison up to life. If the victim was aged 14–17, the penalty shall not be less than 10 years in prison up to life. Anyone who obstructs or attempts to obstruct the enforcement of this statute faces as many as 20 years imprisonment. Defendants who are convicted under this statute are also required to pay restitution to their victims for any losses they caused.

[17] Report: “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.” By Kristin M. Finklea, Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, and Alison Siskin. Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2015. <fas.org>

Page 1:

Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), the primary law that addresses trafficking, sex trafficking of children is a federal crime—even if a child is not removed from his or her community.3 Further, regardless of whether a child is believed to have consented to sex or whether the child represents himself/herself as an adult,4 the child is considered a trafficking victim under federal law. …

3 P.L. 106-386. This act is also called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The TVPA is codified under 22 U.S.C. §7101 et seq., 42 U.S.C. §14044 et seq., and 18 U.S.C. §1591 et seq. (the criminal statute pertaining to sex trafficking of children). Of note, sex trafficking may encompass a range of activities including prostitution, pornography, and stripping. …

4 The law provides that in prosecutions involving a child victim, the government is not required to prove that the defendant knew that the person was under the age of 18. See 18 U.S.C. §1591(c).

[18] Webpage: “Human Trafficking: Key Legislation.” U.S. Department of Justice. Updated January 6, 2017. <www.justice.gov>

The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA 2008), Pub. L. No. 110-457, featured new measures to prevent and deter trafficking. The TVPRA 2008 further improved the tools available to hold traffickers accountable by: …

• Eliminating the requirement to prove the defendant knew a sex trafficking victim was a minor in cases where the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to observe the minor; …

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (JVTA), Pub. L. No. 114-22, again gave the Department more tools to address human trafficking, by: …

• Clarifying that there is no need to prove either that the defendant knew, or that he recklessly disregarded, the fact that a sex trafficking victim was a minor if the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to observe the victim.

[19] U.S. Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 77, Section 1591: “Sex Trafficking of Children or By Force, Fraud, or Coercion.” Accessed September 21, 2021 at <www.law.cornell.edu>

(a) Whoever knowingly—

(1) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, advertises, maintains, patronizes, or solicits by any means a person; or

(2) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participating in a venture which has engaged in an act described in violation of paragraph (1),

knowing, or except where the act constituting the violation of paragraph (1) is advertising, in reckless disregard of the fact, that means of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion described in subsection (e)(2), or any combination of such means will be used to cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or that the person has not attained the age of 18 years and will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). …

(c) In a prosecution under subsection (a)(1) in which the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to observe the person so recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, maintained, patronized, or solicited, the Government need not prove that the defendant knew, or recklessly disregarded the fact, that the person had not attained the age of 18 years.

[20] Calculated with data from the report: “Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2008–2010.” By Duren Banks and Tracey Kyckelhahn. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 2011. <www.bjs.gov>

Page 1:

• Federally funded task forces opened 2,515 suspected incidents of human trafficking for investigation between January 2008 and June 2010.

• About 8 in 10 of the suspected incidents of human trafficking were classified as sex trafficking, and about 1 in 10 incidents were classified as labor trafficking.

Page 2:

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA, 2005) requires biennial reporting on the scope and characteristics of human trafficking in the U.S., using available data from state and local authorities.2 As part of an effort to meet these congressional mandates, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Northeastern University (NEU), and the Urban Institute (UI), developed the Human Trafficking Reporting System (HTRS). …

Since 2008, HTRS has captured information from 42 jurisdictions covering nearly 25% of the U.S. resident population at midyear 2010. Although the task forces are not representative of the entire nation, they are widely dispersed geographically. …

To be confirmed as human trafficking—

• The case must have led to an arrest and been subsequently confirmed by law enforcement, or

• The victims in the case must 1) have had a “continuing presence” requested on their behalf, or 2) have received an endorsement for a T or U visa application.4

Page 6: “Table 5 Victim characteristics in cases confirmed to be human trafficking by high data quality task forces, by type of trafficking”

NOTE: An Excel file containing the data and calculations is available upon request.

[21] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Pages 9–10:

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

A practice by which a person, usually an adult, achieves sexual gratification, financial gain or advancement through the abuse or exploitation of a child’s sexuality by abrogating that child’s human right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental wellbeing, i.e. trafficking, prostitution, prostitution tourism, mail-order-bride trade, pornography, stripping, battering, incest, rape and sexual harassment (ala Hughes, 1999).

CSE reflects a continuum of abuse ranging from child sexual abuse to child sexual exploitation to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. …

Page 21: “The statistical data summarized in Exhibit 2.4 underscore the fact that the final list of 17 U.S. cities included in this analysis for special study account for nearly 40% of the total U.S. urban population.”

Pages 27–28:

A large number of child victims of sexual exploitation were interviewed as part of this study (Appendix L; Exhibit 2.7). Following an initial series of on-street interviews with children, the investigators made the decision to restrict interviews to children under the direct care of either a law enforcement or human service agency. Most of these children either had been arrested by the police for soliciting sex or, in the case of the humans service agencies, requested services as part of the agency’s outreach efforts to street youth.

Some children continued to be interviewed on the street throughout the project but these interviews occurred in the presence of a local law enforcement or human service partner in a position to offer services or continuing care to children who were in the process of being actively exploited.

In all cases, cooperation from the children was elicited in an environment that was not threatening to the child, i.e., away from the street or club where the child was previously exploited and away her pimp or, in the case of boys, away from other adults in a position to threaten the child. The general purposes of the study were explained to the child and, in every case, the child was guaranteed anonymity with respect to any and all responses to questions raised by the interviewer.

Nearly all of the interviews took place in small groups of 3–6 children, thereby, providing the child with an additional degree of support. No child was compelled to meet with the interviewers and, in every case, a child’s willingness to participate was determined through a prior discussion with a caregiver with whom the child already had an established relationship. Children did not receive financial compensation for their participation in interviews.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[22] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 41: “Indeed, most of the children we met identified themselves as being from working- and middle-class families and, from their descriptions of their families, this appears to be the case.”

Page 90: “Further, and based on our interviews with some 210 child victims of the CSEC [Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children], the families of origin of the majority of youth we assessed to be working- and middle-class (76%), rather than poor (24%).”

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[23] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 92:

H.6 Ages of First Intercourse and Entry Into Juvenile Prostitution

Average age of first intercourse for the children we interviewed was 12 years for the boys (N=63) and 13 years for the girls (N=107). The age range of entry into prostitution for the boys, including gay and transgender boys, was somewhat younger than that of the girls, i.e., 11–13 years vs. 12–14 years, respectively.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[24] Report: “From Victims to Victimizers: Interviews with 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, September 2010. <law.depaul.edu>

Introduction:

Pimps were recruited and interviewed by prostitution survivor Brenda Myers-Powell using a 91-question survey instrument. Ms. Myers-Powell located pimps known to her during her time in the business and was referred to others by those she interviewed. Participants were provided a cash honorarium upon completion of the interview. Interviews occurred between September 2009 and May 2010 in the Chicago metropolitan area. They took place in public spaces, usually in private areas of restaurants. Each interview lasted between one to two hours.

Page 1: “Table 1: Profile of pimps and madams (n=25) … Male [=] 72% Female [=] 28%”

Page 3:

One hundred percent of the women in our sample began in the sex trade industry by selling their own bodies between the ages of nine and 25, with the average age of onset at 14. They all ended up pimping, and it was not totally voluntary. One 40-year-old woman with a sixth-grade education explained that her mother was a prostituted woman who physically and sexually assaulted her and put her out in prostitution at age 12. “My mother was my first pimp. She used to sell me to the landlord and other men who wanted a young girl. She was a junkie.” After she ran away, she was picked up by a pimp and held against her will, and later was held captive by another. “I thought that was normal.”

[25] Report: “Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Deborah L. Shapiro. Center for Impact Research, August 2002. <www.issuelab.org>

Page 4:

CIR [Center for Impact Research] trained 12 prostitution survivors to conduct in-depth interviews with women throughout the Chicago metropolitan area who were currently, or had recently been, involved in prostitution. In all, 222 women representing various segments of the prostitution industry were interviewed. While this was not a random sample, and is not representative of all women engaged in prostitution, we believe it is large enough to provide helpful information for understanding the lives of women in prostitution, and what can be done to assist them.

Page 4: “About one-third of the women entered prostitution before the age of 15, and 62% of the sample started in prostitution before their 18th birthdays.”

Page 13:

Chart 3: Age of Entry into Prostitution

Age Range

Portion of Sample

4–11

3%

12–15

32%

16–17

26%

18–21

26%

22–59

13%

[26] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 59: “At least 95% of all the commercial sex engaged in by boys is provided to adult males.”

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[27] Article: “Conviction Upheld in Florida Man’s ‘Horrific’ Sex Trafficking Crimes.” CBSMiami, July 26, 2021. <miami.cbslocal.com>

Pointing to a “grotesque combination of physical abuse and emotional manipulation,” a federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and five life sentences of a South Florida man who forced women, including minors, to work as prostitutes.

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday also backed requiring Alston Williams to pay nearly $774,000 in restitution to three women, an estimate of how much they earned for him as prostitutes.

The 22-page ruling, citing “horrific crimes,” said Williams physically abused and threatened the women and forced two of them to have abortions after they became pregnant. …

A West Palm Beach federal jury convicted Williams in 2018 on two counts of sex trafficking a minor, three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of obstructing a human-trafficking investigation. He received five life sentences and 240 months in prison—all to run concurrently—and was ordered to pay restitution.

[28] Article: “Black P-Stones Member Sentenced 17.5 Years for Role in Sex Trafficking Conspiracy.” By Brian Myszkowski. Pocono Record, February 28, 2021. <www.poconorecord.com>

An East Stroudsburg man has been sentenced to 17-and-a-half years imprisonment for his role in a northeastern Pennsylvania sex trafficking operation. … Battle’s conviction and sentencing stems from an investigation into the activities of the street gang known as the Black P-Stones, members of which have dealt in sex and drug trafficking in Stroudsburg and Maine for years.

The fourth superseding indictment alleged that females were “sexed-in” to the gang by being forced to have sex with male members; recruited and coerced into prostitution; advertised as adult escorts on a website; provided with heroin and other drugs, and placed in various hotels and motels to work as prostitutes.

The money that the women earned was turned over to gang leaders, while the women were compensated with illegal drugs. Members of the Black P-Stones, including but not limited to Battle, used threats, force, drugs and intimidation to coerce females to engage in prostitution.

[29] Article: “Pimps Hit Social Networks to Recruit Underage Sex Workers.” By Erica Fink and Laurie Segall. CNN Money, February 27, 2013. <money.cnn.com>

For six years, the members of [Justin] Strom’s “Underground Gangster Crips” gang operated a prostitution ring that ensnared at least eight 16- and 17-year olds, according to court documents. …

If a girl expressed interest, a gang member would arrange to meet up. At that point, participation stopped being voluntary.

One 17-year-old solicited on Facebook allowed Strom to pick her up in his car at her home, but when he spelled out what he expected, she told Strom she wanted out. In response, he “slammed her head against the window of the vehicle,” forced her to ingest cocaine, and slashed her arm with a knife, according to court documents.

That night, he took her to an apartment complex and rented her out to 14 men. The encounter netted Strom $1,000. It left the victim with a collection of physical scars.

[30] Article: “Human Bondage Hits U.S. Heartland: Illicit Trade for Labor, Sex Generates Billions in Profits.” By Chuck Neubauer. Washington Times, March 27, 2011. <www.washingtontimes.com>

“In November, federal prosecutors struck again in South Dakota, this time bringing sex-trafficking charges against a couple in Tea, a city of 4,600 also just off Interstate 90. They were convicted of using coercion and threats to force underage girls, some as young as 15, into prostitution.”

[31] Article: “4 in Brooklyn Charged With Sex Trafficking.” By Liz Robbins. New York Times, November 21, 2011. <cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com>

“On Monday, prosecutors in Brooklyn announced the indictments of the four people—two men and two women—on charges including sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and endangering the welfare of a child. The couple who kidnapped the 13-year-old girl were also charged with kidnapping and rape.”

[32] Article: “The Sex Slaves Next Door: New Form of Trafficking Invades US.” By Azriel James Relph. NBC News, March 24, 2011. <www.nbcnews.com>

An insidious form of modern-day slavery is spreading across the United States – a prostitution operation that traffics in women and children from throughout Latin America, an NBC News investigation has found.

Cristina was just 24 years-old, living in a rural farming village in Mexico, when Amador Cortes-Meza told her he was falling in love with her. He promised her marriage and a good job, and then brought her to the United States. But when she arrived in the Atlanta area, he physically abused her and forced her to work as a prostitute.

[33] Article: “More Than 20 Arrested in Human-Trafficking Sweep.” By James Walsh, David Chanen, and Allie Shah. Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 8, 2010. <www.hiiraan.com>

Federal and local investigators swept through the Twin Cities area Monday and arrested more than 20 suspects in connection to an extensive human trafficking investigation involving members of a Somali gang, sources confirmed. …

An indictment against 29 suspects was unsealed Monday morning, alleging that members of Somali gangs based in the Twin Cities victimized at least four women—three of whom were younger than 15 at the time—by turning them into prostitutes.

[34] Article: “Bloods Gang Members Went to Brooklyn Schools to Recruit Underage Girls as Hookers: Prosecutors.” By William Sherman. New York Daily News, June 2, 2010. <www.nydailynews.com>

Brooklyn prosecutors have busted Bloods gang members on charges of running several sex trafficking rings that recruited girls from junior high schools, the Daily News has learned.

Prostitutes as young as 15 were routinely beaten and deprived of food if they didn’t earn $500 a day selling their bodies, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office found. …

Their services were advertised on sites such as craigslist, Backpage.com and other adult Internet pages—as recently as last month, the court papers say.

[35] Article: “Sex Slavery: Living the American Nightmare: Shadowy Multibillion-Dollar Industry Far More Widespread Than Expected.” By Alex Johnson and Cesar Rodriguez. MSNBC, December 22, 2008. <www.nbcnews.com>

In New York, meanwhile, Consuelo Carreto Valencia, a 4-foot-10, 61-year-old grandmother, pleaded guilty in July to smuggling dozens of women from Mexico and violently coercing them to perform sex acts.

Prosecutors said that Valencia was the matriarch of an extensive prostitution ring based in Mexico. The victims were compelled to perform sex acts 12 hours a day and were subjected to beatings, rape and forced abortions, they said. …

But law enforcement officials say that such successes are relatively rare. Often, victims are too frightened to cooperate with investigators, and when they are willing to help, they often speak little or no English, making it problematic to present cases that commonly rest on one person’s word against that of another.

[36] Article: “Couple Accused of Turning Teen Into Sex Slave.” Associated Press, November 9, 2005. <www.nbcnews.com>

A couple held a runaway teen captive in a hollow bed frame for weeks and forced her to have sex for money with people they found on the Internet, police said.

The 15-year-old girl managed to call family members for help while 18-year-old Matthew Gray and 19-year-old Janelle Butler were sleeping Monday night, authorities said. The two were arrested Tuesday.

The girl ran away from her El Mirage home in September and met the couple through a friend about three hours after she disappeared, police Sgt. Andy Hill said. They took her to a park, bound her and had her gang raped for hours, police said.

At a west Phoenix apartment, they imprisoned her in a dog kennel for about a week and threatened her with a gun, Hill said. They sold her for sex dozens of times on the Internet, he said, and forced her to hide in a hollowed-out bed frame covered with plywood.

[37] Report: “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.” By Kristin M. Finklea, Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, and Alison Siskin. Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2015. <fas.org>

Page 8:

It is more profitable for a trafficker to prostitute a child than to commit other crimes such as dealing in drugs.47 For one, the commodity (child) is reusable. In addition, technological innovation has allowed traffickers to reach a wider client base and connect more quickly with buyers. Of note, when referring to the trafficking of minors, the terms “pimp” and “trafficker” are synonymous. This does not necessarily hold true when referring to the trafficking of adults. In the context of adults, a pimp who does not use force, fraud, or coercion to induce adults to prostitute themselves would not be considered a trafficker.

[38] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Pages 32–33:

Some criminals have turned away from illicit activities such as drug dealing and robbery toward child sex trafficking, from which they can generate potentially several thousand dollars per day, as a single child can generate as much as $1,000 on a weekend night.62 Simply, it is cheaper for a criminal to prostitute a child (which involves supplying the child with her primary needs of food, clothes, and shelter) than to commit other crimes such as drug dealing (which require a large capital investment up front to acquire the contraband). In fact, the profitability of child prostitutes to the pimp has increased as Internet advertising and web-enabled cell phones have aided pimps in reaching a larger client base; they can schedule more sexual encounters per child.

62 Pimps often require girls to meet nightly earning quotas, based on where and when the child is forced to work. For example, average quotas in New York City range from $300 to $500 on a week night and $500 to $1,000 on a weekend night.

[39] Article: “Running in the Shadows.” By Ian Urbina. New York Times, October 27, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

After using court records to compile a database of over a hundred convicted pimps and where each is incarcerated, the New York Times began interviews more than two years ago. In interviews by phone and in letters, more than two dozen convicted and still incarcerated pimps described the complicated roles they played as father figure, landlord, boss and boyfriend to the girls who worked for them. They said they went after girls with low self-esteem, prior sexual experience and a lack of options. …

While most of the pimps said they prefer adult women because teenage runaways involve more legal risks, they added that juveniles fetch higher prices from clients and are far easier to manipulate.

[40] Book: Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms (Expanded Edition). By James D. Wright and Peter D. Rossi. Aldine De Gruyter, 1986 (Expanded edition published in 1994).

Page 32:

The definitive study of the quality of prisoner self-report data is Marquis (1981), a data quality analysis of the RAND “Criminal Careers” survey. In this study, data quality was assessed by comparing prisoners’ self reports with information contained in official criminal justice records. Since the format and procedures of the RAND survey were very similar to those followed in our survey, it is reasonable to assume that Marquis’ findings generalize. Summarizing briefly, Marquis found:

1. There is no evidence that prisoners attempt to deny salient aspects of their criminal past. …

2. Comparisons of self-reported conviction-offense data with official records showed that “on a general level, the data are close to unbiased” (Marquis, 1981: 32). Moderate biases were found on some items, but in general, reliability of the self-report data was “moderately high.”

[41] Report: “Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, April 2009. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 5: “Participants [the pimps] knew the girls were young. ‘They all claimed to be 18, but I knew for a fact that some were 15 years old.’ One said ‘as young as 15,’ another ‘as young as 14. It was the nature of the business.’ Still another said, ‘If they were bleeding they could work for me.’

[42] Book: Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms (Expanded Edition). By James D. Wright and Peter D. Rossi. Aldine De Gruyter, 1986 (Expanded edition published in 1994).

Page 32:

The definitive study of the quality of prisoner self-report data is Marquis (1981), a data quality analysis of the RAND “Criminal Careers” survey. In this study, data quality was assessed by comparing prisoners’ self reports with information contained in official criminal justice records. Since the format and procedures of the RAND survey were very similar to those followed in our survey, it is reasonable to assume that Marquis’ findings generalize. Summarizing briefly, Marquis found:

1. There is no evidence that prisoners attempt to deny salient aspects of their criminal past. …

2. Comparisons of self-reported conviction-offense data with official records showed that “on a general level, the data are close to unbiased” (Marquis, 1981: 32). Moderate biases were found on some items , but in general, reliability of the self-report data was “moderately high.”

[43] Webpage: “Our Mission and Values.” Shared Hope International. Accessed February 9, 2013 at <sharedhope.org>

“Shared Hope International strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore victims of sex slavery, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children. We envision a world passionately opposed to sex trafficking and a community committed to restoring survivors to lives of purpose, value and choice—one life at a time.”

[44] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 6: “Child Persons under the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989: Article 1)”

Pages 9–10:

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

A practice by which a person, usually an adult, achieves sexual gratification, financial gain or advancement through the abuse or exploitation of a child’s sexuality by abrogating that child’s human right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental wellbeing, i.e. trafficking, prostitution, prostitution tourism, mail-order-bride trade, pornography, stripping, battering, incest, rape and sexual harassment (ala Hughes, 1999).

CSE reflects a continuum of abuse ranging from child sexual abuse to child sexual exploitation to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. …

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)

The sexual exploitation of children of children (SEC) entirely, or at least primarily, for financial or other economic reasons. The economic exchanges involved may be either monetary or non-monetary (i.e., for food, shelter, drugs) but, in every case, involves maximum benefits to the exploiter and an abrogation of the basic rights, dignity, autonomy, physical and mental well-being of the children involved.

Page 142:

Estimated Number of Sexually Exploited Children in the U.S. (December, 2000)

Reliable estimates of the number of commercially sexually exploited children in the United States do not exist. This is due to: 1) the highly secretive and illegal nature of the CSEC; 2) gross under-reporting of known cases of the CSEC by law enforcement and human service authorities; 3) the absence of national or local registries of confirmed cases of the CSEC; 4) the absence of national and local prevalence studies of the CSEC; and 5) widespread societal disbelief concerning the nature, extent and severity of the CSEC within the United States.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[45] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 42:

Without equivocation, the investigators can confirm that the presence of pre-existing adult prostitution markets contributes measurably to the creation of secondary sexual markets in which children are sexually exploited. Indeed, in every community we visited in which a substantial adult prostitution market[s] exists—Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco—we also found substantial numbers of young people being sexually exploited—often alongside older prostituted women and men soliciting sex on the same streets and purs[u]ing the same clients. …

Despite the advocacy efforts of some groups in the U.S., we find no support for the legalization of prostitution in the U.S., especially given the relationship that we can confirm to exist between adult and juvenile sexual exploitation.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[46] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 31:

Traffickers/pimps target locations where they know that youth are going to be—schools, malls, parks, even shelters and group homes. Often, their primary method of manipulation is to secure a seemingly loving and caring relationship with the youth to establish trust and allegiance. Traffickers/pimps will often invest a significant amount of time and effort to establish this foundational relationship. The more time they invest in the romance period the more tightly they can psychologically bind the victim, similar to domestic violence exercised on a child’s vulnerable mentality.

