Pimps, Prostitutes & the Law
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, August 2, 2013 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Good morning, Jim. In 2011 only one member of the Georgia General Assembly voted against a bill to define children as anyone under age 18, if they were involved in sexually explicit conduct for hire. They could choose to be prostitutes, solicit sexual contact, work in illicit massage parlors or perform in pornography and STILL be considered victims of sexual abuse until their 18th birthday. If they were re-arrested after their 18th birthday, they could be charged with sex crimes.
Certainly, everyone knows SOME children AND adults are victims of sex trafficking, but honest thinkers know SOME become involved by their own volition. In my testimony to the Senate hearing for H.B. 200, I requested a lowering of the age from 18 to 13, so older teens could be subject to closer scrutiny for their involvement. The change was not made because the bill had been cleverly crafted to amend a section of law that already covered anyone UNDER 18. A senate committee member, who, OBVIOUSLY, understood the validity of my request, asked whether age 18 was part of the bill or in current law. The answer was yes, 18 was already in that section of law.
H.B. 200 passed because it camouflaged the intent of its two sister bills that died in committee the year before. They were S.B. 304 and H.B. 582. Both, clearly, stated that anyone picked up for sex crimes would not face criminal charges, unless they had reached their 18th birthday. The goal of those two bills, as well as H.B. 200, was to decriminalize sexually explicit conduct for anyone under 18, so they could qualify for victim compensation funds from the state, as well as the federal government.
Last weekend, in a 76-city sweep, the FBI arrested 159 people in child prostitution rings nationwide in its Operation Cross Country. Of those four underage girls and eight alleged pimps were arrested in Georgia. Two of the girls were in metro Atlanta and two in Augusta. I wonder how old those girls are. If they are over 13, the judge should consider whether they are victims or volunteers who chose “the life,” as sex work is now called. If the age is not lowered to 13, girls from 14 through 17 might decide “the life” is a great way to make money until they’re 18. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.