Runaway girl with little money

Last month, the FBI announced the results of a nationwide crackdown on capture pimps engaged in the vilest type of prostitution: child and teen sex trafficking.

Experts say teen sex trafficking is a well-hidden economy, but it is a problem that exists in every community in every part of the country.

The FBI’s Operation Cross Country was part of its Innocence Lost Initiative, a five-year program to crack the crime rings that force America’s children and teens to trade their bodies for money. The Initiative has already obtained convictions on 308 persons and helped to recover 433 child victims. In last month’s sweep, at least 21 children were recovered.

Despite these results, which have always been publicized in the media, most Americans find it difficult to believe that these crimes exist and that their children could be the next victim.

There are approximately 100,000 minors involved in the sex trade, according to official FBI estimates. But a university study puts the number of child prostitutes at 800,000 all over the United States. The huge difference in estimates only indicates the extreme difficulty researchers and law enforcers face in quantifying the problem.

The primary reason for the difficulty? Child prostitution is so widespread and pervasive.

The average teen sex worker is 14 years of age, but FBI agents say they have rescued much younger children. One child recently recovered was only 9 years old.

Some experts believe a huge problem in child/teen sex trafficking is that the legal system, law enforcers and even social workers consider the young prostitutes as criminals, not as victims.  The assumption seems to be that these are individuals who have made a personal choice to break the law.

The reality is much different. Most of these youngsters have been brainwashed and victimized by pimps, have been made dependent on drugs supplied by these traffickers, and have been taught that authorities are not to be trusted. They have also been threatened that their families will be harmed or killed if they try to escape.

Even when rescued, there is a big chance that the teen prostitutes will go back to their pimps. Drug dependence, cultivated by the pimp, is one reason. Also, the teen prostitutes do not get enough counseling and rehabilitation services, which could help them to cut off their psychological and drug dependence.

But experts say law enforcement agencies generally have not been resolute in filing charges against pimps. Law enforcers admit prosecution of the crime is very difficult, not least because victims have been so terrorized by their pimps they rarely testify.

Law enforcers appear very aggressive in their efforts to protect America’s kids from child pornographers and sexual predators who prowl the Internet. They are hardly sympathetic when dealing with teens forced to work city streets and truck stops.

This week ABC News featured the story of two teenage cousins, aged 14 and 15, who were walking to a frozen snack store and offered a ride by a man. The man looked familiar, so the girls got in. It turned out he was a convicted pimp. He abducted the two teens and forced them to have sex with strangers in truck stops and other places while he collected the cash. Luckily, one of them was arrested, which led to a reunion with her family. She led her cousin’s parents to the pimp’s house to rescue the teen.

When they got to the house, the parents called the police for help. The police took 90 minutes to respond. When they arrived, it was all over: the anxious father had charged the house and struggled with the pimp.

Thousands of other teens forced into sexual slavery have not been as lucky.

Safety Tips:

* Advise your teens against accepting rides from people they don’t know.

* Try to develop your kid’s self esteem. Teen sex traffickers are especially attracted to vulnerable kids with low self-esteem.

* Make your kids feel you understand them. Runaways are particularly vulnerable.