Page 8:

“I was 14 years old, and the way the pimp came at me was that at first I didn’t even know he was a pimp. He came at me like a boyfriend. Yes, he was an older boyfriend but he cared about me …. Six months later he told me ‘Let’s run away together. We can have a beautiful house and family.’ And I did believe him, and we ran away, and then the story changed and I met the other girls that he had in his stable. And I had to go out every night and work the streets—the alternative was being gang-raped by a group of pimps while everyone watched.”17 – Tina Frundt, Founder of Courtney’s House, and Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking …

17 Tina Frundt, Personal Interview. Shared Hope International, February 15, 2006.

[47] Article: “Running in the Shadows.” By Ian Urbina. New York Times, October 27, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

“A runaway’s relationship with a pimp does not occur by accident. It takes work.”

[48] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Pages 32–33:

Some criminals have turned away from illicit activities such as drug dealing and robbery toward child sex trafficking, from which they can generate potentially several thousand dollars per day, as a single child can generate as much as $1,000 on a weekend night.62 Simply, it is cheaper for a criminal to prostitute a child (which involves supplying the child with her primary needs of food, clothes, and shelter) than to commit other crimes such as drug dealing (which require a large capital investment up front to acquire the contraband). In fact, the profitability of child prostitutes to the pimp has increased as Internet advertising and web-enabled cell phones have aided pimps in reaching a larger client base; they can schedule more sexual encounters per child.

62 Pimps often require girls to meet nightly earning quotas, based on where and when the child is forced to work. For example, average quotas in New York City range from $300 to $500 on a week night and $500 to $1,000 on a weekend night.

[49] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 109:

In time, the pimp uses the child’s emotional (and by now financial) dependency to persuade the child into selling sex for money (all of which is turned over to the pimp). In time, the arrangement becomes less emotional and more contractual as the pimp demands that the child produce some minimum amount of money daily (the amount of which varies from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars a day depending on locale and what other prostitutes in the same community are earning).

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[50] Article: “San Francisco Is A Major Center For International Crime Networks That Smuggle And Enslave.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 2006. <www.sfgate.com>

Yuki, 25, who fears for her safety and only gave her first name to The Chronicle during an interview in Seoul, said she was trafficked from South Korea to a karaoke bar in Inglewood (Los Angeles County), where she was assured that she would simply be serving drinks to men. Once there, she was ordered to sell $3,000 worth of drinks each month. When she failed, she was sent to the “touching room,” a private suite where men could have their way with her for $400.

[51] Article: “Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Called ‘Epidemic.’ ” By Chuck Neubauer. Washington Times, April 23, 2011. <www.washingtontimes.com>

In the San Antonio case, Juan Moreno, 45, was convicted in December and sentenced to four life terms. Prosecutors said he charged crack customers $25 to rape the teenage girl, who had come into the house with a friend looking for drugs and was held for more than a week. …

Jane’s fall into the world of sex trafficking began in May 2008, just before her 15th birthday. Jackson, her pimp, forced her to work as a prostitute in Portland. When she protested, he beat her. …

Asked why she didn’t leave, she said, “I had nowhere to go. I didn’t know anybody. Where was I to go? He threatened to kill me all the time.” …

“… Most of our arguments were about money,” she said, adding that she had sex with six men a day, sometimes eight or nine. “I was bringing him $600 a day, but he wanted more.”

[52] Article: “The Sex Slaves Next Door: New Form of Trafficking Invades US.” By Azriel James Relph. NBC News, March 24, 2011. <www.nbcnews.com>

“A token, which costs $30 in the majority of cases, buys 15 minutes of sex in a sparse bedroom. According to the Polaris Project, an organization that operates a national hotline and offers services for victims of all types of human trafficking, one victim reported that she was forced to have sex with 55 men in one day.”

[53] Article: “Sex-Trafficking Survivors.” By Chuck Neubauer. Washington Times, April 25, 2011. <www.washingtontimes.com>

“Katrina, 31, was 16 and in Atlanta when she met a 31-year-old-man who would be her pimp for three years. ‘He drove a nice car and offered to spend a lot of money on me,’ she said, but she was forced instead into prostitution. She said she was expected to make him $800 a night.”

[54] Article: “Bloods Gang Members Went to Brooklyn Schools to Recruit Underage Girls as Hookers: Prosecutors.” By William Sherman. New York Daily News, June 2, 2010. <www.nydailynews.com>

“Brooklyn prosecutors have busted Bloods gang members on charges of running several sex trafficking rings that recruited girls from junior high schools, the Daily News has learned. Prostitutes as young as 15 were routinely beaten and deprived of food if they didn’t earn $500 a day selling their bodies, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office found.”

[55] Report: “Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, April 2009. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 5:

Participants [the pimps] knew the girls were young. “They all claimed to be 18, but I knew for a fact that some were 15 years old.” One said “as young as 15,” another “as young as 14. It was the nature of the business.” Still another said, “If they were bleeding they could work for me.” …

Earnings

The business was lucrative. One participant said he earned $220,000–$250,000 a year, another $300,000 a year, a third $300,000–$400,000 a year, another 400,000 a year, and a fifth $500,000 a year.

No participant ever paid federal or state income taxes on these earnings.

Organization of the Business

Two-fifths of the sample worked for highly organized businesses and reported to higher-ups in this business. This meant that some of the take had to be shared with their bosses. …

Financial Arrangements with the Girls and Women

Four-fifths of the pimps said that the girls and women did not keep any of the money they made. One laughed at the question and answered, “The girls kept none. That’s funny!” In the organized industries, 40% went to the escort business and the girls earned 60%. However, the girls and women were required to give most, if not all, of their share to the pimp, as a means of control, allowed to keep only 10% for themselves. Another explained, “You can’t control our stable if you allow your ho’s to keep a dime of the money.” Still another said he set an earnings quota for the girl or woman of $1,000–$1,500 a day, but they kept nothing of it. “I met all their needs. I was their doctor, lawyer, manager, and financial advisor.”

[56] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 5:

A number of other control methods will be utilized by the trafficker to control the victim. “House Rules”, which are rules for interacting with the trafficker, authorities, “johns” and other customers, along with nightly quotas, etc., will be established and the trafficker will enforce rule violations with violence. Some victims have described being subjected to extreme physical and sexual violence, being required to commit other criminal acts, and to recruit other potential victims.

NOTE: More facts about how traffickers use threats and violence to control their victims are shown below.

[57] Working paper: “Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits.” By Patrick Belser. International Labour Association, March 2005. <www.ilo.org>

Pages 13–14:

In the absence of official data, we have no other choice but to use rough estimates. As we have indicated in section 2, total profits in forced commercial sexual exploitation can be calculated by estimating the average profits (value-added) per victim and multiplying it by the total number of victims. Following OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and others (2002), this kind of method gives a first approximation of the total value of economic transactions. To estimate average profits per victim, we need information on average prices paid by clients, the number of clients, and the expenditures for wage payments and intermediate consumption.

Prices: The price of sexual services is determined by a number of factors, including the level of income of the country where the transaction takes place and the legal regime of that country. Typically, the price of sexual services will be higher in rich countries with a prohibitive legal regime (where there is a risk premium included in the price) and lowest in poor countries with few restrictions. We have estimated average prices per region. Based on a large quantity of information collected in various sources including a tourist guide focusing on the sex sector, we estimate that average prices range from US$ 15–16 in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to US$ 100 in industrial countries. Results are shown in the first column of table 7.

Number of clients: Regarding the number of transactions, we estimate that each prostitute has an average of about 80 clients per month—an assumption based on information collected from a number of sources of information on prostitution in general. We believe that this is a conservative estimate. Forced commercial sexual exploitation is by definition a business of coercion. To maximize profits, brothel owners often force victims to have as many customers as possible per day, and based on a review of the ILO’s [International Labour Association] database used for the global estimate, it seems that 5 to 10 customers per day is relatively normal for a victim (whereas our estimate is based on 3 to 4 customers per day).

Wages and intermediate consumption: Payments to victims are often very low—which is precisely what makes forced commercial sexual exploitation so lucrative. According to Essy van Dijk (2002) of the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking of Human Beings, for example, most of the trafficking victims in the Netherlands receive no payment at all. Laczko and Gramegna (2003), who have studied an IOM [International Organization for Migration] database with 826 victims of trafficking mostly for sexual exploitation, confirm that over half of the victims reported that they received no income for providing sexual services, and most of the others reported receiving some money from time to time. Based on such evidence as well as on one recent Interpol report,36 which describes the accounts of pimps in Finland, we estimate the sum of wage payments and intermediate consumption at 30 percent of total turnover.

With this information, we can now calculate average profits per victim. In table 7, the second column shows average turnover per victim. It is obtained by multiplying the average prices by the average number of clients. The third column shows our estimate of the average profit per victims. It is calculated as 70 percent of total turnover.

With this information, we can now calculate average profits per victim. In table 7, the second column shows average turnover per victim. It is obtained by multiplying the average prices by the average number of clients. The third column shows our estimate of the average profit per victims. It is calculated as 70 percent of total turnover.

Table 7: Estimated annual profits per victim of forced commercial sexual exploitation … Industrialized Economies … Average Prices of sexual services (US$) [=] 100 … Turnover per victim per year (US$) [=] 96,100 … Annual profits per victim (US$) [=] 67,200

[58] Report: “From Victims to Victimizers: Interviews with 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, September 2010. <law.depaul.edu>

Introduction:

Pimps were recruited and interviewed by prostitution survivor Brenda Myers-Powell using a 91-question survey instrument. Ms. Myers-Powell located pimps known to her during her time in the business and was referred to others by those she interviewed. Participants were provided a cash honorarium upon completion of the interview. Interviews occurred between September 2009 and May 2010 in the Chicago metropolitan area. They took place in public spaces, usually in private areas of restaurants. Each interview lasted between one to two hours.

Page 1: “Table 1: Profile of pimps and madams (n=25) … Range of yearly earnings [=] $150,00–$500,000”

[59] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page iv:

Acknowledging that strategic responses to sex trafficking require comprehensive understanding of the local situation, Shared Hope International aligned with the U.S. Department of Justice-funded human trafficking task forces to assess domestic minor sex trafficking and the access to victim services in ten U.S. locations:

1. Dallas, TX

2. San Antonio, TX

3. Fort Worth, TX

4. Salt Lake City, UT

5. Buffalo, NY

6. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA

7. Independence, MO

8. Las Vegas, NV

9. Clearwater, FL

10. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territory)

… Seven professional groups were identified as likely to come into contact with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking and targeted for interviews: Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement; Federal and State Prosecutors; Juvenile Court; Juvenile Probation and Detention; Public Defenders; Child Protective Services; and Social Services/Non-Governmental Organizations. A total of 297 interviews were conducted.

… The findings from the 10 site assessments, research studies, and field work are the foundation for this National Report on the Identification and Response to America’s Trafficked Youth.

Page 11:

Starting in October 2006, Shared Hope International embarked on a study seeking to assess the scope of domestic minor sex trafficking, the identification of victims, and how these victims were gaining access to services. The assessments took place in ten U.S. locations and were funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The study was concluded in September 2008 with ten location-specific assessments released. The assessments strived to determine credible numbers of minors who qualify as domestic minor sex trafficking victims, whether or not they are or were identified as such, especially prostituted children. Subsequent assessments have been undertaken in other locations in the U.S adding further evidence that domestic minor sex trafficking is widespread.

Page 20:

Children exploited through prostitution report they typically are given a quota by their trafficker/pimp of 10 to 15 buyers per night, though some service providers report girls having been sold to as many as 45 buyers in a night at peak demand times, such as during a sports event or convention. Utilizing a conservative estimate, a domestic minor sex trafficking victim who is rented for sex acts with five different men per night, for five nights per week, for an average of five years, would be raped by 6,000 buyers during the course of her victimization through prostitution. Most buyers of sexual services from minors receive little or no punishment, while many of the child victims are arrested and charged with the crime committed against them.

[60] “2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report.” By Kyleigh Feehs and Alyssa Currier Wheeler. Human Trafficking Institute, 2021. <www.traffickinginstitute.org>

Page 43:

For some victims, public sources identified characteristics that may have made them especially vulnerable to recruitment by sex traffickers. The top five vulnerabilities among victims in active sex trafficking cases were the same as the top categories across all active cases, though the percentages shift: substance dependency (43%, 139), having run away from home (30%, 97), undocumented immigration status (13%, 43), being in the foster care system (10%, 33), homelessness (10%, 32), and having been trafficked in the past (9%, 28).110

110 Based on the 24% (324) of victims in active criminal sex trafficking cases in 2020 for whom at least one pre-existing vulnerability was identified. The percentages do not add up to 100% because some victims had multiple vulnerabilities.

[61] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 36:

However, in order to properly identify and respond to child sex trafficking, it is imperative to recognize the root causes as well as the collateral impact, such as psychosocial and behavioral problems, which are direct results of chronic victimization. A comprehensive survey of 104 prostituted juvenile victims in Clark County, Nevada, reveals the vast detrimental and debilitating impact of domestic minor sex trafficking on the life of a child. The findings are documented in the chart below.

… RUNAWAY [=] 82% …

USE ALCOHOL [=] 84%

USE NARCOTICS [=] 89%

Page 46:

The Clark County, Nevada, Public Defenders Office-Juvenile Division surveyed 104 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related activity from July 2007 to November 2008 and found a high level of drug abuse within this population of victims. The chart below provides a breakdown of documented drug use. It is important to note, that the average age of those using drugs was 14 years old.139

139 Clark County Public Defender—Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses (July 2007–November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.

[62] Webpage: “The Victims.” Polaris, National Human Trafficking Hotline. Accessed August 17, 2021 at <humantraffickinghotline.org>

While human trafficking spans all demographics, there are some circumstances or vulnerabilities that lead to a higher susceptibility to victimization and human trafficking. While not inclusive of all vulnerabilities, the following highlights a few risk factors for victims of human trafficking.

… Runaway and homeless youth lack a strong supportive network and runaway to unfamiliar environments are particularly at risk of trafficking. Runaway youth are often approached by traffickers at transportation hubs, shelters or other public spaces. These traffickers pretend to be a boyfriend or significant other, using feigned affection and manipulation to elicit commercial sex or services from the victim.

Foreign nationals who are trafficked within the United States face unique challenges that may leave them more susceptible to trafficking and exploitation. In 2013, 32 percent of calls with high indicators of human trafficking to the NHTRC [National Human Trafficking Resource Center] referenced foreign nationals. Recruiters located in home countries frequently require such large recruitment and travel fees that victims become highly indebted to the recruiters and traffickers. These fees are inflated far beyond cost in order to create economic instability and dependency on the new employer or trafficker. Traffickers leverage the non-portability of many work visas as well as the lack of familiarity with surroundings, laws and rights, language fluency, and cultural understanding in order to control and manipulate victims.

[63] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 31:

The primary factor of vulnerability is the child’s age. Pre-teen or adolescent girls are more susceptible to the calculated advances, deception, and manipulation tactics used by trafficker/pimps—no youth is exempt from falling prey to these tactics.

Traffickers/pimps target locations where they know that youth are going to be—schools, malls, parks, even shelters and group homes. Often, their primary method of manipulation is to secure a seemingly loving and caring relationship with the youth to establish trust and allegiance. Traffickers/pimps will often invest a significant amount of time and effort to establish this foundational relationship. The more time they invest in the romance period the more tightly they can psychologically bind the victim, similar to domestic violence exercised on a child’s vulnerable mentality. This “romantic” period ensures that as the relationship deteriorates to abuse and exploitation the youth will remain loyal and hopeful that someday the loving relationship will return.

[64] Report: “Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, April 2009. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 4:

Recruiting Girls and Women

Participants explained that recruitment “never stopped. It is part of the daily routine.” Not only did the pimps recruit, but their women also recruited new girls and women as well. …

Participants recruited everywhere and anywhere, at skating rinks, Laundromats, basketball games and other events that attracted lots of girls, and in parks. Others participating in more organized businesses ran ads and one said his business trafficked from abroad. One participant recruited off Craigslist, contacting young women advertising there and recruited them into his “stable.”

One participant described how he recruited.

I would tell them I was an agent. I would say I designed clothes. I even told them I sang with certain bands. It was more challenging when I got girls who were older. I really became more creative the older the girls were.

Page 5:

Participants [the pimps] knew the girls were young. “They all claimed to be 18, but I knew for a fact that some were 15 years old.” One said “as young as 15,” another “as young as 14. It was the nature of the business.” Still another said, “If they were bleeding they could work for me.”

[65] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 31: “Pimps target children who are vulnerable to exploitation, including those with low self-esteem, who are runaways or throwaways, and who have histories of physical and sexual abuse.”

[66] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 5: “Some victims have described being subjected to extreme physical and sexual violence, being required to commit other criminal acts, and to recruit other potential victims.”

[67] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 112: “As incentives for recruiting new children, peers often are promised financial rewards, nice clothes, a good place to live and, always, protection from the violence to which homeless and street routinely are exposed.”

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[68] Article: “Schools Called Hotbeds for Luring Young Sex Slaves.” By Erica Pearson. New York Daily News, April 1, 2012. <www.nydailynews.com>

Last fall, pimp Abking Wilcox admitted turning girls as young as 15 into being sex slaves and making them recruit others in Bushwick and Brownsville middle schools.

Wilcox, who pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Criminal Court to three counts of sex trafficking, called it his “team.”

[69] Article: “Pimps Hit Social Networks to Recruit Underage Sex Workers.” By Erica Fink and Laurie Segall. CNNMoney, February 27, 2013. <money.cnn.com>

The group “searched Facebook for attractive young girls, and sent them messages telling them that they were pretty and asking if they would like to make some money,” one witness told a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent investigating the case. The court records include a trail of those messages.

Strom had a collection of fake Facebook accounts. On one of them, for “Rain Smith” investigators found more than 800 messages sent out to potential targets.

If a girl expressed interest, a gang member would arrange to meet up. At that point, participation stopped being voluntary.

[70] Report: “Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions.” U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 21, 2021. <www.gao.gov>

Page 8:

Recent data on federal sex trafficking cases, collected by the Human Trafficking Institute (HTI), illustrate the significant role of the internet in the market for commercial sex.22 Specifically, defendants used the internet as their primary means of soliciting buyers of commercial sex in 84 percent (390 of 466) of active federal sex trafficking cases in 2019 for which the primary method of solicitation was available in public sources. Additionally, defendants used the internet to recruit 37 percent (231 of 631) of victims in active federal sex trafficking cases in 2019 for which the method of recruitment was available in public sources.23

22 HTI is a nonprofit organization that, according to its website, exists to decimate modern slavery at its source by empowering police and prosecutors to stop traffickers. Working inside criminal justice systems, the Institute provides the embedded experts, world-class training, investigative resources, and evidence-based research necessary to free victims.

23 HTI data are taken from federal criminal cases that involved: (1) one or more charges under Chapter 77 of Title 18, U.S. Code, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1581–97 (Peonage, Slavery, and Trafficking in Persons), or (2) one or more charges under statutes outside of Chapter 77 where there was substantial evidence of force, fraud, coercion, commercial sex with a child, or an identified victim of trafficking. HTI data do not reflect the prevalence of sex trafficking in the United States but instead represent key findings and trends in federal sex trafficking prosecutions.

[71] Article: “UN [United Nations] Committee Calls for Crackdown on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Digital Age.” United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, November 11, 2020. <www.ohchr.org>

The UN women’s rights committee today called on governments to pursue all appropriate means to eliminate trafficking in women and girls, highlighting the increasing use of social media to recruit trafficking victims during the COVID-19 pandemic. …

The Committee emphasised that the realities of trafficking in women and girls now extend well beyond the offline world, pointing to recent trends of trafficking in cyberspace. The development of social media and chat apps to gain easy access to potential victims when traffickers cannot use more traditional ways to recruit women and girls for sexual exploitation during COVID-19 lockdowns was alarming, the Committee said.

“The global pandemic has revealed the urgent need to address the use of digital technology in and against trafficking,” said Dalia Leinarte, the committee member who led the drafting of the general recommendation.

[72] Report: “On-Ramps, Intersections, and Exit Routes: A Roadmap for Systems and Industries to Prevent and Disrupt Human Trafficking.” By Brittany Anthony and others. Polaris, July 2018. <polarisproject.org>

Page 18:

The National Human Trafficking Hotline has recorded recruitment in all types of both sex and labor trafficking on mainstream social media platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, Meetme.com, WhatsApp, and dating sites/apps like Plenty of Fish, Tinder, and Grindr. …

Today, the options have expanded.

By way of scope, case data from January 2015 through December 2017 records 845 potential victims recruited on internet platforms. This includes:

• 250 potential victims recruited on Facebook

• 120 recruited on a dating site

• 78 recruited on Instagram

• 489 recruited on another type of Internet platform such as Craigslist, chat rooms, or a website that could not be identified during the hotline call.8

8 Statistics are non-cumulative. Each potential victim can be recruited on multiple internet platforms.

[73] “Trafficking in Persons Report.” U.S. State Department, June 2021. <www.state.gov>

Page 7:

Pandemic mitigation efforts forced many people to shift online, including human traffickers. Online recruitment and grooming increased as children spent more time online for virtual learning due to school closures, often with little parental supervision. Reports from several countries demonstrated drastic increases in online commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, including online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), and demand for and distribution of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), including content that involved human trafficking victims. … The U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported a 98.66 percent increase in online enticement reports between January and September 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and reports to their CyberTipline doubled to 1.6 million. While traffickers used the opportunity of increased numbers of children online to expand their operations, it should be noted that a portion of the increase resulted from the recirculation of sensationalized trafficking-related stories and misinformation on social media platforms. This included individuals who reshared CSEM content in hopes of helping the victim and raising awareness, but inadvertently contributed to reporting spikes leaving less time and resources to pursue every incident. With enough time for traffickers to establish effective methods to recruit and groom their victims and insufficient avenues to prosecute various forms of online sexual exploitation, the pandemic accelerated and accrued the challenges to combating online sex trafficking.

