Child Exploitation

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Most people have no idea how large the problem truly is.

Pimps

Child prostitution is national in scope. Pimps have become more sophisticated in their
recruitment and maintenance of the children they force to prostitute, moving their victims
from state to state, often forcing them to work as prostitutes outside the larger cities and in
small towns where police are unfamiliar with the operations of child prostitution rings.   

Children are recruited by pimps in arcades, malls, entertainment centers, at tourist
attractions and concerts. The pimp seduces a new recruit with the lure of wealth and the
luxury of designer clothes, fancy cars, and exclusive nightclubs. Pimps move from city to
city looking for children who are easy prey: alone, desperate, and alienated. Once he
moves a child from her hometown into a strange city, the pimp can easily force her to work
as a prostitute. Thousands of children are victimized by this horrible con game every year.
Child prostitution is an immense and devastating problem that nobody wants to recognize,
nobody wants to talk about, and everyone wants to cover up. Child prostitutes are not only
abandoned by their parents, but by the social services system as well.

Child prostitutes are typically victims of incest at an early age. Without intervention, these
children run to the street during adolescence to escape the terrifying sexual exploitation by
a trusted caretaker.

Sexually abused children respond differently than children abused in other ways. They are
defenseless and lack the aggression required for survival on the streets. They are more
vulnerable to the manipulations and skillful con games of pimps.