Two Child Prostitutes Rescued in Riverside
By KIMBER LIPONI
Updated 2:15 PM PST, Tue, Oct 27, 2009
FBI agents rescued two children in Riverside from what had been a life of prostitution.
The ages of the children will not be released. In fact, the FBI couldn't tell us much about the victims, because they're minors.
Here's what we know -- the children are now in protective custody and safe from their pimps.
The FBI teamed up with law enforcement officers across the country over the last few days for a nation-wide crackdown on sex-trafficking that included 700 arrests and the rescue of 52 children. Five suspected pimps from Riverside are behind bars, along with four suspected customers from Orange County.
It's not the first time they've had a major crackdown. And, of course, it won't be the last.
Child prostitution is growing in Los Angeles and other big cities across the country.
"Girls are lured by promises of a glamorous lifestyle -- promises of gifts including clothes, money, phones, gadgets. Once they become involved with these people, they are typically abused with drugs, forced into prostitution. At that point, it's very difficult for them to get out of it," said FBI Spokesperson Laura Eimiller.
Most of the child prostitutes come from broken homes and have emotional issues.
"These pimps are very adept at luring them in. Once they have contact, they're very good at manipulating them and making money from them," said David Johnson, from the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. He tolds us that pimps will set a particular amount a child needs to make every night. It will vary from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. The pimps take everything.
The children are dependant on the pimps for everything -- whether it's food, a place to stay, transportation, even communication with the outside world.
The youngest victim in this recent raid was 10 years old. Most of the victims are girls, but there are boys who are victims, too.
The Internet often lures them in and keeps them in.. "They are advertised on the Internet and taken across state lines for child prostitution," said Eimiller.
Most pimps have mastered moving the kids from city to city, providing alternate forms of ID. It's not easy to catch or prosecute them.
Sex-trafficking raids, like this weekend's, are carried out on a regular basis. In some cases, pimps have been sentenced to more than 30-years behind bars.
If you know someone who needs help, there are several resources available - the local FBI Field Office, Local Law Enforcement, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children or Children of the Night.
First Published: Oct 27, 2009 2:02 PM PST
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