[74] “2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report.” By Kyleigh Feehs and Alyssa Currier Wheeler. Human Trafficking Institute, 2021. <www.traffickinginstitute.org>

Pages 51–52:

Over the past two decades, human trafficking cases have increasingly referenced the use of the internet to facilitate trafficking through victim recruitment and buyer solicitation. In the early years of the TVPA [Trafficking Victims Protection Act], most cases involved victims who were recruited into sex trafficking schemes off the street. In 2005, the government filed the first sex trafficking prosecution referencing online victim recruitment. By 2011, the internet was solidly the top location of recruitment and has been every year since. Of all victims identified in federal sex trafficking cases since 2000, 30% (535) were recruited online.*

Relatedly, 23% (193) of all pre-existing relationships between defendants and victims identified over the past two decades have been social media contacts.+

* Based on the 1,796 victims identified in criminal sex trafficking prosecutions filed from 2000 through 2020 for whom details of their recruitment were known.

+ Based on the 822 pre-existing relationships between defendants and victims detailed in public sources related to criminal sex trafficking prosecutions filed from 2000 through 2020.

[75] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 31:

Often, their primary method of manipulation is to secure a seemingly loving and caring relationship with the youth to establish trust and allegiance. Traffickers/pimps will often invest a significant amount of time and effort to establish this foundational relationship. The more time they invest in the romance period the more tightly they can psychologically bind the victim, similar to domestic violence exercised on a child’s vulnerable mentality.

Pages 35–36:

A main tactic used by traffickers/pimps to prey on youth is to institute a cycle of intimacy and violence; it is not unusual for a trafficker to first develop an intimate relationship with a targeted youth as a “boyfriend.” This sometimes is referred to as the “lover-boy tactic.” The trafficker uses a child’s desire for affection to lock her into the relationship with him.

The presence of an older, usually adult boyfriend in the life of a teen is an indicator of this frequently used tactic. The existence of an older boyfriend often emerges during an investigation of misidentified or unidentified trafficking victims.

Page 38:

The Recruitment or Grooming Process

Once a trafficker/pimp identifies the physical and/or psychological needs of a child, he seeks to fill them. If the child lacks a loving parental presence, the trafficker/pimp morphs his tactics to become the parent figure. If a youth needs a safe place to sleep, the trafficker/pimp provides housing. In this way, traffickers/ pimps work to create a dependency between the minor and themselves.

[76] Article: “Edison Man Charged with Running Prostitution Ring, Ensnaring Women as Sex Slaves.” By Christopher Baxter. Star-Ledger (New Jersey), March 1, 2013. <www.nj.com>

He pulls up to young women in a Maserati or Porsche, state authorities say, pretending to be a music producer or some other high roller. They go on a date or two, he entices them with fancy clothes, and then he allegedly cuts to the chase: He needs them to do a job.

For the past four years, Percival Williams of Edison has used sex, cash and violence to enslave women from around the country in a prostitution ring for clients in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Manhattan and beyond, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said Thursday.

[77] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 43: “The Rapporteur drew attention to the phenomenon of ‘loverboys’ and their victims in the very first report. There were many underage victims in the Netherlands of traffickers known by this term, which is usually used to refer to young men who use seduction techniques to charm vulnerable young girls with the ultimate aim of getting those girls to work for them in prostitution.”

[78] Article: “FBI Arrests Another Alleged Pimp In Southern California Sex Slave Ring.” By R. Scott Moxley. OC Weekly (California), March 8, 2013. <www.ocweekly.com>

If FBI agents are right, 38-year-old Roshaun Nakia Porter of Long Beach falsely advertised himself on various Southern California dating websites as an ultra-wealthy, mansion-living businessman anxious to find sincere love. …

When one of the women tried to escape, Porter—who was known to whip and slug his employees when angry—sent her a text message claiming he would “kill her family if she ever left again,” according to court records.

To better appreciate Porter’s intellect, consider a voicemail message the FBI says it obtained from a prostitute: “… I know everything about you. I know where your mama’s staying. …”

[79] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 4:

The perpetrators of trafficking employ a “grooming process” to draw their USC [U.S. citizens] victims away from their homes or to gain the trust and dependency of young victims who may have run away from home. The first step is often the development of a relationship with an older man, who the victim comes to regard as her “boyfriend”. The perpetrator assesses the victim’s needs (vulnerabilities) and offers flattery, material items such as money, jewelry or clothes, and/or displays other “acts of love”. The adolescent female may be enticed to begin a sexual relationship with her “boyfriend”. The adolescent will be encouraged to stay away from home for increasingly longer periods of time, eventually leading to her not returning home at all.

[80] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Pages 31–32:

Pimps, who are commercial sex traffickers,58 manipulate children into a life of prostitution and then use physical and emotional abuse to keep their victims trapped in that way of life. … Pimps typically recruit a vulnerable child by first showing affection and attention and promising a stable relationship. …

58 Criminals who commit the crimes discussed in this section can be referred to as “commercial sex traffickers” or as “pimps.” While some believe that the term “pimp” often is used by commercial sex traffickers as a favorable street title for someone who can procure sex for sale and thus should not be used, we use the term as it is commonly known and highlights that these offenders profit by the victimization of children through prostitution.

[81] Article: “Running in the Shadows.” By Ian Urbina. New York Times, October 27, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

She ran away from her group home in Medford, Ore., and spent weeks sleeping in parks and under bridges. Finally, Nicole Clark, 14 years old, grew so desperate that she accepted a young man’s offer of a place to stay. The price would come later. They had sex, and he soon became her boyfriend. Then one day he threatened to kick her out if she did not have sex with several of his friends in exchange for money. She agreed, fearing she had no choice. … That first exchange of money for sex led to a downward spiral of prostitution that lasted for 14 months, until she escaped last year from a pimp who she said often locked her in his garage apartment for months.

[82] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 109: “Pimps use a variety of methods to recruit young girls (Giobbe, 1993). The most common approach is for the pimp to befriend a homeless child, express affection for the child and spend what appears to the child be to lavish sums of money buying the child clothes, jewelry, meals, video games, and the like. “

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[83] Report: “Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, April 2009. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 7: “It’s impossible to protect all girls from guys like I was, because that’s what we do. We eat, drink, and sleep, thinking of ways to trick young girls into doing what we want them to do.”

[84] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 8:

Another manifestation of DMST [domestic minors sex trafficking] involves a trafficker/pimp who poses as a “boyfriend” who builds a romantic relationship with the youth. Through a series of calculated and methodical stages, the trafficker establishes trust, and psychologically and physically bonds with the victim through a web of deceit and lies, securing her allegiance—even after the relationship changes drastically into one of violence, torture, and abuse. …

“I was 14 years old, and the way the pimp came at me was that at first I didn’t even know he was a pimp. He came at me like a boyfriend. Yes, he was an older boyfriend but he cared about me …. Six months later he told me ‘Let’s run away together. We can have a beautiful house and family.’ And I did believe him, and we ran away, and then the story changed and I met the other girls that he had in his stable. And I had to go out every night and work the streets—the alternative was being gang-raped by a group of pimps while everyone watched.”17 – Tina Frundt, Founder of Courtney’s House, and Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking …

17 Tina Frundt, Personal Interview. Shared Hope International, February 15, 2006.

[85] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 4:

The perpetrators of trafficking employ a “grooming process” to draw their USC [U.S. citizen] victims away from their homes or to gain the trust and dependency of young victims who may have run away from home. The first step is often the development of a relationship with an older man, who the victim comes to regard as her “boyfriend”. The perpetrator assesses the victim’s needs (vulnerabilities) and offers flattery, material items such as money, jewelry or clothes, and/or displays other “acts of love”. The adolescent female may be enticed to begin a sexual relationship with her “boyfriend”. The adolescent will be encouraged to stay away from home for increasingly longer periods of time, eventually leading to her not returning home at all.

Page 5:

Within a short period of time, the victim is often encouraged to take a short trip with the “boyfriend” for what seems like a reasonable cause. It is often at this point that the perpetrator will try to convince the victim to prostitute herself. The “boyfriend” may start the process of exploitation by introducing the victim to other groups of men and asking the victim to provide sexual favors to the men because they are his “friends”. If the victim doesn’t agree to do so, she will then be subjected to violence, abuse, or other coercive measures, with the objective of giving the “boyfriend” dominance and control over the victim.

By this stage, the victim may be in no position to refuse the “boyfriend’s” commands and is frightened and compliant.12 She may find herself in an unknown part of the city, or perhaps a different city all together. The victim realizes that she, her family, nor anyone else knows where she is. The victim may know the city or area they are in, but may be unable to provide family or police with their specific location if able to contact them. This element of control, exercised by the “boyfriend” and other men, reinforces the victim’s vulnerability and she becomes psychologically dependent on them.

A number of other control methods will be utilized by the trafficker to control the victim. “House Rules”, which are rules for interacting with the trafficker, authorities, “johns” and other customers, along with nightly quotas, etc., will be established and the trafficker will enforce rule violations with violence. Some victims have described being subjected to extreme physical and sexual violence, being required to commit other criminal acts, and to recruit other potential victims. If the victim is underage, the trafficker will often provide the victim with a false name and date of birth to use if encountered by authorities. …

12 The victim may also consider themselves to be in a romantic relationship and want to please their partner and do what he says so that he won’t end the relationship.

[86] Article: “Sex Slavery: Living the American Nightmare: Shadowy Multibillion-Dollar Industry Far More Widespread Than Expected.” By Alex Johnson and Cesar Rodriguez. MSNBC, December 22, 2008. <www.msnbc.msn.com>

[87] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 38:

The Recruitment or Grooming Process

Once a trafficker/pimp identifies the physical and/or psychological needs of a child, he seeks to fill them. If the child lacks a loving parental presence, the trafficker/pimp morphs his tactics to become the parent figure. If a youth needs a safe place to sleep, the trafficker/pimp provides housing. In this way, traffickers/ pimps work to create a dependency between the minor and themselves.

[88] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 31:

Pimps, who are commercial sex traffickers,58 manipulate children into a life of prostitution and then use physical and emotional abuse to keep their victims trapped in that way of life. …

58 Criminals who commit the crimes discussed in this section can be referred to as “commercial sex traffickers” or as “pimps.” While some believe that the term “pimp” often is used by commercial sex traffickers as a favorable street title for someone who can procure sex for sale and thus should not be used, we use the term as it is commonly known and highlights that these offenders profit by the victimization of children through prostitution.

Page 32:

After the child has gained an emotional and psychological attachment to the pimp, he introduces the idea of prostitution to her59 as something she can do to contribute financially to their “street family.”

After the child has been manipulated into a relationship with the pimp, the pimp begins training or “seasoning” her by normalizing the life of prostitution and making her completely dependent on him. The child may be given a sexual education or be exposed to pornography to desensitize her to sexual images and terms. To solidify his control, the pimp or someone acting at his direction, will beat, torture, or starve the child60 to force her into obedience. Some pimps use alcohol or drugs to control their victims. To manipulate the child, the pimp also uses emotional tactics such as renaming her to break down her identity and telling her that she has no value except as a prostitute. The pimp also separates the child from biological family and friends as well as anything familiar. Additionally, the pimp keeps all of the profit earned by the child and delivers violent punishment if the child withholds any money. The pimp uses a combination of praise and abuse that causes the child to constantly work for his affection. The child becomes completely dependent on the pimp for food, clothing, shelter, and attention. The pimp’s control often is so complete that victims are incapable of leaving.

[89] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Pages 55–56: “Linda ran away from home at age 14 and one day while walking down the street from Jack-in-the Box she was kidnapped by 6 men. They drugged her, beat her, and took her to a house where they tied her to a bed and each proceeded to rape her vaginally then anally. That same evening she was taken to a mansion and sold to a pimp.”

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[90] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 110:

Though not typical in some respects, “BG” and “Tony” are illustrative of the type of “street pimps” we encountered in the course of our field work. The levels of violence and degradation, including physical branding (Harris, 1999), used by pimps to maintain power over juveniles is all too typical (Farley et al., 1998; Parker, 1998). …

BG is an African-American male in his 50’s. He has been a pimp all of his working life. He traffics girls between Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu and Vancouver. He mostly recruits young girls in Vancouver, brings them to Hawaii and keeps all of their papers so they can’t leave. He drugs them; hand cuffs them and then makes them have sex with his dog. He photographs these sex acts and then uses the photos as blackmail, threatening to send them to magazines or family members. Other methods of controlling the girls include: locking them in a bathroom and making them drink water from the toilet and eat out of dog food bowls; and walking up and down the “track/strip” while his girls are working—with the dog he makes them have sex with.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[91] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 31:

Pimps, who are commercial sex traffickers,58 manipulate children into a life of prostitution and then use physical and emotional abuse to keep their victims trapped in that way of life. …

58 Criminals who commit the crimes discussed in this section can be referred to as “commercial sex traffickers” or as “pimps.” While some believe that the term “pimp” often is used by commercial sex traffickers as a favorable street title for someone who can procure sex for sale and thus should not be used, we use the term as it is commonly known and highlights that these offenders profit by the victimization of children through prostitution.

Page 32:

After the child has gained an emotional and psychological attachment to the pimp, he introduces the idea of prostitution to her59 as something she can do to contribute financially to their “street family.”

After the child has been manipulated into a relationship with the pimp, the pimp begins training or “seasoning” her by normalizing the life of prostitution and making her completely dependent on him. The child may be given a sexual education or be exposed to pornography to desensitize her to sexual images and terms. To solidify his control, the pimp or someone acting at his direction, will beat, torture, or starve the child60 to force her into obedience. Some pimps use alcohol or drugs to control their victims. To manipulate the child, the pimp also uses emotional tactics such as renaming her to break down her identity and telling her that she has no value except as a prostitute. The pimp also separates the child from biological family and friends as well as anything familiar. Additionally, the pimp keeps all of the profit earned by the child and delivers violent punishment if the child withholds any money. The pimp uses a combination of praise and abuse that causes the child to constantly work for his affection. The child becomes completely dependent on the pimp for food, clothing, shelter, and attention. The pimp’s control often is so complete that victims are incapable of leaving.

[92] Article: “San Francisco Is a Major Center for International Crime Networks That Smuggle and Enslave.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 2006. <www.sfgate.com>

Yuki, 25, who fears for her safety and only gave her first name to The Chronicle during an interview in Seoul, said she was trafficked from South Korea to a karaoke bar in Inglewood (Los Angeles County), where she was assured that she would simply be serving drinks to men. Once there, she was ordered to sell $3,000 worth of drinks each month. When she failed, she was sent to the “touching room,” a private suite where men could have their way with her for $400.

[93] Report: “From Victims to Victimizers: Interviews with 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, September 2010. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 3:

One hundred percent of the women in our sample began in the sex trade industry by selling their own bodies between the ages of nine and 25, with the average age of onset at 14. They all ended up pimping, and it was not totally voluntary. One 40-year-old woman with a sixth-grade education explained that her mother was a prostituted woman who physically and sexually assaulted her and put her out in prostitution at age 12. “My mother was my first pimp. She used to sell me to the landlord and other men who wanted a young girl. She was a junkie.” After she ran away, she was picked up by a pimp and held against her will, and later was held captive by another. “I thought that was normal.”

[94] Article: “Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Called ‘Epidemic.’ ” By Chuck Neubauer. Washington Times, April 23, 2011. <www.washingtontimes.com>

Since its creation, the task force has sent many traffickers to prison, including Lloyd Mack Royal III, 29, of Gaithersburg, who received a 37-year sentence in July for using what prosecutors said was “physical violence, drugs, guns and lies” to force three girls younger than 18 into prostitution. A federal judge also ordered that after his release, Royal must register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Royal forced the girls to engage in sex; threatened to harm them and their families; hit the girls and held one of them at gunpoint; gave them cocaine, PCP [Phencyclidine ], marijuana and alcohol before forcing them to have sex with customers; and, to assert his authority, forced them to “kiss his pinky ring.” The records show he drove the girls to hotels in Gaithersburg and the District to engage in sex.

[95] Report: “Deconstructing The Demand for Prostitution: Preliminary Insights From Interviews With Chicago Men Who Purchase Sex.” By Rachel Durchslag and Samir Goswami. Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, May 2008. <humantraffickinghotline.org>

Page 2:

In December of 2006 and June of 2007 the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), Prostitution Research and Education (PRE), and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) launched a research initiative in Chicago to investigate the cognitive and behavioral patterns of men who purchase sex. A team of ten individuals, including three survivors of the sex trade, were trained by CAASE and PRE. In total, the team interviewed 113 men who buy sex. Men were recruited through the “Erotic Services” section of Craigslist, the Chicago Reader, and Chicago After Dark. Each interview lasted approximately an hour and a half to two hours and consisted of both quantitative and qualitative questions. …

How Men Find Women in Prostitution

34% of interviewees said they contact women through the internet. Craigslist was the most frequently used website to solicit sexual services.

Venues

57% of interviewees solicited women in prostitution outdoors and 84% solicited women indoors. The most popular indoor venues were bars, strip clubs, escort agencies, and private parties.

Where in the City

26 interviewees mentioned specific neighborhoods and/or streets where they purchase sex in Chicago. The most popular location to purchase sex was the West Side followed by the South Side.

Page 16: “Believing Women Choose to Enter Prostitution: 87% of interviewees thought that women freely choose to enter prostitution. 62% thought that the majority of women in prostitution are fully informed about the nature of the sex trade before entry. Interviews with women in prostitution suggest the opposite is true.”

[96] Report: “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.” By Kristin M. Finklea, Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, and Alison Siskin. Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2015. <fas.org>

Pages 2–3: “The individuals who purchase sexual services from pimps/traffickers are known as solicitors, purchasers, buyers, or ‘johns.’

[97] Calculated with data from the report: “Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Deborah L. Shapiro. Center for Impact Research, August 2002. <www.issuelab.org>

Page 10:

Between August and October of 2001, CIR [Center for Impact Research] interviewed a sample of women in prostitution in the Chicago metropolitan area, producing a wealth of information about the lives of women who were, or had once been, engaged in prostitution.

Twelve survivors of prostitution were recruited and trained to orally administer an extensive questionnaire. A typical interview lasted approximately 45 minutes. Surveyors located women for interviews in various segments of the prostitution industry and obtained leads for contacting other women from interviewees—a snowball sampling technique. Interviews took place in public locations such as restaurants (21.6%), in the respondent’s residence (18.8%), on the street (14.7%), in the surveyor’s residence (11.5%), in shelters or treatment centers (9.2%), in adult entertainment businesses (9.2%), and in a variety of other settings. …

The sample consisted of 222 women over age 18 who were currently or previously had been involved in prostitution activities in the Chicago metropolitan area within the past five years. Seventy-four percent of the women were engaged in prostitution at the time of the interview, and 26% reported having done so in the past five years, but not currently.

Page 13:

Chart 3: Age of Entry into Prostitution

Age Range

Portion of Sample

4–11

3%

12–15

32%

16–17

26%

18–21

26%

22–59

13%

CALCULATIONS:

  • 17 or younger: 26% + 32% + 3% = 61%
  • 15 or younger: 32% + 3% = 35%

Page 21:

There is evidence that the presence of a “pimp” and the fear of violence prevent some women from leaving prostitution. Respondents were asked, “Did you feel able to leave if you wanted and do something else for money or resources and exit safely from this work or involvement (if still current, do you feel you could now)?” At first glance, it appeared that many women did feel able to leave prostitution: 58.6% responded affirmatively, 27.0% responded in the negative, and 14.4% did not answer the question. However, we also examined responses to this question in relation to pimping and fear of violence, and found a significant association.

Respondents were asked about pimping and ability to leave at each stage of prostitution (activity one, activity two, and so on). At every phase, women who gave a percentage of money to someone else were significantly less likely to feel able to leave prostitution than those women who did not give money to anyone. The proportion of women who felt able to leave was even less when considering those who feared they would be harmed for failure to give money to this person. Specifically, within their first activity, 50% of the women who gave a cut to someone felt able to leave prostitution, and only 33.3% of those respondents who feared harm from the person to whom they gave money felt they could leave prostitution.

[98] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 36:

However, in order to properly identify and respond to child sex trafficking, it is imperative to recognize the root causes as well as the collateral impact, such as psychosocial and behavioral problems, which are direct results of chronic victimization. A comprehensive survey of 104 prostituted juvenile victims in Clark County, Nevada, reveals the vast detrimental and debilitating impact of domestic minor sex trafficking on the life of a child. The findings are documented in the chart below.

… WANT TO STOP [=] 78%

Page 46:

The Clark County, Nevada, Public Defenders Office-Juvenile Division surveyed 104 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related activity from July 2007 to November 2008 and found a high level of drug abuse within this population of victims. The chart below provides a breakdown of documented drug use. It is important to note, that the average age of those using drugs was 14 years old.139

139 Clark County Public Defender—Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses (July 2007–November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.

[99] Report: “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and Mexico.” By Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, September 18, 2001. Revised 2/20/02. <www.justfacts.com>

Page 21: “The statistical data summarized in Exhibit 2.4 underscore the fact that the final list of 17 U.S. cities included in this analysis for special study account for nearly 40% of the total U.S. urban population.”

Pages 27–28:

A large number of child victims of sexual exploitation were interviewed as part of this study (Appendix L; Exhibit 2.7). Following an initial series of on-street interviews with children, the investigators made the decision to restrict interviews to children under the direct care of either a law enforcement or human service agency. Most of these children either had been arrested by the police for soliciting sex or, in the case of the humans service agencies, requested services as part of the agency’s outreach efforts to street youth.

Some children continued to be interviewed on the street throughout the project but these interviews occurred in the presence of a local law enforcement or human service partner in a position to offer services or continuing care to children who were in the process of being actively exploited.

In all cases, cooperation from the children was elicited in an environment that was not threatening to the child, i.e., away from the street or club where the child was previously exploited and away her pimp or, in the case of boys, away from other adults in a position to threaten the child. The general purposes of the study were explained to the child and, in every case, the child was guaranteed anonymity with respect to any and all responses to questions raised by the interviewer.

Nearly all of the interviews took place in small groups of 3–6 children, thereby, providing the child with an additional degree of support. No child was compelled to meet with the interviewers and, in every case, a child’s willingness to participate was determined through a prior discussion with a caregiver with whom the child already had an established relationship. Children did not receive financial compensation for their participation in interviews.

