from http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/alvarez-tells-congress-about-child-prostitution-here-1.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChicagoBreakingNews+%28Chicago+Breaking+News%29
WASHINGTON--Some young Chicagoans are practicing "survival sex" and selling their bodies for food, clothing or a safe place to sleep, according to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
In remarks to a congressional panel this morning, Alvarez recalled the story of one girl who said she didn't want her pimp to face charges because he bought her a Subway sandwich whenever she wanted one.
Alvarez said today that her office does not charge juveniles arrested for prostitution-related crimes but treats them as victims needing "support, services and a safe future."
Prosecutors are working with social service agencies to gather information "not just about human traffickers, but also concerning potentially corrupt public officials who protect them and their operations," she said.
Human trafficking is on the rise in the U.S.. and criminal enterprises "have made a fortune" in Cook County and elsewhere by exploiting women and children, she said.
One survey of Chicago area women in the sex trade found that 73 percent got in the business before age 18, Alvarez said.
Increasingly sophisticated gangs in Chicago find that human trafficking "fits well into their criminal repertoire," she said.
Alvarez described an investigation originating in LaSalle County, Ill., in which gang members distributed heroin and crack cocaine--illicit substances that were prepared in Chicago--using 17- and 18-year-old girls who smuggled the drugs in their bodies.
Alvarez joined the state's attorney's office in 1986 and became its top prosecutor in 2008. She spoke at a hearing called "In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States."
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who led the hearing as chairman of the subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, said it's estimated that 100,000-plus U.S. children become sex trafficking victims every year and that studies show the average age of entry into prostitution is 13.
He said sexually exploited children should be treated not as criminals but as victims and survivors.
--Katherine Skiba
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