Atlanta continuing to fight child prostitution

By ERRIN HAINES - Associated Press Writer
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=89566

Hidden in Plain View: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in Atlanta http://www.womensagenda.com/Child_Prostitution.pdf


ATLANTA --

Harsher punishment for pimps and panderers, a better understanding of why children fall prey to sexual exploitation and a more services for victims are among the tools to eradicate human trafficking and child prostitution, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said on Tuesday.

A study released in 2005 on child prostitution in Atlanta made the issue a prominent part of the mayor's agenda. This year, the mayor launched a "Dear John" campaign to raise awareness about child prostitution through a series of print and broadcast public service announcements.

The study, titled "Hidden in Plain View: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in Atlanta," said the city has a thriving adult entertainment industry, has been identified as a hub for prostitution and has developed a national reputation as a sexual tourist destination.

"There is no question in my mind that we are just beginning this campaign,"
Franklin said on Tuesday. "We are finding ourselves in a place where people of goodwill are still completely in the dark about what they can do to protect a 14-year-old girl who lives in the city of Atlanta."

Franklin said she has sent a letter to Craigslist asking the online classified service to "take responsibility for the fact that it is a marketplace for child prostitution."

Franklin touted other initiatives launched in the past two years, including the establishment of a Child Exploitation Unit and Anti-Trafficking Unit at the Atlanta Police Department and new legislation that took effect in July which makes human trafficking a felony, sets a minimum prison sentence at 10 years and gives authorities more leeway to prosecute pimps and johns, lowering the standard they must meet to prove suspects are guilty.

Next, Franklin said her administration is exploring creating a "Johns School" - where adult men caught trying to solicit prostitutes would be required to attend classes - and is pushing for even stiffer sentences for pimps and johns.

The hour-long presentation also included people with firsthand knowledge of the difficulties of fighting child prostitution. Nikita Hurt, a former juvenile probation officer, admitted to the audience that her 22-year-old daughter has lived on the streets as a prostitute since she was 14, when she met her abusers on a telephone chat line.

"I asked myself, how could this be?" Hurt said, saying her family belonged to a megachurch, her children wore designer clothes and her daughters took ballet lessons. "I thought things like this don't happen to families like mine."

Hurt has since started a support group, Saving Our Daughters, for other mothers in a similar situation, looking for answers and ways to help other young girls.

Also on Tuesday, Fulton County prosecutors announced that an admitted pimp had been given a life sentence following his conviction of felony murder and other charges in the death of a prostitute.

"For many years, pimps and their customers (Johns) operated on the edge of society and received little, if any, punishment from the criminal justice system," District Attorney Paul Howard said in a statement. He added that, "those days are gone forever."