Page 59: “Modeling, nude dancing, lap dancing and similar sexually provocative activities frequently are used to lure girls into prostitution.”

Page 92:

H.6 Ages of First Intercourse and Entry Into Juvenile Prostitution

Average age of first intercourse for the children we interviewed was 12 years for the boys (N=63) and 13 years for the girls (N=107). The age range of entry into prostitution for the boys, including gay and transgender boys, was somewhat younger than that of the girls, i.e., 11–13 years vs. 12–14 years, respectively.

NOTE: Permission to post this report to Just Facts’ website provided by Dr. Richard J. Estes, October 16, 2018.

[100] Article: “San Francisco Is A Major Center For International Crime Networks That Smuggle And Enslave.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 2006. <www.sfgate.com>

Many of San Francisco’s Asian massage parlors—long an established part of the city’s sexually permissive culture—have degenerated into something much more sinister: international sex slave shops. …

Sex slaves who work in massage parlors and bars are often locked in their place of business by double security doors, monitored by surveillance cameras and only let outside under the guard of crooked taxi drivers who ferry them to their next sex appointment.

[101] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page iv:

Acknowledging that strategic responses to sex trafficking require comprehensive understanding of the local situation, Shared Hope International aligned with the U.S. Department of Justice-funded human trafficking task forces to assess domestic minor sex trafficking and the access to victim services in ten U.S. locations:

1. Dallas, TX

2. San Antonio, TX

3. Fort Worth, TX

4. Salt Lake City, UT

5. Buffalo, NY

6. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA

7. Independence, MO

8. Las Vegas, NV

9. Clearwater, FL

10. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territory)

… Seven professional groups were identified as likely to come into contact with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking and targeted for interviews: Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement; Federal and State Prosecutors; Juvenile Court; Juvenile Probation and Detention; Public Defenders; Child Protective Services; and Social Services/Non-Governmental Organizations. A total of 297 interviews were conducted.

… The findings from the 10 site assessments, research studies, and field work are the foundation for this National Report on the Identification and Response to America’s Trafficked Youth.

Page 11:

Starting in October 2006, Shared Hope International embarked on a study seeking to assess the scope of domestic minor sex trafficking, the identification of victims, and how these victims were gaining access to services. The assessments took place in ten U.S. locations and were funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The study was concluded in September 2008 with ten location-specific assessments released. The assessments strived to determine credible numbers of minors who qualify as domestic minor sex trafficking victims, whether or not they are or were identified as such, especially prostituted children. Subsequent assessments have been undertaken in other locations in the U.S adding further evidence that domestic minor sex trafficking is widespread.

Page 27:

Facilitators, or accomplices, avoid direct responsibility for sex trafficking crimes by creating distance from the immediate criminal activity but they profit from and make possible the sex trafficking of children. Some common facilitators in the crime of DMST [domestic minor sex trafficking] include taxi drivers, hotel workers, and owners of adult sexual entertainment venues. Taxi drivers in Las Vegas receive commissions for bringing buyers to illegal suburban house brothels.83 The commission reportedly is one third of the $300 charged to the buyer by the brothel. Traffickers pay premiums to facilitators for locating underage girls for their customers.84

83 DEMAND., (Shared Hope International: July 2007), pgs. 4, 98.

84 Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report—Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 126.

[102] Report: “From Victims to Victimizers: Interviews with 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, September 2010. <law.depaul.edu>

Introduction:

Pimps were recruited and interviewed by prostitution survivor Brenda Myers-Powell using a 91-question survey instrument. Ms. Myers-Powell located pimps known to her during her time in the business and was referred to others by those she interviewed. Participants were provided a cash honorarium upon completion of the interview. Interviews occurred between September 2009 and May 2010 in the Chicago metropolitan area. They took place in public spaces, usually in private areas of restaurants. Each interview lasted between one to two hours.

Page 5:

“I wanted very pretty girls and young because they took orders better. White girls from the bars who like to get high. They were really a lot of profit but they didn’t last long because they used too many drugs. Most were 16 to 17 years old.” …

Pimps used various deceptive strategies to recruit needy young girls: “It’s impossible to protect all girls from guys like I was because that’s what we do. We eat, drink and sleep thinking of ways to trick young girls into doing what we want them to do.”

Pages 6–7:

Sixty percent of the sample said they paid law enforcement in order to survive in the business.

“We paid who we had to so we could run our business. Police, detectives, and an alderman or two.”

“We paid vice and a couple of hungry beat cops.”

“I always had to pay these certain cops to have my parties.”

“I paid my dues, the regular crooked cops.”

“I paid a vice and a captain regularly, like twice a month.”

“I’ve done my share of sexual favors and kickbacks.” [female] …

Pimps said they shared profits with a host of other actors, including lawyers and doctors, but also bellmen, hotel clerks, bartenders and cab drivers, all of whom were regularly paid for referring customers. Explained one, “A few bellman, hotel clerks, bartenders and a few cab driver buddies who knew I had ladies, but not everyone knew. I had to be careful.”

A few pimps also mentioned paid referrals from convention information centers. All thus have a financial stake in the sex trade industry and are important cogs in the machine, without which it could not operate.

[103] Report: “Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago.” By Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell. DePaul University College of Law, April 2009. <law.depaul.edu>

Page 5:

Participants [the pimps] knew the girls were young. “They all claimed to be 18, but I knew for a fact that some were 15 years old.” One said “as young as 15,” another “as young as 14. It was the nature of the business.” Still another said, “If they were bleeding they could work for me.” …

… In one instance, the pimp supplied girls for three escort sites, providing 40% of the take to the owner/manager. One supplied girls for a strip club and for escort services. In that instance, the business kept 40% and the girl or woman 60%, but the pimp had to pass on three-fourths of the business take, keeping only 10% of the night’s take for himself. These were “a very organized and scary bunch of gentlemen.”

Page 6:

Participants who worked in organized prostitution said that money was provided to the police: “We paid so we could run our business—police, detectives, and an alderman or two.” To ally suspicions, from time-to-time police officers would make an actual arrest. A participant who supplied women for a large escort service commented, “We knew when we were getting busted. It was part of the game. We would bond out and go set up shop again. We were informed by Chicago’s finest when we needed to take a fall.” The others were adamant that they did not provide funds to the police.

[104] Book: Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms (Expanded Edition). By James D. Wright and Peter D. Rossi. Aldine De Gruyter, 1986 (Expanded edition published in 1994).

Page 32:

The definitive study of the quality of prisoner self-report data is Marquis (1981), a data quality analysis of the RAND “Criminal Careers” survey. In this study, data quality was assessed by comparing prisoners’ self reports with information contained in official criminal justice records. Since the format and procedures of the RAND survey were very similar to those followed in our survey, it is reasonable to assume that Marquis’ findings generalize. Summarizing briefly, Marquis found:

1. There is no evidence that prisoners attempt to deny salient aspects of their criminal past. …

2. Comparisons of self-reported conviction-offense data with official records showed that “on a general level, the data are close to unbiased” (Marquis, 1981: 32). Moderate biases were found on some items , but in general, reliability of the self-report data was “moderately high.”

[105] Webpage: “Welcome to the AIM Group.” Accessed March 6, 2013 at <aimgroup.com>

The AIM Group, formally the Advanced Interactive Media Group LLC, is the world’s leading consultancy in interactive media and classified advertising. It publishes Classified Intelligence Report, a continuous advisory service often called “the bible of the classified advertising industry.” The AIM Group and Classified Intelligence consultants are leaders in their industries. All of them have practical, real-world experience operating and managing traditional and interactive-media businesses.

[106] Article: “Village Voice Media: ‘Absolutely No’ Ongoing Relationship Between Alt-Weeklies and Backpage.Com, Financial or Otherwise.” By Joe Pompeo. Capital (New York), September 24, 2012. <www.politico.com>

The group of Village Voice Media executives who have formed a new holding company to acquire the chain’s 13 weekly newspapers, thus severing their association with the controversy-clouded classified website Backpage.com, would not disclose the terms of the sale or name any of the private investors behind the newly-formed Voice Media Group.

We wondered whether those investors included (former) Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey and/or chief executive Jim Larkin, the erstwhile Village Voice Media controlling shareholders who will continue to run Backpage.com as a separate entity.

[107] Article: “Denver Group Buying Westword and Other Village Voice Weeklies.” By Howard Pankratz. Denver Post, September 24, 2012. <www.denverpost.com>

“Backpage.com, also owned by Village Voice Media Holdings, is not part of the buyout.”

[108] Report: “Backpage Rebound Leads to Record Month for Prostitution Ad Revenue.” AIM Group, February 28, 2013. <aimgroup.com>

January revenue at Backpage.com from online ads for escorts and body rubs, both euphemisms for prostitution, totaled $2.7 million, also the highest monthly total since August 2010 and a 10 percent increase compared with December 2012. …

In the last 12 months, online prostitution advertising has generated $37.3 million on five tracked sites. That’s up 2.5 percent from the previous 12 months (February 2011 through January 2012). Of the total in the last 12 months, Backpage.com accounted for $29.7 million, or 79.6 percent. …

The AIM Group has also tracked revenue for four other sites that sell prostitution advertising—Eros.com, CityVibe.com, MyRedbook.com and AdultSearch.com. Here is the estimated monthly revenue from the last 12 months—February 2012 through January 2013—at sites that sell prostitution advertising or listings: …

… [T]he AIM Group revenue estimates include only online advertising in 23 of the 394 markets where Backpage.com offers localized sites in the U.S. Thus, its estimates of the company’s revenue from prostitution ads are extremely conservative. (Backpage covers 600 cities in 30 countries and territories, including sites in Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the U.K., the Caribbean, Mexico and 12 countries in Europe, South America and Asia.) …

The AIM Group tracked prostitution ads and, where possible, calculated the revenue they generate in these 23 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Dallas / Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Fla., Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Sarasota, Fla., Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C. …

This monthly report has been funded by a foundation that has asked not to be identified.

[109] Commentary: “Mayor Mike McGinn On Seattle’s Backpage.com Problem.” By Mike McGinn. SeattleMet, July 15, 2011. <www.seattlemet.com>

“Backpage.com is a well-known accelerant of underage sex trafficking. Since the beginning of 2010, 22 kids advertised on Backpage.com were recovered by the Seattle Police Department. No juveniles were discovered on any other sites in that time—that includes ads on craigslist, The Stranger, and other adult sites. The problem is specific to Backpage.com.”

[110] Article: “A Lurid Journey Through Backpage.com.” By Deborah Feyerick and Sheila Steffen. CNN, May 10, 2012. <thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com>

“Examining the ads and what they appear to be offering, I ask an obvious question: ‘Isn’t prostitution illegal?’ McDougall’s answer: ‘Prostitution is illegal, and we don’t permit illegal activity on the website.’ But then what are they selling? ‘Legal adult entertainment services,’ says McDougall.”

[111] All of the ads were posted to the “New York,” “Adult Entertainment,” “Body Rubs” section of backpage.com on March 8, 2013 from 7:57 PM to 8:06 PM:

1) Let’s meet for the sweetest rubdown of your life! Full of mutual touchings, nudity, kissings, and pleasurable intimacy between sexy me and of course you!!!

2) You will DEFINITELY Happy and will likely to come back for more.

3) Table Shower [NOTE: Just Facts did not categorize this ad as “suggestive of prostitution,” although numerous internet ads indicate that massages involving table showers are often coupled with sex acts.]

4) My hands with shower you with attention with everything from deep tissue to feather touch teasing.—light touching and nudity.—No f / s! I am NOT an escort.

5) I am here to please and you can be assured that any time spent with me will not be a waste.

6) Take your passion and make it come true! … We are confident you will back for more!

7) Highly trained Asian Masseuses will relieve all your stress away.

8) I am all natural Ukraine curve busty girl and the same time with good shape :))) I am 23. I offer body rub in my private, very nice apartment in Midtown east.

9) I am full of lust,& ready to give you some affection.

10) Mutual bodyrub 200/hr

[112] Research Brief: “One-Day Sex Trafficking Snapshot of an Internet Service Provider.” By Dominique Roe-Sepowitz and others. Arizona State University, November 2012. <copp.asu.edu>

Page 1:

This study is a one-day snapshot of ads posted during 12-hours in an online venue on November 1, 2012. … Online ads were explored to determine if they were selling sex and then further assessed to determine possible signs of trafficking. …

The Trafficking Identification Matrix and the Potential Trafficked Minor Matrix were developed in partnership with the Phoenix Police Department Vice Enforcement Unit and the Minneapolis Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit. Input from experienced law enforcement personnel from these two units who identify, interview and rescue sex trafficking victims (minors and adults) daily was integrated with practical and clinical practice-based knowledge from a social work research team. … The matrices used a weighted point system where no one factor would determine sex trafficking or minor status.

Pages 3–4:

Based upon the results of the first study [in Phoenix and Philadelphia], the decision was made to expand the study to include 3 other U.S. cities (San Diego, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Salt Lake City, Utah) for the purposes of broadening the understanding of sex ad postings in these cities along with possible sex trafficking victims including potential minors, with the goal of gaining a better picture of the scope of the problems of 1) sex/prostitution ads online which are illegal in every state examined, 2) sex trafficking, 3) minor sex trafficking. Due to the high volume of ads, which required individual analysis (all sex/prostitution ads), we decided to focus on one day during the week. Thursday (November 1) was chosen because it was the second highest ranked day in Phoenix during the May study for number of sex/prostitution ads posted and in Philadelphia it was ranked fourth. …

The study originally was designed to analyze 24-hours of online adult entertainment ads but due to the volume of ads and the volume of potential sex trafficked adults and minors who required reporting to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the appropriate police department (with a pre-established contact), the study was halted when all cities reached 12-hours, a period which took a team of 12 researchers nineteen-hours to analyze, with a total of 1332 ads analyzed.

In each city we found ads that we identified as sex/prostitution ads (total of 775 ads for all cities). None of the ads for sex/prostitution had any license information (massage or escort) from any city. Of the 775 ads for sex/prostitution, using the matrices under development through exploring both the text of the ad and the photo information, we identified potential sex trafficking victims in 166 ads, which made up 21.4% of the total number of sex/prostitution ads for all five cities. Of those 166 potential trafficking victim ads, 48 (28.9%) were identified as potential minors.

Page 5:

The scope of the sex/prostitution ads for five cities during a 12-hour period was overwhelming. Nearly 60% of the ads on Backpage.com Adult Entertainment Services were identified as selling sex/prostitution. Of those ads, more than 20% were identified by a trained research team (including experienced law enforcement) to be potential trafficking victims (adults and minors). …

We learned that classification of an ad as a potential adult sex trafficking victim or minor trafficking victim required the analysis of both the text of the ad and the photograph as there was rich data found in both. Without combining the information from both, many ads would have been missed.

Page 6: “From 12:01am–12pm on November 1, 2012 a TOTAL of 1332 Adult Entertainment ads were analyzed for each city.”

[113] The study was conducted March 6–7, 2013 and included reports published from February 8th through March 8th.

[114] Article: “Federal Judge Hands Down 40-Year Sentence in Human Trafficking Case.” Times-Picayune (Louisiana), February 7, 2013. <www.nola.com>

A 30-year-old Orlando, Fla., man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for enticing a 14-year-old girl into prostitution by convincing her she was his girlfriend and plying her with alcohol, Ecstasy and other drugs. According to U.S. Attorney Dana Boente’s office, Benson December “Haiti” Coriolant’s conviction was the first for human sex trafficking in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

He schooled her on what to charge, how to draw business—in part through the backpage.com website—how to steer clear of law enforcement and how to perform sexual acts, federal prosecutors said.

[115] Article: “Juvenile Victims Testify in Sex Trafficking Case.” Argus Leader (South Dakota), February 7, 2013. <www.argusleader.com>

[116] Article: “Two Arrested in Child Prostitution Ring.” By Clay Morgan and Scott Broden. DNJ.com (Tennessee), February 12, 2013. <www.dnj.com>

[117] Article: “12 Investigates: Sex Trafficking in Virginia.” By Rachel DePompa. WWBT NBC12 (Virginia), February 12, 2013. <www.nbc12.com>

According to court documents, managers at a pretty nice hotel on Paragon Place in Henrico County got suspicious and called police. Detectives Googled the phone number used to register the room, and sure enough—it was linked to dozens of escort ads online. They were advertising on backpage.com. On the site, we found countless ads selling sex in Richmond. Inside room 202—a man and two women were prostituting a 13-year-old runaway from Miami. In just 5 days, she'd seen 15 clients in Richmond.

[118] Article: “Clayton Woman Charged with Trafficking Teens for Sex.” By Marcus K. Garner. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 14, 2013. <www.ajc.com>

A Jonesboro woman is in jail for allegedly prostituting minors, authorities said. GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] agents arrested Jessica M. Washington on Wednesday and accused her of prostituting a pair of teens from her apartment on Upper Riverdale Road. The teens were allowed to come and go as they pleased, but were forced to have sex with Washington’s customers—men who responded to online ads on Craig’s List and backpage.com—to earn food, shelter and clothing.

[119] Article: “UPDATE: Child Sex Trafficking: A Parent’s Worst Nightmare.” WSAW NewsChannel 7 (Wisconsin), February 19, 2013. <www.wsaw.com>

[120] Article: “Couple Used Backpage.com to Pimp 15-Year-Old Girl, Say Federal Prosecutors.” By Brett Clarkson. Sun Sentinel (Florida), February 22, 2013. <articles.sun-sentinel.com>

The girl told FBI agents that when she was 15, she worked as a prostitute for D and his girlfriend, whom she knew only as Tara. It was the summer of 2011 and the girl had a client base of 10 to 15 johns that she would service at hotels in Palm Beach County. These were the first important building blocks of a federal child-sex-trafficking case that would culminate this week with the arrest of Dontavious Mingel Blake and Tara Jo Moore, according to a complaint unsealed Friday in the West Palm Beach federal courthouse. … According to the complaint, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a tip to FBI agents in July 2012. The tip reported that an ad on the online classified site Backpage.com featured a girl under the age of 18 and listed a Miami phone number.

[121] Article: “St. Albans Couple Charged with Sex-Trafficking.” By Rich Bockmann. Times Ledger (New York), February 22, 2013. <www.timesledger.com>

A foreclosed home in St. Albans was a house of horrors for two young women who were kidnapped, beaten and forced into prostitution allegedly by a man who picked them up off the street by posing as a john, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. … Aided by his girlfriend, 22-year-old Darcell Marshall, [Hikeem] Green allegedly imprisoned the two inside a vacant home on Springfield Boulevard for two months late last year, posting photographs of them on the controversial website backpage.com.

[122] Article: “Accused Pimp From Edison Charged with Human Trafficking in High-Priced Prostitution Ring.” MyCentralJersey.com (New Jersey), February 28, 2013. <www.mycentraljersey.com>

[123] Article: “4-State Sex Trafficking Web Included Bellevue Apartment Building.” KIRO 7 Eyewitness News (Seattle), March 4, 2013. <www.kiro7.com>

Women were lured from Asia and forced into prostitution in Arizona, Illinois, Virginia and Washington, according to a federal indictment. Some of the women allegedly worked as prostitutes inside a Bellevue apartment building. According to court documents, undercover officers were directed to the Amli apartment complex, across from Bellevue Downtown Park, after following up on an ad for “sexy Asian women” in the “Body Rub” section of backpage.com. When an officer arrived at the apartment building, he was met by a woman who said she was from Thailand and offered sex for money.

[124] Article: “Two North Texans Charged with Sex Trafficking Appear in Federal Court.” By Tristan Hallman. Dallas Morning News, March 5, 2013. <www.dallasnews.com>

“North Texans Deundrea R. Miller, 27, and Brittainie Brattain, 21, are charged with felony sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion. The U.S. Attorney’s office claims Miller and Brattain enticed the 15-year-old and then sold her into prostitution via Backpage.com numerous times between September 2012 and January 2013. Miller allegedly collected all the money.”

[125] Article: “Two Men Seek Trial in Grand Forks Trafficking Case.” By Stephen J. Lee. Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), March 5, 2013. <www.grandforksherald.com>

Two men charged last year with the first human trafficking cases in Grand Forks say they want to go to trial on the charges that could put them in prison for life, one of them going back on an earlier plea deal. Meredith Larson, the assistant state’s attorney prosecuting him … said they pimped a 17-year-old girl to several men in Grand Forks motels and residences in early 2011. Larson said Harry advertised the girl, using photos of her unclothed, on the well-known website, <www.backpage.com.>

[126] Article: “Village Voice Backpage Breakup: Newspaper Chain To Split From Controversial Ad Site.” By Chris Francescani and Nadia Damouni. Reuters, September 24, 2012. <www.huffingtonpost.com>

Village Voice Media (VVM) will split off from its controversial Backpage.com online advertising site and create a new company for its struggling chain of alternative weekly newspapers and websites, VVM president Scott Tobias said. …

Under the new plan, current Village Voice Media controlling shareholders Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin will operate Backpage.com independently, as a separate entity. …

Initial funding for Voice Media Group, which will be based in Denver, Colorado, has been raised through private investors, Tobias said, declining to discuss financing of the new venture any more specifically. He acknowledged that the campaign to pressure VVM advertisers had impacted the company. …

In April, the drug company Pfizer agreed to remove its advertising from VVM’s flagship publication, the Village Voice, after pressure from activists who contacted advertisers directly about Backpage’s adult content. …

American Airlines, Best Buy, AT&T, Ikea, H&M, IHOP, Macy’s and the Miami Dolphins professional football team have all stopped advertising in VVM publications in recent months.

