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esponse to their observations regarding the personal needs, experience, and vulnerabilities of the
individuals they intend to recruit.
7. While pimps have varying levels of knowledge regarding law enforcement tactics
and sentencing surrounding sex trafficking, offenders believed that pimping was
less risky than other crimes, including drug trafficking. Though the majority of
respondents stated that arrest is the foremost “risk” of pimping, they also routinely reported that
they believed pimping was less risky than other crimes.
8. The widespread availability and rapid expansion of the Internet has redefined the
spatial and social limitations of the sex market by introducing new markets for both
recruitment and advertisement. Findings from this study corroborate extant literature on
the expansion of Internet use to facilitate sex work. Offenders reported new marketing
opportunities for pimps to connect with both recruits and clientele, including online classifieds,
social media, and networking websites.
9. Although interviews with offenders did not uncover elements of organized crime,
interviews with law enforcement suggest that the level of “organized crime” and
degree of criminal network involvement varies by UCSE venue. Stakeholders and
offenders described pimps that primarily facilitate street and Internet sex work as networked
socially, rather than through traditional organized crime structures. Higher levels of organized
crime were suspected by law enforcement within erotic massage parlors, strip clubs, and brothels,
although these suspicions remain largely unconfirmed.
10. Findings suggest that the cases of pimping and sex trafficking investigated and
prosecuted in the United States represent only a small fraction of the UCSE. Across
sites, criminal justice stakeholders felt the UCSE was much larger than they were able to
investigate, due to resource constraints, political will, or lack of public awareness about the
prevalence of UCSE crimes. Multiple offenders expressed the sentiment that “no one actually gets
locked up for pimping.”
Child Pornography Findings
1. Child pornography is an escalating problem and has become increasingly graphic
with younger victims. Both stakeholders and offenders incarcerated on child pornography
charges described a growing number of individuals viewing online child pornography. Both
stakeholders and offenders pointed to increasingly graphic content, often featuring violent acts
against infants and toddlers.
2. Child pornography is an international crime that transcends real and virtual
borders. Child pornography is a crime that has become global in scope, particularly with the
advent of the Internet. Through technology and the Internet, individuals can now download,
trade, and produce child pornography with anyone in the world, anytime during the day, seven
days a week, which may help offenders elude detection. Sex tourism was also cited by
stakeholders interviewed for this study as an international problem that is growing in both scope
and scale.
3. Child pornography is easy to access online and requires little technological savvy to
download. Law enforcement officials and child pornography offenders unanimously agreed that
the Internet has made child pornography extremely accessible and that individuals need very
little technological knowledge to not only download but also trade child pornography content.
4. Many child pornography offenders want treatment. Inmates incarcerated on child
pornography charges frequently described their relationship with child pornography as an
addiction or sickness. They highlighted the paucity of treatment options within prison, which are
only available at certain facilities for inmates close to release.
5. Child pornography is commonly considered a victimless crime by child
pornographers who do not commit contact offenses. The majority of individuals
interviewed for this study who were incarcerated for non-contact child pornography offenses
(possession and distribution) claimed to never have engaged in contact offenses with children.
Therefore, they believed their crime was “victimless” since they were downloading and/or trading
the images—not producing new content.
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