Program to Increase Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation, Final Report

• NCJ Number: 174040
• Author(s): B E Smith; B E Smith; B E Smith
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 109 pages
• Grant Number(s): 92-MC-CX-0008
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Education Development Ctr; American Bar Assoc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Goals of this project were to learn more about children who become victims of sexual exploitation, especially prostitution and pornography, and to identify the response of law enforcement, social welfare, and judicial systems to the problem of child sexual exploitation.

Abstract

The project reviewed the research literature on child sexual exploitation, evaluated the process by which children become involved in prostitution and pornography, examined Federal and State laws and pertinent case law used in the prosecution and punishment of offenders, and identified problems and obstacles faced by criminal and juvenile justice systems in handling child sexual exploitation cases. Phase one of the project included the literature review, an analysis of the legal framework for investigating and prosecuting child sexual exploitation cases, and secondary analysis of child sexual exploitation cases drawn from 14 jurisdictions that participated in prior research projects. Phase two involved field research in Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, based on qualitative interviews with justice, child protection, and social service system personnel and on an analysis of case record data obtained from criminal and juvenile justice systems. In addition, personal interviews were conducted with exploited youth served by runaway and juvenile prostitution programs. Project findings revealed that child sexual exploitation was a difficult offense category to study and was not a priority for most police departments. Further, criminal and juvenile justice systems failed to identify sexual exploitation in histories of juveniles in their custody. The project identified several types of sexually exploited youth: entrepreneurial youth, designer runaways (youth who lived at home and went to school during the week but joined the street scene on weekends), system kids (older youth with histories of involvement in child protection and juvenile justice systems), and vulnerable young girls. Research and policy recommendations are offered that focus on greater investments in child sexual exploitation prevention, education, and treatment. Case studies of child sexual exploitation in Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and San Diego are included. 25 footnotes and 59 tables