[127] Article: “Phoenix New Times Founders Selling Company: Parent Company Being Sold to Group of Its Employees.” By Michael Kiefer. Arizona Republic, September 23, 2012. <www.azcentral.com>

Village Voice Media owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin announced Sunday night that they have agreed to sell their company, which owns alternative weeklies from Los Angeles to New York City, to a newly created company owned by a group of the papers’ editors and publishers. …

Lacey and Scott Tobias, chief executive officer of the new company, Voice Media Group, would not disclose the sales price or or [sic] other terms of the deal. An agreement is in place but will be finalized at a later date, said Liz McDougall, attorney for Village Voice Media. …

The decision to sell ownership of the weeklies, Lacey said, came out of the difficulty in managing their company’s news operations while fighting the legal battles involving Backpage.com. …

[128] Article: “Village Voice Media: ‘Absolutely No’ Ongoing Relationship Between Alt-Weeklies and Backpage.com, Financial or Otherwise.” By Joe Pompeo. Capital (New York), September 24, 2012. <www.politico.com>

The group of Village Voice Media executives who have formed a new holding company to acquire the chain’s 13 weekly newspapers, thus severing their association with the controversy-clouded classified website Backpage.com, would not disclose the terms of the sale or name any of the private investors behind the newly-formed Voice Media Group. …

… McDougall, who did not respond to a request for comment Monday morning, wasn’t able to reverse the tidal wave of outrage that social-justice activists set off through a combination of aggressive P.R., grass-roots protests and direct communication with major brands like H&M, IKEA and AT&T, which are among dozens that pulled out of Village Voice Media.

[129] Article: “Backpage to Become Standalone Business; 13 Alternative Weeklies to Spin Off.” By Peter M. Zollman. AIM Group, September 24, 2012. <aimgroup.com>

“The 13 alternative weeklies will be owned by a new company, Voice Media Group. Scott Tobias, president and CEO of Village Voice Media, is becoming CEO of the spinoff company, which will be based in Denver. It will own the Village Voice, Westword in Denver, New Times in Miami, Broward County, Fla., and Phoenix; Houston Press, the Observer in Dallas, and several other weeklies.”

[130] Article: “Denver Group Buying Westword and Other Village Voice Weeklies.” By Howard Pankratz. Denver Post, September 24, 2012. <www.denverpost.com>

“Voice Media Group, a privately held media company, will own and operate 13 weekly newspapers including Denver’s Westword; the Village Voice In New York; LA Weekly in Los Angeles; the New Times in Phoenix; the Houston Press and the SF Weekly in San Francisco.”

[131] Article: “A Lurid Journey Through Backpage.Com.” By Deborah Feyerick and Sheila Steffen. CNN, May 10, 2012. <thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com>

There is now a major effort to shut down the adult section on Backpage.com. Major brands such as H&M, IKEA and Barnes & Noble recently pulled ads from publications owned by Backpage.com parent company Village Voice Media. Prominent musicians including Alicia Keys, members of REM, the Roots Alabama Shakes and others signed a petition to stop the sex ads.

That’s in addition to 600 religious leaders, 51 attorneys general, 19 U.S. senators, more than 50 NGOs [non-government organizations] and 230,000 individuals.

[132] Press release: “Justice Department Leads Effort to Seize Backpage.com, the Internet’s Leading Forum for Prostitution Ads, and Obtains 93-Count Federal Indictment.” U.S. Department of Justice, April 9, 2018. <www.justice.gov>

The Justice Department today announced the seizure of Backpage.com, the Internet’s leading forum for prostitution ads, including ads depicting the prostitution of children. Additionally, seven individuals have been charged in a 93-count federal indictment with the crimes of conspiracy to facilitate prostitution using a facility in interstate or foreign commerce, facilitating prostitution using a facility in interstate or foreign commerce, conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment money laundering, international promotional money laundering, and transactional money laundering.

The seven defendants charged in the indictment are Michael Lacey, 69, of Paradise Valley, Arizona; James Larkin, 68, of Paradise Valley, Arizona; Scott Spear, 67, of Scottsdale, Arizona; John E. “Jed” Brunst, 66, of Phoenix, Arizona; Daniel Hyer, 49, of Dallas, Texas; Andrew Padilla, 45, of Plano, Texas and Jaala Joye Vaught, 37, of Addison, Texas.

[133] Report: “Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions.” U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 21, 2021. <www.gao.gov>

Pages 13–14:

Figure 2: Federal Criminal Cases Brought against Those Who Control Platforms in the Online Commercial Sex Market from 2014 through 2020 … Backpage.com … 3 Criminal cases … 8 Individual defendants … 6 Total organizational defendants … Common charges brought: Racketeering – 2 cases (18 U.S.C. § 1952), Money laundering – 3 cases (18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957) … All 3 cases filed in spring of 2018, all cases pending … Assets seized and/or subject to potential forfeiture: Between $69.5 and $75.8 million in 70 accounts; unknown amount of funds in 53 accounts …

As shown by figure 2, cases brought against those who controlled backpage.com have significantly more organizational defendants (e.g. corporations) and associated assets than cases brought against those who controlled all other platforms combined. This highlights the market dominance backpage.com held until it was seized in April 2018. The figure also shows that federal prosecutors have largely used racketeering and money laundering statutes to hold those who control these platforms accountable.26

[134] Webpage: “Craig Newmark.” Craigslist. Accessed February 20, 2019 at <www.craigslist.org>

“Craig Newmark is a self-described nerd, pioneer of the Web, speaker, philanthropist, and a strong advocate of the use of technology for the public good. In 1995 he founded craigslist, which has become a leading classifieds service and one of the world’s most-visited websites with around 50 billion pages views per month.”

[135] Webpage: “Factsheet.” Craigslist, November 16, 2012. <www.craigslist.org>

Q: What is craigslist?

A: Local classifieds and forums—community moderated, and largely free. …

Q: How does craigslist support its operations?

A: Posting fees for jobs in 28 metro areas, brokered NYC apartments, and therapeutic services in the United States.

[136] Article: “Craigslist’s Dirty Little Secret.” By Stephen Bagg. Compete Pulse, April 5, 2007. <blog.compete.com>

“Analysis of eight major American cities shows erotic services consistently garners the highest number of individual visitors for February—almost always twice as many as the next ranking category, averaging 265,000 people per city.”

[137] Article: “Craigslist to Require Phone Number, Credit Card for ‘Erotic Services’ Ads.” Associated Press, November 7, 2008. <www.foxnews.com>

Under the watchful eye of law enforcement in 40 states, Craigslist pledged Thursday to crack down on ads for prostitution on its Web sites.

As part of Craigslist’s agreement with attorneys general around the country, anyone who posts an “erotic services” ad will be required to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The Web site will provide that information to law enforcement if subpoenaed. …

Buckmaster [Craigslist’s president] said the agreement does not cover Craigslist’s personal ads, where prostitutes have been found advertising for “dates.”

[138] Article: “Craigslist Confirms ‘Erotic Services’ Shutdown.” By Chloe Albanesius. PC Magazine, May 13, 2009. <www.pcmag.com>

“Craigslist donated 100 percent of the net revenue from Erotic Services to charity….”

[139] Article: “Recklessly Seeking Sex on Craigslist.” By Douglas Quenqua. New York Times, April 17, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

Craigslist reached an agreement last year with state attorneys general to charge a $5 fee and require a phone number for people posting “erotic services.” A company statement said the move led to an immediate 80 percent drop in postings to that section. …

Casual Encounters users say those people have simply resurfaced on their turf. “What that’s done is made Casual Encounters just one big free-for-all, and like one ugly market,” Michael said.

[140] Article: “Under Pressure, Craigslist to Remove ‘Erotic’ Ads.” By Brad Stone. New York Times, May 14, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

Last year, Craigslist took several measures to curb sex ads on the site. In November, as part of negotiations with 40 state attorneys general, it said it would start charging for erotic services ads and require advertisers to use a credit card for payment, theoretically allowing the company or authorities to track users down.

But state investigators said the provision proved to be inadequate, as erotic services advertisers simply used fake credit cards or untraceable debit cards.

[141] Article: “Craigslist Confirms ‘Erotic Services’ Shutdown.” By Chloe Albanesius. PC Magazine, May 13, 2009. <www.pcmag.com>

Craigslist on Wednesday confirmed that it will jettison its “Erotic Services” section in favor of a new, monitored “Adult Services” section. …

All posts made to the new adult section will be reviewed by Craigslist staff before being placed live on the site. Each ad will cost $10, and cannot be edited once it is accepted. Craigslist will soon allow users to re-post the same ad for $5. …

Craigslist donated 100 percent of the net revenue from Erotic Services to charity, but “in light of today’s changes, and to avoid any future misunderstanding, we are making no representation regarding how revenue from the ‘adult services’ category will be used,” the company concluded.

[142] Article: “Craigslist’s Statement About Closing Erotic Services.” By Greg Sandoval. CNET, May 13, 2009. <www.cnet.com>

Craigslist, the online classifieds publication much loved by users for declining to charge a fee for most of its services, issued a statement Wednesday about the closing of its “erotic services” section and the opening of a new “adult services” section:

… As of today for all US craigslist sites, postings to the “erotic services” category will no longer be accepted, and in 7 days the category will be removed.

Also effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled “adult services” will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.

[143] Article: “Under Pressure, Craigslist to Remove ‘Erotic’ Ads.” By Brad Stone. New York Times, May 14, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

Craigslist, the Web’s largest classified advertising site, said on Wednesday that it would close its erotic services category, which critics have said is a forum that fosters prostitution and other illegal activities. …

Craigslist has been under increasing pressure from officials in several states, as violent crimes involving people who had made contact through the site made national headlines. …

He said Craigslist, which is based in San Francisco and has 30 employees, would hire enough new employees to be able to review adult services ads for indications of violations of the site’s terms of service, which prohibit sexually explicit images and offers of sex for money, among other things.

[144] Blog post: “Sad State of Affairs at the New York Times.” By Jim Buckmaster (Craigslist’s president). Craigslist, April 28, 2010. <blog.craigslist.org>

Each ad submitted to “adult services” on CL [Craigslist] is manually screened by one or more human reviewers. Ads that “blatantly advertise prostitution” are summarily rejected. …

Here’s an ad [on Backpage.com] with photos (NSFW) [not suitable for work] of bare genitalia (CL reviewers reject ads with nude pictures), describing specific sex acts offered (CL reviewers reject ads with sexual language or code words): ….

[145] Article: “Craigslist Comes Clean: No More ‘Adult Services,’ Ever.” By Michael A. Lindenberger. Time, September 16, 2010. <content.time.com>

“Though federal law protects Craigslist against liability for what its users post, it has been criticized by state attorneys general and advocacy groups who say the site has the responsibility to fight sex trafficking and other sex crimes. On Aug. 24, 17 attorneys general sent Craigslist a letter demanding that it close the sex-related section.”

[146] Article: “Craigslist Stops Offering Links to ‘Adult Services’ Ads.” By David A. Fahrenthold. Washington Post, September 4, 2010. <www.washingtonpost.com>

One of the world’s biggest providers of Internet classified advertising abruptly shut down the “adult services” section of its U.S. Web sites this weekend, apparently in response to criticism from prosecutors that it had become a tool for prostitution. …

On Craigslist sites in other nations, the “erotic” sections remained open. …

Most of the site’s ads can be placed for free. But “adult” ads cost $10 apiece, and there are enough of them to bring in about $36 million in revenue estimated early this year—about a third of the company’s total—according to a recent analysis by the Advanced Interactive Media Group. …

Last year, Craigslist responded to criticism by closing down its “erotic services” section, and opening up a new one, “adult services.”

[147] Article: “Village Voice Backpage Breakup: Newspaper Chain To Split From Controversial Ad Site.” By Chris Francescani and Nadia Damouni. Reuters, September 24, 2012. <www.huffingtonpost.com>

“In the fall of 2010, public pressure from anti-trafficking activists, politicians and law enforcement officials led the all-purpose online classifieds website Craigslist to shutter its lucrative adult section. Much of that adult advertising has since moved to Backpage.com.”

[148] Report: “Backpage Rebound Leads to Record Month for Prostitution Ad Revenue.” AIM Group, February 28, 2013. <aimgroup.com>

The 12-month total is still less than the estimated $44.6 million a year that Craigslist was making from prostitution ads before it stopped selling adult services ads in September 2010. …

The AIM Group, an interactive-media consultancy based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., has tracked revenue on Craigslist since 2004 and began tracking Craigslist’s prostitution-ad revenue in 2009, when the site first began charging for adult-services ads.

[149] Article: “Recklessly Seeking Sex on Craigslist.” By Douglas Quenqua. New York Times, April 17, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

The [casual encounters] section [of Craigslist] was introduced in late 2000 and is available in all cities served by Craigslist, for users gay and straight, male and female. The ads range from prim to raunchy; a good number of people include photographs of precisely what they have to offer. (The site has a policy against posting pornographic pictures, but it does not seem to be enforced very vigorously.) …

Men willing to pay for sex often disguise their intent slightly by using “roses” as code for money, as in, “I have 100 roses for someone willing to spend the afternoon with me.”

[150] All of the ads were posted to the “New York,” “Personals,” “Casual Encounters” section of craigslist.org on March 8, 2013 from 10:26 PM to 10:28 PM EST:

First ad: “I’ll be sure to take you to those heights you’ve always dreamed of reaching. From Back Rubs to Sinful Intimate Chills. U can bet your bottom dollar you’ll be GUARANTEED PURE SATISFACTION.”

Seventh ad: “YOU SEE ME and I know you DESIRE me I am your ultimate fantasy come true. I am upscale and VERY discreet …. If you are selective in your taste …. Then your just a phone call away from a memorable experience. I grant all your wishful desires and fantasies, excitement, erotic fetishes, and so much more! … generousgentlemenonly”

[151] The study was conducted March 9, 2013 and included reports published from February 7th through March 8th.

[152] Article: “Randall Gets Another 60 Years in Franklin County.” By Jessica Kokesh. KearneyHub.com (Nebraska), February 8, 2013. <www.kearneyhub.com>

Michelle Randall on Thursday was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for nine charges relating to the prostitution of two underage girls. …

According to available Franklin County District Court documents, on Feb. 18, 2011, Randall forced a 14-year-old girl into a situation in which she was sexually abused and generated sexually explicit content involving the minor. …

Police learned that Randall was prostituting the girl after Randall posted a personal ad on craigslist. After she was arrested, Nebraska State Patrol investigators obtained a search warrant for Randall’s home, her computers and other electronics.

Her phone contained pornographic pictures of 14- and 7-year-old children. The investigation revealed Randall had arranged numerous sexual acts with the two children in several counties….

[153] Article: “Clayton Woman Charged with Trafficking Teens for Sex.” By Marcus K. Garner. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 14, 2013. <www.ajc.com>

A Jonesboro woman is in jail for allegedly prostituting minors, authorities said. GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] agents arrested Jessica M. Washington on Wednesday and accused her of prostituting a pair of teens from her apartment on Upper Riverdale Road. …

She has been charged with prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, trafficking persons for labor or servitude, pandering and enticing minors for indecent purposes, according to Clayton County court records. …

The teens were allowed to come and go as they pleased, but were forced to have sex with Washington’s customers—men who responded to online ads on Craig’s List and backpage.com—to earn food, shelter and clothing.

[154] Article: “23 New Charges for Man Accused of Offering Toddler for Sex on Craigslist.” By Jamie Grey. KTVB News (Idaho), February 15, 2013. <www.ktvb.com>

A Boise man accused of attempting to prostitute a toddler on Craigslist is now facing 23 federal charges after a grand jury indicted him this week. The U.S. Attorney's Office says 40-year-old Jason Lloyd Schaber is accused of offering a 3-year-old for sex on Craigslist. For that allegation, Schaber is now charged with using the Internet to aid in sex trafficking of a child. …

In this case, court documents show the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Schaber after a citizen saw the ad on Criagslist and contacted Boise Police.

[155] Webpage: “Innocence Lost.” Federal Bureau of Investigation. Accessed January 5, 2013 at <www.fbi.gov>

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative. Their combined efforts were aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.

In the nine years since its inception, the initiative has resulted in the development of 47 dedicated task forces and working groups throughout the U.S. involving federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working in tandem with U.S. Attorney’s Offices.

To date, these groups have worked successfully to rescue more than 2,100 children. Investigations have successfully led to the conviction of over 1,000 pimps, madams, and their associates who exploit children through prostitution. These convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple life sentences and the seizure of real property, vehicles, and monetary assets.

Major Cases

• Sixty-Nine Children Rescued During Operation Cross Country V

• More Than 50 Children Rescued During Operation Cross Country IV

• 48 Children Recovered in Operation Cross Country III

• 47 Children Rescued in Operation Cross Country II | Video

• 389 Arrested in Operation Cross Country | Background | Press Release

• National Crackdown IDs 30 Child Victims (12/05)

• More Cases

[156] Article: “Operation Independence Day.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, August 6, 2019. <www.fbi.gov>

The initiative during the month of July, dubbed Operation Independence Day, relied on more than 400 law enforcement agencies working on FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces in each of the Bureau’s 56 field offices. The sweep included undercover operations and has led to the opening of five dozen federal criminal investigations. Agents and analysts at FBI Headquarters and in the field worked closely with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to identify young runaways, missing kids, and juveniles who may have been subjected to human trafficking. …

The FBI and NCMEC, along with the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative in 2003 to combat sex trafficking of children in the U.S. Today, the initiative includes 86 Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces that work year-round on efforts like those conducted during Operation Independence Day. To date, the collaboration has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims and more than 2,700 criminal convictions of traffickers. …

Recovered: By “recovered,” the FBI is referring to the removal of the child from ongoing, continued victimization. The FBI works with victim specialists at the FBI and with our partners to ensure the child victim is placed in a safe environment and their immediate and long-term needs are addressed.

Identified: An individual “identified” as a victim of sex trafficking is one who may not currently be in a sex trafficking situation, but one who has been victimized in the past or whose prior victimization is unknown, or someone who is being trafficked, but is afraid to disclose that information to law enforcement. Child victims identified as at-risk of being subjected to sex trafficking are identified by our operational team and provided the same victim assistance and resources as those child victims recovered from active situations.

[157] Article: “San Francisco Is A Major Center For International Crime Networks That Smuggle And Enslave.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 2006. <www.sfgate.com>

“Our undercover officers arrest women for prostitution weekly in the massage parlors,” said [Tim] Hettrich of the San Francisco vice unit. “We let her know if she cooperates with us, she won’t go to jail. But she is more afraid of her traffickers than us.”

Women are scared for good reason. Those who have become witnesses have been burned with acid, have disappeared, or have had their homes ransacked and their families harmed or threatened in their home countries, said Dong Shim Kim, head counselor at Du Re Bang (My Sister’s Place), a shelter for sex trafficking victims in South Korea.

[158] Article: “Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Called ‘Epidemic’.” By Chuck Neubauer. Washington Times, April 23, 2011. <www.washingtontimes.com>

[Per] Maryland task force members Amanda Walker-Rodriguez and Rodney Hill, Baltimore County prosecutors … “These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly. The captives are so afraid and intimidated that they rarely speak out against their traffickers, even when faced with an opportunity to escape.”

[159] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page vi:

Arrest and prosecution of the traffickers is too frequently based solely on the victim’s cooperation and testimony. This approach places the burden on the victim rather than on the investigators—a burden that is most often too heavy for these traumatized children who typically require a lengthy amount of time before they will disclose the facts of their victimization and only if approached with advanced interview techniques to help them with this disclosure.

Page 13: “One study done on child sexual exploitation cases from 1998 to 2005 found prosecutors tended to plea bargain the CSEC [commercial sexual exploitation of children] cases to avoid putting the child victim through the trial.”

[160] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 31:

Pimps, who are commercial sex traffickers,58 manipulate children into a life of prostitution and then use physical and emotional abuse to keep their victims trapped in that way of life. …

58 Criminals who commit the crimes discussed in this section can be referred to as “commercial sex traffickers” or as “pimps.” While some believe that the term “pimp” often is used by commercial sex traffickers as a favorable street title for someone who can procure sex for sale and thus should not be used, we use the term as it is commonly known and highlights that these offenders profit by the victimization of children through prostitution.

Page 32:

After the child has gained an emotional and psychological attachment to the pimp, he introduces the idea of prostitution to her59 as something she can do to contribute financially to their “street family.”

After the child has been manipulated into a relationship with the pimp, the pimp begins training or “seasoning” her by normalizing the life of prostitution and making her completely dependent on him. The child may be given a sexual education or be exposed to pornography to desensitize her to sexual images and terms. To solidify his control, the pimp or someone acting at his direction, will beat, torture, or starve the child60 to force her into obedience. Some pimps use alcohol or drugs to control their victims. To manipulate the child, the pimp also uses emotional tactics such as renaming her to break down her identity and telling her that she has no value except as a prostitute. The pimp also separates the child from biological family and friends as well as anything familiar. Additionally, the pimp keeps all of the profit earned by the child and delivers violent punishment if the child withholds any money. The pimp uses a combination of praise and abuse that causes the child to constantly work for his affection. The child becomes completely dependent on the pimp for food, clothing, shelter, and attention. The pimp’s control often is so complete that victims are incapable of leaving.

[161] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Pages 44–45:

[T]raffickers/pimps usually give minors a new name, brand them with their own symbol or name (e.g., tattoos), hold “family meetings,” and make the victims call him “daddy.” This verbal manipulation is compounded with physical violence, and while many victims are told that they have the option to leave, they are too scared and dependent—psychologically, physically, emotionally, and financially—on the trafficker/pimp to venture from his control.

[162] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 43:

The bond between a victim and her trafficker/pimp is referred to as a “trauma bond.” Trauma bonds are a major hurdle to the identification, rescue, and restoration of the domestic minor sex trafficking victim as the symptoms include failure to self-identify, returning to the trafficker/pimp, and other discouraging reactions. Dr. Patrick Carnes, an expert on trauma bonds, explains, “This [traumatic bonding] means that the victims have a certain dysfunctional attachment that occurs in the presence of danger, shame, or exploitation. There is often seduction, deception, or betrayal. There is always some form of danger or risk.”126 The extent and level of control exerted by a trafficker through trauma bonds is not yet totally understood and more research on trauma bonds is needed as it pertains to domestic minor sex trafficking.127 What is known, however, is that there are both biological and psychological reasons that trauma bonds exist.

126 Carnes, Dr. Patrick J. (1997), The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships, (Deerfield Beach, FL: HCI Publisher), pg. 29.

