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Support for child prostitution bill urged
Paterson to consider measure which would help underage victims of sex trade
The Associated Press

    Tiffany was 12 when her mother died. That was the same year she ran away from her sister’s house, lived on the streets for six weeks and met the man who two days later became her pimp.
    Under New York state law girls like Tiffany could be prosecuted for breaking the law. But a new bill Gov. David Paterson is reviewing would help child prostitutes avoid harsh prosecution. They would be treated as victims and get services to help escape exploitation in the sex trade.
    “As a young girl, when you’re under the age of 17, you cannot consent to sex, and you’re forced to have sex with someone for money — I feel like that’s statutory rape,” said Tiffany, who asked that her last name not be used because she was a victim of sexual violence. “Once you’re in jail no one helps you, no one talks to you, no one asks you why you were out on the streets or what your family situation is.”
    Now 18, the Bronx resident has received her GED. She does outreach for other young women and hopes to go to college. She spent a yearand-a-half in jail for assault before she was introduced to the Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS) program in Manhattan, which helped change her life.
    New York and many other states have sought to prosecute sexually exploited youth. State laws generally contradict the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which defines sex trafficking as a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud or coercion — or involving a minor. Child advocates want state laws to reflect federal law.
    The Safe Harbour bill would allow children under the age of 15 avoid criminal proceedings on their first prostitution arrest and instead be considered a “person in need of supervision.” The bill would offer them services to start over.
    In any future arrests, the youths could defend themselves as victims of sex trafficking in court to avoid harsh prosecution and stiff penalties. The judge would have discretion in those cases.
    “This is a billion dollar industry that targets some of the most vulnerable children in the state,” said Rachel Lloyd, the founder and executive director of GEMS, a nonprofit that helps girls avoid or escape sexual exploitation. “Adults are out there looking for vulnerable kids and criminalization is not the solution … when in any other case this would be statutory rape.”
    Advocates argue that the court system should be able to consider the fact that the majority of these youths have a history of psychological, physical or sexual abuse. Arresting children exploited as prostitutes can further traumatize them and impose a stigma that is difficult to escape, Lloyd said.
Paterson’s office has said only that they will review the measure when it’s sent to them.
Advocates who lobbied for the bill say they have been told the state is expecting it to cost tens of millions, but no one in the governor’s office or the Office of Family and Child Services would provide any details about the potential fiscal ramifications the bill would have.
“I think it’s inflated,” Lloyd said.
J.R. Drexelius, council for Sen. Dale Volker, said under former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s administration he had heard it estimated the bill would cost the state $8.5 million.
    “There is no reason whatsoever not to do this legislation,” said Volker, an Erie County Republican who sponsored the legislation. “Every day that this legislation does not become law, the probability of a child who has been sexually victimized loses the opportunity to address his [or] her personal challenges to become productive adults and assets to our society.”
    American children entangled in the sex trade are not afforded the same protections extended to those who are transported into the U.S. from other countries, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
    “If these were people being trafficked, there would be services and support,” Allen said. “And this is domestic trafficking. There is no question about it, there is no difference between what’s happening to these kids on the streets of American cities and what’s happening in other countries.”
    Only Washington state and California have considered legislation similar to the Safe Harbour Act, said Karen Stauss, the managing attorney and policy counsel for the Polaris Project, an organization fighting human trafficking.
    According to the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Runaway and Throwaway Children, an estimated 450,000 children run away from home every year. Living on the streets, one out of every three teens will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.

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Safe Harbor at last

First published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008

It took much too long, but the Legislature has finally approved legislation to help children who are pressed into the sex trade to turn their lives around. The legislation, known as the Safe Harbor Act, has been sent to Gov. Paterson's desk. He should sign it immediately.
Last year, amid great fanfare, the Legislature passed, and former Gov. Spitzer signed, one of the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the nation. It is designed to protect young people, mostly women, who are often lured to this country with promises of good-paying jobs in many fields, only to find themselves forced to work in brothels and massage parlors, or as sweatshop laborers.

In theory, federal law prohibits human trafficking, but in practice, federal agencies do not have the personnel necessary to crack down on any but the largest operations. Thus, as long as there was no tough state law in place, many smaller operators were free to ply their trade throughout New York, with no fear of being shut down.

Last year's law changed all that. But as welcome as it was, it was far from complete. The law did not address the plight of underage boys and girls who are born in the U.S. and wind up on the streets, often after fleeing their homes because of family troubles or abuse. Many come from New York homes, while others gravitate to the lure of New York City and other urban centers, where they are easy prey for brutal pimps who force them to work as prostitutes.

Incredibly, these youngsters -- some no older than 12 -- often faced arrest and prosecution if they were caught selling themselves, even though state law provides that any adult who has consensual sex with a minor is liable to prosecution for statutory rape. Sheer logic argued for turning things around, so that the adults, not the children, were treated as guilty parties.

Indeed, the state's highest tribunal, the Court of Appeals, had pointed out this double standard and urged the Legislature to end it. The Safe Harbor Act does just that, by calling on authorities to treat child prostitutes as victims of exploitation rather than as criminals. The bill also calls for the state to provide these young victims with housing and counseling so they could begin a new life.

Last year, some lawmakers objected to these provisions, largely out of concern over the cost of providing support services. Some prosecutors were also wary of the bill, on the grounds that the threat of jail was necessary to persuade the young victims to testify against their pimps.

These objections were never a good reason to block passage of the Safe Harbor Act, and now, thankfully, they have been resolved. The next move is up to Mr. Paterson. Sign the bill, Governor, and save the children.

ISSUE:A bill to protect exploited children is before the governor.THE STAKES:The sooner it is signed, the sooner shattered lives can be repaired.

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Police say Brooke Bennett's body found
Updated: 07/03/2008 12:48 PM
By: Web Staff

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- "It's with heavy heart and deep sadness that I announce we have located what we believe to be the remains of Brooke Bennett."

Vermont State Police Colonel James Baker made the sad announcement Wednesday in a tragic end to a week-long investigation into her disappearance.

An autopsy is being performed on remains that are thought to be Brooke's. State Police say those remains were found near the home of her uncle, Michael Jacques.

Jacques is now charged with kidnapping in this investigation. State Police said Jacques was the last person seen with Brooke last Wednesday. This is confirmed by a surveillance camera that captured them at a convenience store.

A judge arraigned Jacques Monday on charges that he sexually assaulted another young girl.

Prosecutors said he convinced that girl she was part of a sex ring and repeatedly assaulted her over the past five years. That girl told police Jacques may have been trying to lure Brooke into that ring the day she disappeared.

Brooke's former stepfather has been charged with obstruction of justice and is also being held on an unrelated sex charge. Ray Gagnon lives in San Antonio but visits Vermont often.

Prosecutors said Gagnon logged on to Brooke's MySpace page with a password that Jacques allegedly gave him. They won't say if he posted a message on that site to make it look like she was going to meet someone the morning she disappeared.