Tracy's Blog: My Trip To Arizona

I have mixed emotions about reaction to my story last night on child prostitution and the Arizona rehabilitation facility hoping to expand to Texas. Most viewers are saying they were shocked there is even a need for it here in North Texas. I was too.

After all, these sex slaves are younger than my own daughter.
The average age of girls forced into prostitution is now 13 in the United States.
And the demand for younger and younger girls continues to increase in the United States.

As I researched this story, I quickly became sensitive to using the proper terminology: the word "prostitute" is used for someone over 18 year old; the term "sex slave" is used for girls under 18, most of whom are abducted and/or victimized by adults.

There is no choice involved.

I was surprised to learn there is no after-care facility in Dallas/Fort Worth for these little girls rescued from sex slavery.

The Letot Center in Dallas is the closest thing, but it houses girls and boys from various backgrounds, typically for no more than 30 days.
Rehabilitating from years of sex slavery is known to take years.

And so I became compelled to share the mission of Streetlight Phoenix, the first of its kind "secret city" to help rehabilitate girls under 18 who've been forced into prostitution. These girls are so brainwashed and traumatized, they often return to the street and to the men they continue to call their "daddy," the only people they believe truly love them. So Streetlight provides them a safe, nurturing environment in which to live, an on-line school, and the emotional, physical and mental help they need to become little girls again.

If this organization continues to raise the funds, it will soon expand to Dallas/Fort Worth, as well as Columbus, Ohio, another surprising mecca for sex trafficking.

But something I didn't get to report on-air surprised me the most.
While my photographer and I were in Phoenix, I had the opportunity to watch a pimp in court on the 13th floor of the Maricopa County Courthouse.  He was representing himself as his own attorney, facing 26 charges including kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual intercourse with a minor and receiving the earnings of a prostitute.

Now let me ask you: what image comes to mind as you re-read that previous sentence? What do you think a pimp looks and acts like?  I admit, before I entered the courtroom I imagined a guy with saggy pants and maybe a gold tooth or two, speaking with bad grammar.

That was not at all what I encountered.

The man before the judge and jury was a 35-year-old, former college football-player, father of three, dressed in pressed khaki pants and crisp oxford shirt. He spoke in articulate, perfect grammar and quickly wooed the entire crowd. He was charming and engaging.

I quickly heard whispering amongst the females in the courtroom watching along with me: "Wow. This guy may win his case," one said.

Remember, this man had 26 counts against him!

If wise, adult women were lured by this person's presentation, imagine how vulnerable a young girl must be?

Parents, we must open our eyes and educate our daughters!

We must make them aware that wherever young girls gather--malls, movie theaters, concerts or sporting events--pimps and other predators are too. They, or another young girl they've brainwashed, may approach your daughter with flattery, the promise of a modeling job, whatever it takes to reel her in.

As 48-year-old Carolyn, a former prostitute, told me...LOVE your little girl. Pay attention to her. And if she makes a bad choice or goes astray, never, ever give up on her.

You can help young girls right now and help fund Streetlight's expansion to North Texas through its abolition fund.

Click here to learn more and make others aware of this growing issue.

--Tracy