127 Kennedy and Pucci, “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report—Las Vegas, Nevada,” pg. 119.

[163] Article: “Bonding with a Captor: Why Jaycee Dugard Didn’t Flee.” By Clara Moskowitz. Live Science, August 31, 2009. <www.livescience.com>

Experts say it’s actually not very surprising that Dugard developed a bond with her captor, and that she did not try to escape sooner. In numerous past cases, kidnapping and hostage victims have come to sympathize with their abductors. …

The phenomenon is called Stockholm syndrome, after a 1972 bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, where bank employees held hostage for six days ultimately bonded with their captors. In that case the hostages resisted rescue, refused to testify against the robbers and even raised money for their legal defense. …

One reason people may develop sympathy for their captors is a psychological idea called cognitive dissonance: When people recognize inconsistent views within themselves, they tend to alter their thinking to remove the conflict. …

“Imagine you’ve been kidnapped and are in a situation of genuine threat and terror,” [psychologist Paul G.] Mattiuzzi explained in an e-mail. “In order to survive, you have to act compliant or act nice to your captor. There will be a tendency in your mind to achieve consistency: I’m acting nice to this person because they are nice.”

[164] Article: “Stockholm Syndrome.” Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Gale, 2008. <medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com>

Stockholm syndrome refers to a group of psychological symptoms that occur in some persons in a captive or hostage situation. …

Stockholm syndrome is considered a complex reaction to a frightening situation, and experts do not agree completely on all of its characteristic features or on the factors that make some people more susceptible than others to developing it. … Many researchers believe that Stockholm syndrome helps to explain certain behaviors of survivors of World War II concentration camps; members of religious cults; battered wives; incest survivors; and physically or emotionally abused children as well as persons taken hostage by criminals or terrorists.

[165] “Trafficking in Persons Report.” U.S. Department of State, June 2020. <www.state.gov>

Page 20:

In human trafficking cases, the relationship between victim and trafficker may involve trauma bonding, a phenomenon that is beginning to receive increased attention. In research on the topic, trauma bonding is commonly referred to as “Stockholm Syndrome,” and the terms may be used interchangeably. …

Although definitions vary, the most common meaning of trauma bonding is when a trafficker uses rewards and punishments within cycles of abuse to foster a powerful emotional connection with the victim. Traffickers may take on a role of protector to maintain control of the victim, create confusion, and develop a connection or attachment, which may include the victim feeling a sense of loyalty to or love for the trafficker. This connection, or traumatic bond, becomes especially intense when fear of the trafficker is paired with gratitude for any kindness shown. …

Psychological coercion may increase the likelihood of trauma bonding. When a victim perceives a threat to their physical and psychological survival at the hands of their trafficker, trauma bonding may occur. Traffickers may isolate and threaten victims, induce exhaustion, and interfere with their believed or real ability to escape. A victim may eventually feel helpless and respond to any form of “help” or “kindness” from their trafficker with gratitude and attachment in order to survive.

[166] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August, 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 34:

Clients of child victims of prostitution are, in fact, child sex offenders; however, this form of child sexual exploitation often goes unpunished. In fact, the exploited child victim of prostitution is much more likely to be arrested for prostitution offenses than is the offender. For example, a 2005 study for Congress showed that in Boston, 11 female prostitutes (adult and child) were arrested for each male client arrest; in Chicago, the ratio was 9 to 1; and, in New York City, the ratio was 6 to 1. Part of the disproportionate arrest ratios are attributed to misinformation provided to officers by the children; that is, the children will represent themselves to be adults, and may provide false identification.

[167] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Pages iv–v:

Acknowledging that strategic responses to sex trafficking require comprehensive understanding of the local situation, Shared Hope International aligned with the U.S. Department of Justice-funded human trafficking task forces to assess domestic minor sex trafficking and the access to victim services in ten U.S. locations:

1. Dallas, TX

2. San Antonio, TX

3. Fort Worth, TX

4. Salt Lake City, UT

5. Buffalo, NY

6. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA

7. Independence, MO

8. Las Vegas, NV

9. Clearwater, FL

10. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territory)

… Seven professional groups were identified as likely to come into contact with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking and targeted for interviews: Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement; Federal and State Prosecutors; Juvenile Court; Juvenile Probation and Detention; Public Defenders; Child Protective Services; and Social Services/Non-Governmental Organizations. A total of 297 interviews were conducted. Statistics were requested but were not always available. In many cases, statistics provided did not disaggregate data on domestic minor sex trafficking—a term and crime most interviewees were not familiar with yet; in these cases the statistics were reviewed for extrapolation in determining numbers of suspected domestic minor sex trafficking victims. … The reliance on extrapolated data reflects the glaring lack of identification of domestic minor sex trafficking victims and highlights the need for training as well as data collection on this victim population.

… The findings from the 10 site assessments, research studies, and field work are the foundation for this National Report on the Identification and Response to America’s Trafficked Youth. Substantiation of the findings was gained through Shared Hope International’s National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth held September 15–16, 2008, in Dallas, Texas, which brought together nearly 200 first responders from across the nation to share their experiences and best practices for responding to domestic minor sex trafficking.

Page 13:

Further complicating the situation, when cases of domestic minor sex trafficking are mislabeled as prostitution of minors, then traditional state pimping and pandering laws are often used. These laws can have significantly lower punishments. For example, in Salt Lake City, plea deals with traffickers/pimps of minors varied but the average length of a sentence was just six months.35

35 Snow, Melissa. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report—Salt Lake City, Utah (Shared Hope International: August 2008), pg. 79.

Page 22: “[M]any local law enforcement agencies report they have never pursued federal charges in cases involving the buyer in a domestic minor sex trafficking case. This was noted to be a result of lack of knowledge of the federal law, lack of communication between local and federal agencies, and/or lack of evidence sufficient to prove sex trafficking.”

Page 62:

In all locations assessed, Shared Hope International found a profound lack of awareness of human trafficking as a crime among professionals within government, social services, and law enforcement, as well as in the general public. Most professionals interviewed—from law enforcement to social service providers—had little or no knowledge of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). For example, only three of 25 interviewees from 17 professions likely to come in contact with domestic minor sex trafficking victims or at-risk youth in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area were familiar with the TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations, and only two professionals of 25 interviewees were aware that an anti-trafficking law had been added to the Louisiana Criminal Code in 2005.173 In Atlanta, six roundtables organized for professionals, including superior court judges, revealed that not a single person knew that there was a human trafficking law that existed.174

173 Bayhi-Genarro, “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report—Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana,” pg. 3. 174 Remarks by K. McCullough. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth. Transcript on file with authors.

174 Remarks by K. McCullough. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth. Transcript on file with authors.

[168] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August, 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 34: “Pimps typically provide child victims of prostitution with false identification that indicates an adult age and the pimps instruct the children to lie about their ages if arrested.”

[169] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 5: “If the victim is underage, the trafficker will often provide the victim with a false name and date of birth to use if encountered by authorities.”

[170] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page v:

Victims of domestic minor sex trafficking are frequently processed as juvenile delinquents or adult prostitutes. Prostituted juveniles are trained by their trafficker/pimp to lie to authorities and are provided with excellent fraudulent identification resulting in their registration in the arrest records as an adult—an identification that follows them through their years as a minor unless and until it is corrected by the insight of a law enforcement officer who recognizes the victim is a minor and pursues a correct identification. Law enforcement cited this problem as a barrier to identifying a child sex trafficking victim.

[171] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Pages 38–39:

Additionally, traffickers systematically utilize recruitment tactics that distance them from the risk of detection and prosecution by law enforcement. Traffickers use “bottom girls,” who manage the details of the other girls’ exploitation. The process of “sending girls on automatic” allows the trafficker/pimp to keep distant from the crime he is committing.120 Traffickers maintain a careful distance even from their victims, using street names so the girls never know their real names. A victim’s arrest reinforces what the pimp has taught her about distrusting authorities, and, due to the pimp’s careful secrecy and anonymity, she is both unable and unwilling to provide the level of information law enforcement requires to pursue an investigation. These same tactics exacerbate a potential victim’s vulnerable state and protect the trafficker. …

… The goals of traffickers are three-fold: keep the victim under control; make money; and lower the child’s credibility in the eyes of law enforcement and the community so she is not believed when disclosing information about the exploitation.

[172] Report: “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.” By Kristin M. Finklea, Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, and Alison Siskin. Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2015. <fas.org>

Page 2 (of PDF):

Several agencies have programs or administer grants to other entities to provide specific services to trafficking victims. Despite language that authorizes services for citizen, lawful permanent resident, and noncitizen victims, appropriations for trafficking victims’ services have primarily been used to serve noncitizen victims. U.S. citizen victims are also eligible for certain crime victim benefits and public benefit entitlement programs, though these services are not tailored to trafficking victims. Of note, specialized services and support for minor victims of sex trafficking are limited. Organizations specializing in support for these victims may have fewer beds than might be needed to serve all victims. Other facilities, such as runaway and homeless youth shelters and foster care homes, may not be able to adequately meet the needs of victims or keep them from pimps/traffickers and other abusers.

Page 4:

Since its enactment in 2000, the TVPA [Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act] has been reauthorized four times—in 2003 (P.L. 108-193), 2006 (P.L. 109-164),23 2008 (P.L. 110-457), and 2013 (P.L. 113-4). Through reauthorizations in 2006, 2008, and 2013, Congress increased focus on U.S. citizen and LPR [lawful permanent resident] victims and authorized services specifically to address sex trafficking of children within the United States. In addition, Congress requested a report, through P.L. 110-457, detailing any differences in services provided to noncitizens and citizens.

In practice, services authorized through the TVPA for trafficking victims, which are provided primarily by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS), continue to aid primarily the noncitizen victim population.24 This may be a result of several factors. For one, while Congress has expanded authorized funding to include victim services for trafficking victims in the United States—irrespective of immigration status—appropriations for trafficking victims services simultaneously remained relatively stable since the TVPA passed in 2000 through FY2014. In other words, Congress has generally not appropriated additional funds for services that target a broader spectrum of victims that have been subsequently authorized.25 Further, appropriations have not specified which services should be funded, and program funding has been an administrative decision within DOJ and HHS.26 Exploring the adequacy of victim services for all victims of sex trafficking in the United States may be of interest for Congress if policy makers choose to exercise oversight regarding the implementation of TVPA grant programs.

Another issue Congress may consider is the lack of specialized support for minor victims of sex trafficking in the United States. Organizations in the United States that specialize in serving child victims of prostitution and other forms of sex trafficking collectively have limited housing and supportive services.27 Other facilities, such as runaway and homeless youth shelters as well as foster care homes, do not appear to be adequate for meeting the needs of victims or keeping them secure from pimps/traffickers and other abusers.28

23 The bill was passed by Congress in 2005, but was not signed into law until 2006. As such, P.L. 109-164 is often referred to as the 2005 reauthorization.

24 It appears that one program, DOJ Grants for Victim Services, has used funding specifically to serve U.S. citizen and LPR victims. See Appendix B for further information about services for noncitizen victims. See also CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report RL34317, “Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress,” by Alison Siskin and Liana Rosen. Other federal programs provide services to certain vulnerable populations such as children who have run away and/or are sexually exploited. These programs, described in Appendix C, do not target minor victims of sex trafficking per se but serve a broad population. …

26 Reportedly, in 2012, DOJ had a policy change which allows federal funding for victims services to support U.S. citizen trafficking victims as well as foreign national victims. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2013, p. 381.

[173] Commentary: “Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex.” By Nicholas D. Kristof. New York Times, April 18, 2012. <www.nytimes.com>

I met Brianna at Gateways, a treatment center for girls who have been sexually trafficked. It’s in Pleasantville, 35 miles north of New York City, on a sprawling estate overseen by the Jewish Child Care Association. Gateways is meant for girls ages 12 to 16, although it has accepted one who was just 11 years old. Virtually all the girls have been sold on Backpage, according to Lashauna Cutts, the center’s director.

Gateways has only 13 beds, and Cutts says that the need is so great that she could easily fill 1,300. “I have to turn away girls almost every day,” Cutts told me.

[174] Report: “Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions.” U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 21, 2021. <www.gao.gov>

Pages 14–15:

The seizure of backpage.com and enactment of FOSTA [Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017] occurred just 5 days apart in April 2018, and disrupted the landscape of the online commercial sex market. Because these events occurred so close together, it is not possible to trace changes to the market to one event or the other. Nevertheless, taken together, these events have led to the relocation of platforms overseas, fragmentation of the market, and increased use of hobby board and sugar dating platforms. In the wake of the events of April 2018, the controllers of many online platforms relocated their platforms overseas in an attempt to shield themselves from U.S. prosecution. More specifically, the controllers of many platforms in the online commercial sex market shut down or suspended operations in the United States while others moved their operations overseas, primarily to Europe, according to a July 2020 Polaris report and supported by a April 2019 childsafe.ai report.27 DOJ officials further clarified that many of those who control these platforms moved their web servers, web hosting services, and the registration of their domain names where prostitution is legal.28

27 Polaris and childsafe.ai are entities with expertise in this area. Polaris’s July 2020 report is titled: “Using an Anti-Money Laundering Framework to Address Sex Trafficking Facilitated by Commercial Sex Advertisement Websites.” … According to Polaris representatives, Polaris is a nonprofit organization and is leading a data-driven social justice movement to prevent and reduce sex and labor trafficking in the United States and Mexico. Since 2007, Polaris has operated the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a project that is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Childsafe.ai’s April 2019 report is titled: “Beyond Backpage: Buying and Selling Sex in the United States One Year Later.” Childsafe.ai is a software company that deploys machine learning and active collection networks to observe actors that buy and sell human beings online.

Pages 20–21:

The current landscape of the online commercial sex market heightens already-existing challenges law enforcement face in gathering tips and evidence. Specifically, gathering tips and evidence to investigate and prosecute those who control or use online platforms has become more difficult due to the relocation of platforms overseas; platforms’ use of complex payment systems; and the increased use of social media, dating, hookup, and messaging/communication platforms.

The relocation of platforms overseas makes it more difficult for law enforcement to gather tips and evidence. According to DOJ [U.S. Department of Justice] officials, successfully prosecuting those who control online platforms—whether their platforms are located domestically or abroad—requires gathering enough evidence to prove that they intended that their platforms be used to promote prostitution, and, in some cases, that they also acted in reckless disregard of the fact that their actions contributed to sex trafficking.

The evidence needed to prove such allegations may include documentation of communications, incorporation records, or financial transactions that demonstrate that those who control these platforms had the intent to promote the prostitution of others or to conceal the nature of the material being posted on their platforms (if such material promoted the prostitution of others), according to DOJ officials. … Further, officials said, these investigations are often national or international in scope, necessitating interviews in various locations, and requiring extensive computer and financial forensic expertise. These existing challenges are heightened when those who control such platforms host servers abroad, reside abroad, use offshore bank accounts and financial institutions, or introduce third parties to attempt to obscure or distance themselves from the day-to-day operation of their platforms, according to DOJ officials. … [L]aw enforcement may be less familiar with platforms located overseas. Further, obtaining evidence from entities overseas may be more cumbersome and time-intensive, as those who control such platforms may not voluntarily respond to legal process, and mutual legal assistance requests may take months, if not years, according to DOJ officials. Despite these investigative challenges, DOJ officials said they are committed to holding accountable those who control online platforms that promote sex trafficking.

[175] Webpage: “Shamere McKenzie.” Survivors of Slavery, 2013. Accessed March 20, 2013 at <survivorsofslavery.org>

Shamere Mckenzie was simply trying to find a way to pay her college tuition when she met her trafficker. He seemed like a nice guy, and he promised her she could make money dancing.

Instead he forced her into sex slavery. …

In her dynamic talks, lectures, and workshops, Shamere McKenzie not only shares her story, but she educates people about the tricks pimps use to convince girls to get involved in “the game.” Her speeches are moving, inspiring, and may actually save some young girls lives.

[176] Report: “Domestic Human Trafficking: An Internal Issue.” U.S. State Department, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. December 2008. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Page 45:

The recognized failure of victims to self-disclose or self-identify makes it critical for those likely to come into contact with victims to have intake procedures, victim-centered questioning techniques, and training to properly identify these children as victims. In addition, these identification mechanisms, tracking methods, and protocols need to be inter-agency as well as intra-agency given that most human trafficking cases will involve a multitude of agencies and jurisdictions. Research has shown that these important protocols are not in place in the United States. Shared Hope International found that there was minimal training on the identification of child sex trafficking. Four of the ten assessments found that there was no specific protocol for identifying minors involved in commercial sexual activities.136 In those locations that did have a specific identification procedure, it encompassed only one or two agencies while the larger community remained unaware, uninformed, and largely uninvolved in identification of the victims. A failure to identify the child victim is exacerbated by the lack of systematic tracking of identified child sex trafficking victims as reported by first responders across the United States.

Page 46:

The ramifications of misidentification of child sex trafficking victims are pronounced. In an assessment of the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area in Louisiana, a clinical supervisor at a runaway youth shelter reviewed computer records and reported that 57% of the 157 youth that came to the shelter in 2006 were domestic minor sex trafficking victims pursuant to the federal definition, though they were not identified as such at the time.137

137 Bayhi-Gennaro, “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report—Baton Rouge/New Orleans,” pg. 59.

[177] Article: “Running in the Shadows.” By Ian Urbina. New York Times, October 27, 2009. <www.nytimes.com>

After years of abuse, trauma and neglect, the children also tend to trust no one. The longer they are on the streets, experts say, the more likely they are to become involved in crime and uncooperative with the authorities. …

The Flip Interview …

If the girls are arrested for prostitution, they are at their least cooperative. So the [High Risk Victim] unit [of the Dallas Police Department] instead targets them for such minor offenses as truancy or picks them up as high-risk victims, speaking to them when their guard is down. Only later, as trust builds, do officers and social workers move into discussions of prostitution. …

The results of the Dallas system are clear: in the past five years, the Dallas County district attorney’s office has on average indicted and convicted or won guilty pleas from over 90 percent of the pimps arrested. In virtually all of those cases, the children involved in the prostitution testified against their pimps, according to the prosecutor’s office. Over half of those convictions started as cases involving girls who were picked up by the police not for prostitution but simply as repeat runaways.

[178] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page vi:

[T]raumatized children … typically require a lengthy amount of time before they will disclose the facts of their victimization and only if approached with advanced interview techniques to help them with this disclosure. … Currently, law enforcement agencies typically are not trained in alternative investigative approaches and/or are not provided with adequate resources to develop and initiate these alternative techniques.

[179] “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children.” Shared Hope International, May, 2009. <sharedhope.org>

Page 36:

However, in order to properly identify and respond to child sex trafficking, it is imperative to recognize the root causes as well as the collateral impact, such as psychosocial and behavioral problems, which are direct results of chronic victimization. A comprehensive survey of 104 prostituted juvenile victims in Clark County, Nevada, reveals the vast detrimental and debilitating impact of domestic minor sex trafficking on the life of a child. The findings are documented in the chart below.

… SINGLE PARENT FAMILY [=] 85%

Page 46:

The Clark County, Nevada, Public Defenders Office-Juvenile Division surveyed 104 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related activity from July 2007 to November 2008 and found a high level of drug abuse within this population of victims. The chart below provides a breakdown of documented drug use. It is important to note, that the average age of those using drugs was 14 years old.139
 

139 Clark County Public Defender—Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses (July 2007–November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.

[180] Commentary: “It’s Time to Get Serious About Sex Trafficking in Australia.” By Caroline Norma. The Age, October 13, 2011. <www.theage.com.au>

“An officer with the Stockholm Police Trafficking Group has spoken publicly of his view that ‘it’s important for the buyer of sexual services to see the link that he is a sponsor of a huge criminal organisation’.”

[181] Webpage: “Become a Defender.” Shared Hope International. Accessed October 13, 2018 at <sharedhope.org>

The Defenders are men who have come to understand the marketplace of commercial sexual exploitation. We are committed to doing everything in our power to stop that exploitation. At the core of our existence is the Defenders Pledge, where we commit our lives to bringing dignity, honor, and respect to women and children. Out of that flow our other initiatives which exist to show women that we care, hold other men accountable, and working to end the demand for this destructive market. …

As Defenders, we believe that pornography, prostitution, escort services, and strip clubs all contribute to the commercial sex industry. …

Sex trafficking is a supply and demand issue. If men would not buy girls for sex, there would be no demand and no supply. We are fighting the root of the issue: demand.

[182] Speech: “Kajsa Wahlberg, Swedish National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings.” Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings and Prostitution, March 14–15, 2012. <docplayer.net>

Page 4:

First of all, I want to emphasize that the police in Sweden clearly understand the role of the sex buyer as one of the most important actors—in fact the root cause—in the human trafficking chain. Without men who wish to purchase a sexual service, the prostitution industry and the networks that are responsible for its operation, could and would not continue to operate. The market would be closed down. We want these male buyers to take responsibility for their actions, and we do remind them, that in, addition to seriously harming the victims, they support international organised crime with their money.

[183] See research above on Backpage.com and Craigslist.

[184] Commentary: “Is Backpage Responsible for Kidnapping and Rape?” By Jacob Sullum. Reason, January 26, 2012. <reason.com>

It makes as much sense to ban prostitution because some prostitutes are forced into the trade as it does to ban agriculture because farms have been known to use slaves. Far from helping victims like Baby Face, prohibition forces the entire market underground, making it harder to enforce the distinction between minors and adults or between willing and coerced participants. Prohibition forces prostitutes to work in dangerous conditions, picking up customers on the street or covertly connecting with them online, and makes it harder for them to seek legal remedies when they are cheated or abused. These hazards, similar to those seen in black markets for drugs and gambling, are not inherent to the business of selling sex; they are inherent to the policy of using force to suppress peaceful commerce.

