Sex Trafficking and Minors

Posted Tuesday, February 16, 2010

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A new study from the Ohio Attorney General's office suggests that at any given moment, there are likely hundreds of minors working as underage prostitutes across the state. Given the nature of the problem, hard numbers are difficult to come by. But here's a fact: In the last four years, investigators in Toledo have identified 60 victims of sex trafficking--all children from Ohio. Tuesday morning at 9, Dan Moulthrop and guests shed new light on the seldom-seen world of child prostitution in Ohio.

Guests

Richard Cordray Attorney General of Ohio
Scott Wilson FBI Special Agent, Cleveland Media Coordinator
Theresa Flores, former sex trafficking victim

Please follow our community discussion rules when composing your comments.

rebecca elliott 11:14 AM 2/16/10

Your program was a start but I would like to see you expand this topic. Your guests, except for Ms. Flores,are limited in their knowledge. Where was representation from Children’s services, Rape Crisis Center, Cleveland Police Sex Crimes Division, School nurses who see these children daily? All of these people see people who have been sexually exploited and have ideas about how to identify, how to intervene and how to recover these young people but often are frustrated as to where to turn for assistance.
I work in an area Emergency Department and am aware of sex businesses, often seeing the young people who seek treatment for sexually transmitted diseases or detox from the addiction they have acquired to help them cope with their forced employment. We too are limited as to where to turn and how much assistance to offer, but we all know it exists.
So now that Mr. Cordray is aware of the problem, what is the task force going to do? What solutions do they propose?

Jilinda Richer 11:34 AM 2/16/10

During my first month of married life, a week after my new husband had left for a two-month patrol on a submarine based in Charleston, South Carolina, I was attacked by an intruder while sleeping in our apartment.

My screams, in response to his command, “Don’t say anything,” resulted in his running away before being able to achieve his objective, but I can still hear the sound of the screen door slapping closed as he left.

I immediately called the police, but their first question was, “Are you sure that you didn’t just invite him in and then change your mind?”

When I called our landlady, who lived in another part of town, to let her know about this episode, her first comment was, “You didn’t call the police, did you?” She obviously didn’t want her property to get a bad reputation.

I later learned that there had been a series of attacks previously in this area, but my initial impression of the area was that the rather weathered, huge mansions that had been broken up into numerous apartments, possessed “character” and mystique that this Midwestern girl found fascinating.

This episode took place almost 40 years ago, but I’m afraid that the response of some (not all!) law officials may not be much different now.

Thanks for this excellent discussion of a topic which is still pertinent today. I hope that you will be able to follow up with a program about ways in which anyone can respond safely to inappropriate encounters.

theresa 7:13 PM 2/16/10

Rebecca, one of the things that I do along with Dr Jeffrey Barrows, founder of Gracehaven, is try to educate medical personnel. We realize this is Vital to saving victims. I personnally believe the emergency room is the first place to find girls that have been victimized by this crime. yet many dont know the signs or what to do when they suspect it. feel free to contact us at info@gracehaven.org.