[185] Commentary: “Why Shutting Down Backpage Won’t Eliminate Sex Trafficking or Underage Prostitution.” By Alison Bass. Huffington Post, June 29, 2012. <www.huffingtonpost.com>

If the United States is truly interested in curbing trafficking, it might consider an entirely different approach: legalizing prostitution. Studies done in countries where prostitution is legal such as the Netherlands and Australia found that legalizing the trade and licensing brothels and sex workers actually reduces the amount of trafficking, particularly of under-age prostitutes. One major 2007 study done in the Netherlands to examine prostitution after the ban on it was lifted in 2000 found that legalization has succeeded in reducing number of underage workers and illegal immigrants working in the sex trade. “Minors were only very rarely found in licensed businesses,” and “researchers studying the non-legal prostitution sector did not encounter any underage prostitutes,” concluded the report, which was published online by a research institute funded by the Dutch Ministry of Justice known as Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum (WODC).

[186] Paper: “Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” By Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. World Development, January 2013. Pages 67–82. <www.sciencedirect.com>

Page 69:

Under conditions of illegality, a certain share of prostitutes will consist of trafficked individuals, given the difficulties in recruiting individuals willing to voluntarily work in such an illegal market.11 This share of trafficked prostitutes is likely to fall after legalization. Sex businesses wishing to take advantage of the legality of prostitution (instead of remaining illegal) would want to recruit more national citizens or foreigners legally residing with a work permit in the country since employing trafficked foreign prostitutes (or, for that matter, illegally residing foreign prostitutes that were not trafficked) endangers their newly achieved legal status.

[187] Report: “The Link Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking.” U.S. Department of State, November 24, 2004. <digitalcommons.unl.edu>

Page 3 (of PDF):

Legalization of prostitution expands the market for commercial sex, opening markets for criminal enterprises and creating a safe haven for criminals who traffic people into prostitution. Organized crime networks do not register with the government, do not pay taxes, and do not protect prostitutes. Legalization simply makes it easier for them to blend in with a purportedly regulated sex sector and makes it more difficult for prosecutors to identify and punish those who are trafficking people.

[188] Commentary: “Not a Victimless Crime: Why the Libertarian Idea of Decriminalizing Prostitution Is Not So Good.” By D. Hughes & R. P. George. National Review, August 10, 2009. <www.nationalreview.com>

Decriminalizing prostitution sounds good in theory to some people of good will. It appeals to certain libertarians who imagine that without legal prohibitions, women will make “free choices” to sell themselves or not, just as they please. But the experience of Rhode Island exposes this as a tragic fantasy.

Without effective law enforcement, the sex industry is expanding rapidly, creating a haven for sex traffickers. Far from a libertarian utopia, decriminalizing prostitution has fostered coercion, exploitation, and abuse. …

Rhode Island has laws against sex trafficking and pimping (pandering, transporting, and harboring for prostitution, and deriving support and maintenance from prostitution). But without a predicate prostitution crime, state police lack the grounds to intervene and interview likely victims. Enforcement of federal sex-trafficking laws is also severely hampered. Consequently, there have been no federal or state prosecutions for sex trafficking and no state prosecutions for pimping for many years.

[189] Working paper: “Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits.” By Patrick Belser. International Labour Association, March 2005. <www.ilo.org>

Page 13: “Prices: The price of sexual services is determined by a number of factors, including the level of income of the country where the transaction takes place and the legal regime of that country. Typically, the price of sexual services will be higher in rich countries with a prohibitive legal regime (where there is a risk premium included in the price) and lowest in poor countries with few restrictions.”

[190] Paper: “Ten Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution and a Legal Response to the Demand for Prostitution.” By Janice G. Raymond. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2003. <www.honourconsulting.com>

Page 8:

With the advent of legalization in countries that have decriminalized the sex industry, many men who previously would not have risked buying women for sex now see prostitution as acceptable. When legal barriers disappear, so too do the social and ethical barriers to treating women as sexual merchandise. Legalization of prostitution sends the message to new generations of men and boys that women are sexual commodities and that prostitution is harmless fun (Leidholdt, 2000).

[191] Paper: “Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” By Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. World Development, January 2013. Pages 67–82. <www.sciencedirect.com>

Page 69:

[T]he legalization of prostitution will not reduce the share of trafficked prostitutes to zero. First, there may be insufficient supply among domestic or legally residing foreign individuals, given the risky and unattractive nature of prostitution which persists even after legalization. Second, trafficked individuals are significantly more vulnerable and exposed to the demands of their pimps, which makes their continued employment attractive to some extent. For example, a greater portion of their earnings can be extracted, making their pimps’ business more lucrative than operating with legal prostitutes. Third, clients might have preferences for “exotic” sex workers from geographically remote places whose nationals are unlikely to have legal rights to reside in the country.

[192] Commentary: “It’s Time to Get Serious About Sex Trafficking in Australia.” By Caroline Norma. The Age, October 13, 2011. <www.theage.com.au>

Sex-trafficking in Australia should not come as a surprise. Sex industry businesses find a burgeoning market here. According to the business research company IBISWorld, the Australian sex industry has ballooned over the last decade. High growth has forced pimps to forge international supply routes to source their “product” which, in the case of the sex industry, is mostly women and children. Asian women in particular are a consumer favourite.

[193] Speech: “Demand and the Debate.” By Dorchen A. Leidholdt. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 2004. <www.catwlac.org>

If sex trafficking and prostitution were distinct and separate phenomena, and if prostitution were as innocuous as trafficking is injurious, a logical response would be to direct criminal sanctions against sex traffickers and legalize and regulate prostitution. This is the position that the Netherlands, Germany, and others following the “Dutch” example have embraced. But the Dutch and German experience—along with those of other jurisdictions that have legalized prostitution—have demonstrated just what happens when prostitution is legitimized and protected by law: the number of sex businesses grows, as does the demand for prostitution. Legalized prostitution brings sex tourists and heightens the demand among local men. Local women constitute an inadequate supply so foreign girls and women are trafficked in to meet the demand. The trafficked women are cheaper, younger, more exciting to customers, and easier to control. More trafficked women means more local demand and more sex tourism. The end result looks a lot like Amsterdam.

[194] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 89:

Since human trafficking is often hidden and victims are often unwilling or afraid to speak out15 (or do not realise that they are victims16), there are probably a large number of unknown cases of human trafficking (a large “dark number”). Consequently, statistical trends based on the number of known cases of human trafficking usually do not directly reflect developments in the total number of cases of human trafficking.17 The number of known situations of human trafficking depends to a large extent on factors such as the public attention for human trafficking, the priorities of the investigative services and the public prosecution service, the method of registration employed by victim support organisations, and changes in the law. …

15 For reasons of fear, shame or guilt. Non-Dutch victims could also face a language barrier and/or not know who they can report to in the Netherlands. Furthermore, victims living illegally in the Netherlands sometimes fear the police because they are afraid of being deported. Sometimes victims are also ‘in debt’ to the human trafficker, a debt that they believe they have to pay off. Or non-Dutch victims feel an obligation to send money back regularly to their family (NRM1 § 4.5, NRM3 § 3.6).

16 For example, victims of “traditional” loverboys who are in love with their loverboy (NRM3 § 3.2.2) or non-Dutch victims who prefer being exploited in the Netherlands to the situation in their own country (NRM5 § 3.2.1).

17 In other words, including the large number of cases of human trafficking that are probably not know about.

[195] Paper: “Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” By Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. World Development, January 2013. Pages 67–82. <www.sciencedirect.com>

Page 69: “One of the biggest challenges of doing research on human trafficking is the scarcity of reliable and comparable data. Human trafficking is a clandestine, criminal activity, with those being trafficked and involved in such activities being part of ‘hidden populations’ (Tyldum & Brunovskis, 2005). Therefore, the true number of human trafficking victims is unknown (Belser, de Cock, & Mehran, 2005).”

[196] Paper: “Study on National Legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children.” By Andrea Di Nicola and others. Transcrime (for the European Parliament), August 2005. <ec.europa.eu>

Page 7: “Quantitative and qualitative information on THB [Traffic in Human Beings] for sexual exploitation are lacking, fragmented, and not comparable across-countries, especially with reference to victims. This, of course, is primarily due to the fact that we are dealing with a hidden population.”

[197] Webpage: “FAQ—Prostitution in the Netherlands.” Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Accessed October 13, 2018 at <www.rnw.org>

Prostitution itself has never been a criminal offence in the Netherlands. There were general bans on brothels and pimping, but in October 2000, these were removed from the Penal Code. …

Brothels were banned in the Netherlands in 1911 to protect prostitutes from exploitation. However, the ban has not been enforced for the past 50 years. Action was only taken against brothels and sex clubs if they engaged in criminal activities or disturbed public order.

[198] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Pages 26–27:

The ban on brothels was removed from the Dutch Criminal Code on 1 October 2000, the same year as the office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings was established. The purpose of that amendment was to decriminalise the exploitation of prostitution and so legalise a situation that was already tolerated. “The existence of prostitution is a fact, even for the government. That calls for a realistic approach, without moralising,” said the Minister of Justice in the explanatory memorandum to the amendment.19 One of the most important objectives of the bill was to prevent and combat human trafficking.20 From this perspective, the Rapporteur made recommendations on a number of aspects of prostitution policy.

Page 57:

With the reasoning that voluntary prostitution is a fact of life in society and therefore calls for a realistic approach and the objective of decriminalising the exploitation of prostitution, the national ban on brothels (Article 250bis of the Dutch Criminal Code) and the criminalisation of pimping (Article 432 of the Dutch Criminal Code) were abolished in 2000. The expectation was that licensed prostitution could be properly monitored and that the police should focus their attention mainly on illegal prostitution.

[199] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 157: “Table B3.1 Number of victims reported to CoMensha (2000–2009)”

Page 90:

CoMensha20 is the central agency for notification of all victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands. CoMensha must therefore be notified of every potential victim identified in the Netherlands by the individual or agency that has become aware of the victim (or by the victim personally). Victims can be reported solely for the purpose of registration, for registration and information, or for registration and shelter.21

CoMensha’s records are intended to cover all known victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands. However, in reality the number of victims registered with CoMensha will always be just an approximation of the actual number of known victims in the Netherlands, because, for example, known victims are not all reported to CoMensha.23

23 Parties that can identify human trafficking may not all be familiar with CoMensha (as a reporting centre for victims of human trafficking), or are not aware that Dutch and underage victims should also be reported. In point of fact, only the police are obliged, pursuant to the B9 regulation, to report victims of human trafficking to CoMensha. Naturally, this obligation does not apply for Dutch victims. Nevertheless, it is important that also Dutch victims are being reported.

Page 91: “At the same time, it is possible that the persons reported to CoMensha are not all actually victims, so the number of registered victims could also be higher than the actual number of known victims in the Netherlands. This is because there is no formal assessment based on specific criteria by which the registered person’s status as a victim can be verified.”

[200] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 157: “Table B3.1 Number of victims reported to CoMensha (2000–2009)”

Page 90:

CoMensha20 is the central agency for notification of all victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands. CoMensha must therefore be notified of every potential victim identified in the Netherlands by the individual or agency that has become aware of the victim (or by the victim personally). Victims can be reported solely for the purpose of registration, for registration and information, or for registration and shelter.21

CoMensha’s records are intended to cover all known victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands. However, in reality the number of victims registered with CoMensha will always be just an approximation of the actual number of known victims in the Netherlands, because, for example, known victims are not all reported to CoMensha.23

23 Parties that can identify human trafficking may not all be familiar with CoMensha (as a reporting centre for victims of human trafficking), or are not aware that Dutch and underage victims should also be reported. In point of fact, only the police are obliged, pursuant to the B9 regulation, to report victims of human trafficking to CoMensha. Naturally, this obligation does not apply for Dutch victims. Nevertheless, it is important that also Dutch victims are being reported.

Page 91: “At the same time, it is possible that the persons reported to CoMensha are not all actually victims, so the number of registered victims could also be higher than the actual number of known victims in the Netherlands. This is because there is no formal assessment based on specific criteria by which the registered person’s status as a victim can be verified.”

[201] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Pages 174–175:

Table B3.8 Sectors in which victims were exploited (2007–2009)7

Year

Exploitation in the Sex Industry8

Unknown

2007

47%

32%

2008

57%

29%

2009

46%

26%

7 Since 2007, BNRM [Bureau Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel] has had access to information about the sectors in which the reported victims were exploited. Note: some victims were exploited in more than one sector, but in order to bring the totals to 100% these victims are only recorded under one sector. The other sectors in which they were exploited are shown between brackets under those sectors.

8 Such as: brothel/club, escort, internet (one female victim in 2009), massage parlour, private home, window prostitution, street prostitution.

[202] “Trafficking in Persons Report 2009.” U.S. Department of State, June 2009. <2009-2017.state.gov>

Country Narratives—Countries L Through P <2009-2017.state.gov>

The Netherlands is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. During 2008, most female victims were exploited in forced prostitution, and the majority of identified sex trafficking victims were from the Netherlands. Within the Netherlands, victims are trafficked by so called “pimp boys” or “lover boys”—men who seduce vulnerable young women and girls and force them into prostitution. During the reporting period, women were also trafficked from Asia, Africa, other parts of Europe, and the Western Hemisphere; the most common countries of origin for foreign female trafficking victims were China, Nigeria, Hungary, and Sierra Leone. Males were trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation as well as forced labor in the catering, cleaning, agriculture and construction sectors. The main countries of origin for male victims were China, India, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Netherlands. According to the Dutch National Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons, the highest risk sectors for labor trafficking are domestic employment, temporary employment agencies, agriculture and horticulture, restaurants, hotels, and construction. Groups vulnerable to trafficking include single underage asylum seekers, women with dependent residence status obtained through fraudulent marriages, and women recruited in Africa, China, and Thailand for work in massage parlors.

[203] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Pages 90–91:

Finally, it should be noted that double-counting cannot be entirely ruled out in the statistics up to and including 2006.35

35 Since 2006, CoMensha has received almost no reports of “anonymous victims” (which could lead to double-counting). Previously it had. At the time, some notifiers did not provide the names of victims, which made it impossible to identify victims who had been counted twice (information received verbally from CoMensha).

[204] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 89:

Since human trafficking is often hidden and victims are often unwilling or afraid to speak out15 (or do not realise that they are victims16), there are probably a large number of unknown cases of human trafficking (a large “dark number”). Consequently, statistical trends based on the number of known cases of human trafficking usually do not directly reflect developments in the total number of cases of human trafficking.17 The number of known situations of human trafficking depends to a large extent on factors such as the public attention for human trafficking, the priorities of the investigative services and the public prosecution service, the method of registration employed by victim support organisations, and changes in the law. At the same time, the (coincidental) discovery of a single, but major, human trafficking case18 has a substantial impact on the annual figures, since the total number of known cases of human trafficking each year is relatively small. The notification to CoMensha of 50 victims discovered in the same human trafficking situation (see § 3.3.1), for example, is clearly reflected in the annual figures for victims (as regards the total number of reported victims, the background characteristics of victims such as gender, age and nationality, and the sector in which victims were exploited).

15 For reasons of fear, shame or guilt. Non-Dutch victims could also face a language barrier and/or not know who they can report to in the Netherlands. Furthermore, victims living illegally in the Netherlands sometimes fear the police because they are afraid of being deported. Sometimes victims are also “in debt” to the human trafficker, a debt that they believe they have to pay off. Or non-Dutch victims feel an obligation to send money back regularly to their family (NRM1 § 4.5, NRM3 § 3.6).

16 For example, victims of “traditional” loverboys who are in love with their loverboy (NRM3 § 3.2.2) or non-Dutch victims who prefer being exploited in the Netherlands to the situation in their own country (NRM5 § 3.2.1).

17 In other words, including the large number of cases of human trafficking that are probably not know[n] about.

18 In other words, cases involving a relatively large number of victims and/or offenders. The victims and/ or offenders in the same case often share the same characteristics (such as gender, age group, nationality and the sector in which the exploitation occurred). In this type of major case the exploitation often occurs outside the sex industry. With the growing attention to other forms of exploitation (both in terms of investigation and prosecution and in society), (major) cases of other forms of exploitation will probably come to light increasingly often in the future.

[205] Report: “Trafficking in Human Beings: Ten Years of Independent Monitoring.” Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, 2010. <www.legislationline.org>

Page 92: “The likely explanation for the increase is the intensification of investigations by the police and the public prosecution service (see § 2.6.3), as well as the growing attention to human trafficking (see § 2.7). It is also possible that there is greater awareness (and in more agencies)37 of the need to report victims of human trafficking to CoMensha.”

[206] Report: “Appearances: The Identification of Human Trafficking in Licensed Prostitution.” National Police Agency (KLPD), National Criminal Investigation Service, July 1, 2008. <www.researchgate.net>

NOTE: The excerpts below were translated from Dutch via Google Translate. They are reproduced exactly as translated by Google and do not contain manual grammatical corrections.

Page 10:

In April 2006, on the initiative of the National Office and the National Investigation project Snape started. Within this project focused various enforcement agencies on a group of traffickers who on several places in the Netherlands was active. The group, who with the fictitious name Dürdan be designated, exploited for years dozens of women violently in window prostitution. The contrast with the hitherto prevailing image of an almost clean prostitution sector (National Action Plan Trafficking, 2004; Police Monitor, 2004; Goderie and Boutellier, 2006; Daalder, 2007) called a number of questions: Are the authorities that monitoring, oversight role in the licensed window prostitution signals of exploitation missed?

Page 11:

In almost a decade, this criminal venture into a network of some 35 pimps, bodyguards and other accomplices. The group Dürdan in the licensed window prostitution of at least five Dutch cities active (has been). …

In total there are 120 prostitutes with the group Dürdan associated. Seventy-eight of them were in April 2007 as a presumed victim be labeled on the basis of information from tapgesprekken, observations or statements. At that time, about two months after the first arrests, had ten women reporting of human trafficking made or burdensome statement on the group Dürdan made. Some of them wanted their declaration later revoke—which incidentally is legally impossible (College of Attorney-General, 2005). …

… The victims work in the Netherlands in the window prostitution.

Page 13:

The above shows that for years women have been exploited in the licensed window prostitution sector. This justifies the question how it is possible that forced prostitution or human trafficking, (almost unhindered) has can take place in the licensed sector window.

The positive image that the government and the representatives of several police reflect the situation in the licensed prostitution sector at the time of start of the study, led to the hypothesis that the apparent signs of trafficking were missed.

Page 19:

How is it possible that forced prostitution, or trafficking, can take place in the licensed sector window in the three municipalities?

The current prostitution and trafficking policy is not sufficiently equipped to involuntary prostitution or trafficking signal. It assumes that signs of human trafficking largely stem from the administrative checks on licensed businesses. These checks focus in practice mainly on the prostitutes and consist, as we have note, an important part of checking their ‘paper’. However, to obtain the proper paperwork is no administrative barrier that imposes a barrier against forced prostitution, victims be-if they all decide to register, in the proceedings rarely if so recognized. Having the correct paper gives no definite on victimization of trafficking. Of course, the checks important point of contact between the public and potential victims of trafficking and attempts to gain insight into these moments signs of human trafficking. Victims of trafficking are particularly difficult to identify, especially if they are not victims feel or their victimization to hide. Prostitution Controller estimate the number of involuntary prostitutes working in high, but can often signals not sufficiently concrete, so follow the signals fails. In this light, it is important to invest in opening up additional “Sources” of signals. Formally, it is also licensing the primarily focused on the operator. The fact that a company is licensed, guarantees however, that there is no exploitation (by others) occurs.

Page 24:

One of the policy goals that the lifting of the ban on brothels was aim was to combat the exploitation of involuntary prostitution. from the Snape research shows that this objective has not been achieved. The results of the investigation raise the question how it is possible that many involuntary prostitutes in the licensed sector window work in the Netherlands, especially as the fight against human trafficking even before the lifting of the brothel ban a national priority for justice and police (Cabinet, 2004).

Page 40: “The study was conducted in Alkmaar, Utrecht and Amsterdam.”

Page 41:

We have in our study only the window prostitution viewed. other parts of the licensed sector, such as clubs, erotic massage parlors, and—in some cities—the licensed escort and street prostitution, are excluded left. The choice of window prostitution is based on the fact that the victims of the Durdans almost all exclusively in window prostitution werkten. …

Lots of information in this study comes from interviews. below, specify with whom and in what way these interviews took place. …

… The choice we have to depend on the availability of the respondents for an interview. In total (including the below discussed examining the practice) with 63 respondents gesproken.

Page 84:

We start with a general observation. At the start of the study, we assumed that signs of human trafficking in the licensed sector probably were not caught by the police or other agencies. This assumption we based on the following paradox: the fact that the offender group from the research Snape years in the licensed sector operated and here, estimated, 78 victims, while the literature not confirmed that in the licensed sector there was abuses. Both monitors corps of 2003 and 2004 as the National Human Trafficking Action Plan (2004, p. 34) speak of a ‘reasonably clean licensed sector. Recently wrote Goderie and Boutellier (2006) on Rotterdam that the licensed sector has remained small, but relatively well functions. They argue that the legalization of prostitution sector led “An effective separation of the wheat from the chaff” and that more than half of the prostitution industry there is an illegal situation. (Goderie and Boutellier, 2006, p. 81). Partly in response to this contrast, we focused the study on the signaling in the licensed sector. The hypothesis that signs of human trafficking apparently not been collected, however, was undermined by the perception that prostitution inspectors of the window industry were found to have: in all three cities estimate the percentage of women working involuntarily at 50–90%.

[207] Article: “New Rights for Dutch Prostitutes, but No Gain.” By Suzanne Daley. New York Times, August 12, 2001. <www.nytimes.com>

“At any hour of the day, women of all ages and races, dressed in scanty underwear can be seen in the Netherlands’ red light districts perched provocatively in windows.”

[208] Report: “Appearances: The Identification of Human Trafficking in Licensed Prostitution.” National Police Agency (KLPD), National Criminal Investigation Service, July 1, 2008. <www.researchgate.net>

NOTE: The excerpts below were translated from Dutch via Google Translate. They are reproduced exactly as translated by Google and do not contain manual grammatical corrections.

Page 10:

In April 2006, on the initiative of the National Office and the National Investigation project Snape started. Within this project focused various enforcement agencies on a group of traffickers who on several places in the Netherlands was active. The group, who with the fictitious name Dürdan be designated, exploited for years dozens of women violently in window prostitution. The contrast with the hitherto prevailing image of an almost clean prostitution sector (National Action Plan Trafficking, 2004; Police Monitor, 2004; Goderie and Boutellier, 2006; Daalder, 2007) called a number of questions: Are the authorities that monitoring, oversight role in the licensed window prostitution signals of exploitation missed?

Page 11:

In almost a decade, this criminal venture into a network of some 35 pimps, bodyguards and other accomplices. The group Dürdan in the licensed window prostitution of at least five Dutch cities active (has been). …

In total there are 120 prostitutes with the group Dürdan associated. Seventy-eight of them were in April 2007 as a presumed victim be labeled on the basis of information from tapgesprekken, observations or statements. At that time, about two months after the first arrests, had ten women reporting of human trafficking made or burdensome statement on the group Dürdan made. Some of them wanted their declaration later revoke—which incidentally is legally impossible (College of Attorney-General, 2005). …

… The victims work in the Netherlands in the window prostitution.

Page 12:

The relationship of the victims with their pimp is often characterized by a combination of threats and fear on the one hand and interdependence, if not love the other. In many cases, after an initial phase of winning over more and more coercion and violence. Victims to the police have made a statement or declaration have done, say that they baseball bats have been beaten and that she’s outside in the cold winter water recreational lakes had to stand. There is in addition there have been forced abortions, forced or not boob jobs and tattoos with names of the pimps.

The prostitutes hired work rooms licensed rental window in several Dutch cities. In some cases there were direct contacts between the room and the landlords pimps. There is a tax adviser involved in administrative operations prostitutes must perform in the licensed sector to work to. Beside have different administrative offices and broadcasting companies suspects with salary certificates, which it has the appearance could generate legal work have. An abortion clinic has at least five abortions for the group cared. Also for the boob whenever they went to the same cosmetic clinic. A doctor attached to this clinic discount provided to people by the main suspects were applied. Two facilitators in the field of housing, it is likely that they are aware were of the criminal activities of the group Dürdan, to whom several rented dwellings.

Signalling abuses around the group Dürdan

Of almost all the above facilitators is plausible that in some degree were aware of the exploitative practices of the group Dürdan. However, only a window landlord formally reported to the police. Furthermore, a prostitute who worked for the group made a notification on victims of the group Dürdan at her working in the area. Ten Finally, there is an anonymous report done by someone who probably in the neighborhood of victims and suspects lived.

Page 40: “The study was conducted in Alkmaar, Utrecht and Amsterdam.”

Page 41:

We have in our study only the window prostitution viewed. other parts of the licensed sector, such as clubs, erotic massage parlors, and—in some cities—the licensed escort and street prostitution, are excluded left. The choice of window prostitution is based on the fact that the victims of the Durdans almost all exclusively in window prostitution werkten. …

Lots of information in this study comes from interviews. below, specify with whom and in what way these interviews took place. …

… The choice we have to depend on the availability of the respondents for an interview. In total (including the below discussed examining the practice) with 63 respondents gesproken.

[209] Report: “Appearances: The Identification of Human Trafficking in Licensed Prostitution.” National Police Agency (KLPD), National Criminal Investigation Service, July 1, 2008. <www.researchgate.net>

NOTE: The excerpts below were translated from Dutch via Google Translate. They are reproduced exactly as translated by Google and do not contain manual grammatical corrections.

Page 10:

In April 2006, on the initiative of the National Office and the National Investigation project Snape started. Within this project focused various enforcement agencies on a group of traffickers who on several places in the Netherlands was active. The group, who with the fictitious name Dürdan be designated, exploited for years dozens of women violently in window prostitution. The contrast with the hitherto prevailing image of an almost clean prostitution sector (National Action Plan Trafficking, 2004; Police Monitor, 2004; Goderie and Boutellier, 2006; Daalder, 2007) called a number of questions: Are the authorities that monitoring, oversight role in the licensed window prostitution signals of exploitation missed?

Page 11:

In almost a decade, this criminal venture into a network of some 35 pimps, bodyguards and other accomplices. The group Dürdan in the licensed window prostitution of at least five Dutch cities active (has been). …

In total there are 120 prostitutes with the group Dürdan associated. Seventy-eight of them were in April 2007 as a presumed victim be labeled on the basis of information from tapgesprekken, observations or statements. At that time, about two months after the first arrests, had ten women reporting of human trafficking made or burdensome statement on the group Dürdan made. Some of them wanted their declaration later revoke—which incidentally is legally impossible (College of Attorney-General, 2005). …

… The victims work in the Netherlands in the window prostitution.

Page 12:

The relationship of the victims with their pimp is often characterized by a combination of threats and fear on the one hand and interdependence, if not love the other. In many cases, after an initial phase of winning over more and more coercion and violence. Victims to the police have made a statement or declaration have done, say that they baseball bats have been beaten and that she’s outside in the cold winter water recreational lakes had to stand. There is in addition there have been forced abortions, forced or not boob jobs and tattoos with names of the pimps.

The prostitutes hired work rooms licensed rental window in several Dutch cities. In some cases there were direct contacts between the room and the landlords pimps. There is a tax adviser involved in administrative operations prostitutes must perform in the licensed sector to work to. Beside have different administrative offices and broadcasting companies suspects with salary certificates, which it has the appearance could generate legal work have. An abortion clinic has at least five abortions for the group cared. Also for the boob whenever they went to the same cosmetic clinic. A doctor attached to this clinic discount provided to people by the main suspects were applied. Two facilitators in the field of housing, it is likely that they are aware were of the criminal activities of the group Dürdan, to whom several rented dwellings.

Signalling abuses around the group Dürdan

Of almost all the above facilitators is plausible that in some degree were aware of the exploitative practices of the group Dürdan. However, only a window landlord formally reported to the police. Furthermore, a prostitute who worked for the group made a notification on victims of the group Dürdan at her working in the area. Ten Finally, there is an anonymous report done by someone who probably in the neighborhood of victims and suspects lived.

Page 13:

The above shows that for years women have been exploited in the licensed window prostitution sector. This justifies the question how it is possible that forced prostitution or human trafficking, (almost unhindered) has can take place in the licensed sector window.

The positive image that the government and the representatives of several police reflect the situation in the licensed prostitution sector at the time of start of the study, led to the hypothesis that the apparent signs of trafficking were missed.

Pages 13–15:

Apart from literature and case study, with 63 respondents spoke. Of these 46 respondents using a semi-person interview corpse interviewed the others are spoken by telephone. Approached include more: Municipalities, (Morals and Immigration) Police Administration, Room of Commerce, GG & GD, Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), Rural Parquet, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, National Bureau Rapporteur (BNRM), The Red Thread, Foundation against Trafficking, Trafficking National Expert (LEM), aid organizations and victims.

The respondents were chosen where possible so that we both policy and of the work in practice could get a good picture. In complement the interviews we have some respondents accompanied during their service. In total, six prostitution controls attended and once walked with tax inspectors. In the final phase of research have our preliminary findings presented to organizations that long practical experience related to the topics and prostitution trafficking: the National Rapporteur on Trafficking, the Foundation against Women and the Red Thread. …

The hypothesis that signs of human trafficking apparently were not collected, was undermined by the perception that prostitution inspectors window industry were found to have: in all three cities, they estimate the percentage involuntarily working women at 50-90%. Starting from the lowest estimate of 50%, this would in Amsterdam alone 4,000 victims of trafficking annual mean. The Amsterdam municipality estimated the number of window prostitutes in 2005, namely 8,000 (City of Amsterdam, 2006). To equation:

at the Amsterdam District Public Prosecutor were the period 2001 to 2005 a total of 92 human trafficking cases registered all related to exploitation in the sex industry, in 2005 only there were only eleven (NRM, 2007, p. 191). The Foundation against Trafficking in Women received in 2005 424 notifications of victims from the Netherlands (www. mensenhandel.nl). Possible reasons for these striking differences were can be: overestimation by the auditors, many soft little specific signals or the lack of monitoring of the signals.

Page 18:

Prostitution controls that attended were largely from control of the “paper”, often only identity papers. Administrative actions that prostitutes have to go through to legally to get started do not form a barrier against forced prostitution. First appeared Most of the victims of the group Dürdan not to have registered at church, or Tax Chamber. The victim is (whether not) forced by a pimp procedure runs is neatly recorded by bodies such as IND, the municipal service and the Chamber of Commerce—And thereby rarely recognized as victims. Recognizing trafficking also not the task of the registration authorities. In addition, it is doubtful whether the administrative obligations would be an obstacle to minority and illegality in prostitution. This is evidenced by the fact that during controls false or forged passports were found on which a GBA registration, a Chamber-registration, a social security number or a residence permit was obtained.

A side note: the human component

The group Dürdan operated for years in prostitution areas. In those years, the prostitutes, pimps and bodyguards with various agencies and other stakeholders, including regulators of the police, operators and customers, came in contact. However, that does not lead to a prosecution or a forced cessation of activities. A possible explanation for the long time that the group despite many ‘watchful eyes’ has been able to continue lies in the notion that any potential signalman multiple interests play. So would be an investigation into trafficking instance can not be started because the capacity is used in a child pornography case. Or would entrepreneur may be reluctant to turn to the police because police attention could have a negative impact on the business. A sex workers would his eyes—consciously or not—can hide the phenomenon of forced prostitution. Additionally, victims of their own reasons for not reporting to do. It is recommended that at the making policy, any such competing interests to investigate and to be remedied.

Page 19:

How is it possible that forced prostitution, or trafficking, can take place in the licensed sector window in the three municipalities?

The current prostitution and trafficking policy is not sufficiently equipped to involuntary prostitution or trafficking signal. It assumes that signs of human trafficking largely stem from the administrative checks on licensed businesses. These checks focus in practice mainly on the prostitutes and consist, as we have note, an important part of checking their ‘paper’. However, to obtain the proper paperwork is no administrative barrier that imposes a barrier against forced prostitution, victims be-if they all decide to register, in the proceedings rarely if so recognized. Having the correct paper gives no definite on victimization of trafficking. Of course, the checks important point of contact between the public and potential victims of trafficking and attempts to gain insight into these moments signs of human trafficking. Victims of trafficking are particularly difficult to identify, especially if they are not victims feel or their victimization to hide. Prostitution Controller estimate the number of involuntary prostitutes working in high, but can often signals not sufficiently concrete, so follow the signals fails. In this light, it is important to invest in opening up additional “Sources” of signals. Formally, it is also licensing the primarily focused on the operator. The fact that a company is licensed, guarantees however, that there is no exploitation (by others) occurs.

Page 24:

One of the policy goals that the lifting of the ban on brothels was aim was to combat the exploitation of involuntary prostitution. from the Snape research shows that this objective has not been achieved. The results of the investigation raise the question how it is possible that many involuntary prostitutes in the licensed sector window work in the Netherlands, especially as the fight against human trafficking even before the lifting of the brothel ban a national priority for justice and police (Cabinet, 2004).

Page 40: “The study was conducted in Alkmaar, Utrecht and Amsterdam.”

Page 41:

We have in our study only the window prostitution viewed. other parts of the licensed sector, such as clubs, erotic massage parlors, and—in some cities—the licensed escort and street prostitution, are excluded left. The choice of window prostitution is based on the fact that the victims of the Durdans almost all exclusively in window prostitution werkten. …

Lots of information in this study comes from interviews. below, specify with whom and in what way these interviews took place. …

… The choice we have to depend on the availability of the respondents for an interview. In total (including the below discussed examining the practice) with 63 respondents gesproken.

Page 84:

We start with a general observation. At the start of the study, we assumed that signs of human trafficking in the licensed sector probably were not caught by the police or other agencies. This assumption we based on the following paradox: the fact that the offender group from the research Snape years in the licensed sector operated and here, estimated, 78 victims, while the literature not confirmed that in the licensed sector there was abuses. Both monitors corps of 2003 and 2004 as the National Human Trafficking Action Plan (2004, p. 34) speak of a ‘reasonably clean licensed sector. Recently wrote Goderie and Boutellier (2006) on Rotterdam that the licensed sector has remained small, but relatively well functions. They argue that the legalization of prostitution sector led “An effective separation of the wheat from the chaff” and that more than half of the prostitution industry there is an illegal situation. (Goderie and Boutellier, 2006, p. 81). Partly in response to this contrast, we focused the study on the signaling in the licensed sector. The hypothesis that signs of human trafficking apparently not been collected, however, was undermined by the perception that prostitution inspectors of the window industry were found to have: in all three cities estimate the percentage of women working involuntarily at 50–90%.

[210] Article: “Sweden Prostitution Law Attracts World Interest.” By Karl Ritter. Associated Press, March 16, 2008. <usatoday30.usatoday.com>

Under Sweden’s so-called “Sex Purchase Law,” paying for sex is punished by fines or up to six months in prison, plus the humiliation of public exposure. …

Pimps and brothel keepers are also prosecuted, but not prostitutes, because they are viewed as victims, treated as commodities in the sex trade.

[211] Paper: “Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” By Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. World Development, January 2013. Pages 67–82. <www.sciencedirect.com>

Page 75:

Sweden amended its prostitution law in 1999 by prohibiting all forms of commercial sex and punishing the purchase of sex with a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of six months. Prior to the amendment, Sweden allowed self-employed individual prostitution while prohibiting brothel operation (Di Nicola and others, 2005). The amendment was introduced after long debates over the root causes of prostitution in Swedish society, with the new law stating that prostitution by nature is always exploitative, and that the purchase of sexual services provided by women and girls amounts to discrimination against them (Ekberg, 2004). Furthermore, this new law links prostitution to human trafficking and specifically states the former as an alleged cause of the latter (Ekberg, 2004).

[212] Paper: “Study on National Legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children.” By Andrea Di Nicola and others. Transcrime (for the European Parliament), August 2005. <ec.europa.eu>

Page 39:

The Swedish policy on prostitution falls under the prohibitionist model. Outdoor and indoor prostitution are prohibited, though only clients are criminalised and not prostitutes since the latter are considered as victims of violence. On 1st January 1999 Sweden “introduce[d] an unilateral regulation of the purchase of sexual services.”(87) For the Law 1998:408 the person who, for payment, obtains a casual sexual relationship is penalised, unless the action entails punishment in accordance with the Criminal Code, for the purchase of sexual services with a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of 6 months. The ratio behind this law is that prostitution is regarded as an aspect of male violence against women and children. It is officially acknowledged as a form of exploitation of women and children and constitutes a significant social problem, which is harmful to not only the individual prostituted woman or child, but also to society.

[213] Report: “The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.” U.S. Department of Justice, August, 2010. <www.justice.gov>

Page 34:

Clients of child victims of prostitution are, in fact, child sex offenders; however, this form of child sexual exploitation often goes unpunished. In fact, the exploited child victim of prostitution is much more likely to be arrested for prostitution offenses than is the offender. For example, a 2005 study for Congress showed that in Boston, 11 female prostitutes (adult and child) were arrested for each male client arrest; in Chicago, the ratio was 9 to 1; and, in New York City, the ratio was 6 to 1. Part of the disproportionate arrest ratios are attributed to misinformation provided to officers by the children; that is, the children will represent themselves to be adults, and may provide false identification.

[214] Article: “The Swedish Approach: A European Union Country Fights Sex Trafficking.” By Gunilla S. Ekberg and Kajsa Wahlberg. Solutions, March 2011. <www.sccjr.ac.uk>

In 1998, a national rapporteur on trafficking in human beings was appointed at the National Police, as one of two monitoring mechanisms, with the mandate to investigate, monitor, and analyze the character, state, and scale of human trafficking to and within Sweden; this official is also charged with giving recommendations to the government, law enforcement, and civil society. The rapporteur’s annual reports have garnered much media and political attention and have spurred debate—in particular, the rapporteur’s conclusion that targeting the demand for prostitution and human trafficking “functions as an effective barrier against the establishment of traffickers in Sweden.7

[215] Paper: “Study on National Legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children.” By Andrea Di Nicola and others. Transcrime (for the European Parliament), August 2005. <ec.europa.eu>

Page 99:

The police authorities [in Sweden] collect data on offences and offenders regarding the current legislation, while the National Council for Crime Prevention (NCCP) is responsible for the publication of the national official crime statistics. Before 2003 information on THB [Traffic in Human Beings] were recorded by the Swedish National Criminal Investigation Police (SNCIP). Local police authorities have an obligation to report cases of procuring that relate to THB. The SNCIP have published annual reports regarding the trafficking situation since 1999 which include information from the local police authorities. The compilation of this information is however not done in statistical form, but rather by describing the cases qualitatively. There is therefore no way of extracting the number of offenders from the reports. The generally very few preliminary investigations each year, from around five to ten. To look at the situation before 1998 one must study the official crime statistics for the crime of procuring, but it is impossible to know whether they include cross-border transfers of human beings.

Page 102:

The SNCIP discusses the consequences of the legislation in Sweden on the level of trafficking in the country. They have received information that suggests that the law has given Sweden a reputation for being a difficult country to operate prostitution in. This could deter traffickers. At the same time, they also point out that because of the new law the clients of the prostitutes no longer step forward as witnesses, as they are then admitting their own crimes. Nevertheless, the SNCIP continues to report their opinion that the law works as a barrier against trafficking in Sweden. The traffickers have moved to other markets, such as those in Norway and Denmark. There is information from the victims of THB in Sweden that traffickers have had problems finding enough sex buyers in Sweden, the demand has been much lower than expected.

A problem encountered is a lack of information relating specifically to the methods of exploitation. A consequence of the prohibition in Sweden could be the invisibility of the activity than in other countries. This may prove to be a disadvantage for the trafficked women, who will have fewer opportunities to contact outsiders about their situation. On the other hand, the legislation mirrors the common opinion in Sweden that these crimes must be treated seriously.

Page 128:

The general index of victims of THB for sexual exploitation in the table was elaborated from an estimate of victims by the Swedish National Criminal Investigation Police (SNCIP). For Sweden it was not possible to calculate the average annual national estimate of victims according to the methodology proposed in this Report. According to SNCIP, their value underestimates the actual number of victims of THB for sexual exploitation.

Pages 132–133:

One could argue that, for instance, under a regime of prohibitionism, victims are less visible and therefore can be less easily registered or recorded by statistics and that the opposite happens under a regime of new abolitionism. As the Swedish expert suggests, the beginning of prohibitionism in the country may have created less visible prostitution, and a problem with less visible prostitution at the present time is that it is more difficult to get information about the victimisation of the prostitutes. Regardless, the effect of the Swedish change in policy, from abolitionist to prohibitionist, has also been a concrete decrease in the number of victims. The Swedish expert reports that there is information from the victims of THB in Sweden that traffickers have had problems finding enough sex buyers in Sweden, the demand has been much lower than expected.

[216] Speech: “Kajsa Wahlberg, Swedish National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings.” Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings and Prostitution, March 14–15, 2012. <docplayer.net>

Page 5:

Victims of human trafficking for sexual purposes have told the police that traffickers and procurers talk about Sweden as a bad market for prostitution activities. The police also have evidence from wire-tapped conversations between members of organized crime networks, that these networks prefer markets in countries where prostitution activities are legalized or tolerated, and where demand legislation does not exist. Criminals are businessmen; they calculate profits, marketing factors, risks of getting caught etc before investing time and money into selling women in a particular place. Our job is to do everything possible to create a bad market for traffickers.

[217] Commentary: “It’s Time to Get Serious About Sex Trafficking in Australia.” By Caroline Norma. The Age, October 13, 2011. <www.theage.com.au>

A detective inspector with Sweden’s National Police Board notes that, since 1999, the country has become an “unattractive market” for traffickers, because they can no longer “earn as much money as they want to.” Traffickers themselves no longer want to send women to Sweden because the risk is too great. In a phone-tap recorded by Swedish police, a trafficker tells a pimp he wants to bring 15 young Estonian women to Stockholm for a couple of weeks to make money. The pimp replies: “Don’t do that. It’s too expensive for you. Bring the women to … Denmark or even better, Germany or Holland.” Germany and Holland, of course, are (in)famous for their systems of legalised prostitution.

[218] Paper: “The Swedish Law That Prohibits the Purchase of Sexual Services: Best Practices for Prevention of Prostitution and Trafficking in Human Beings.” By Gunilla Ekberg. Violence Against Women, October 2004. Pages 1187–1218. <prostitutionresearch.com>

Pages 1200–1201:

The NCID [National Rapporteur for Trafficking in Women at the National Criminal Investigation Department] has received signals from Europol and national police forces in other European countries that Sweden no longer is an attractive market for traffickers. Traffickers and pimps are businessmen who calculate profits, marketing factors, and risks of getting caught when they decide in which countries they will sell women into prostitution. In conversations recorded during crime investigations, pimps/procurers and traffickers have expressed frustration about setting up shop in Sweden and attracting customers who are willing to buy their women in prostitution. According to these intercepted telephone conversations, and from additional testimonies given by women who are victims of trafficking, the pimps and traffickers experience the following difficulties:

• Prostituted women must be escorted to the buyers, therefore giving less time to fewer buyers, and gaining less revenue for pimps than if women had been in street prostitution.

• Swedish men who want to buy women for prostitution purposes express serious fear of being arrested and prosecuted under the Law and hence demand absolute discretion from the pimps/ traffickers.

• To minimize the possibility of exposure/detection, the pimps/ traffickers are forced to operate apartment brothels in more than one location and to change locations regularly. Thus the mode of operation is expensive and requires that the pimp have local contacts. The necessity of several premises is confirmed in almost all preliminary investigations that have been carried out in 2002.

According to victim testimonies, pimps and traffickers prefer to market their women in countries such as Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, where the operating conditions are more attractive, where the buyers are not criminalized and where certain prostitution activities are either tolerated or legalized. In addition, Detective Inspector Kajsa Wahlberg mentioned that the Latvian police have concluded that Latvian traffickers do not sell women in Sweden because of the negative effects of the Law on their potential business.

Just Facts | 3600 FM 1488 Rd. | Suite 120 #248 | Conroe, TX 77384 | Contact Us | Careers

Copyright © Just Facts. All rights reserved.
Just Facts is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.
Information provided by Just Facts is not legal, tax, or investment advice.
justfacts.com | justfactsdaily.com