413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

The difference between a young female and an older [female]—the young is going to be
more ambitious. She’s more reluctant to accept everything because they want to know
what it’s like to buy a pimp or a Cadillac or pimp coat or live in a nice apartment with a
family. If you have what we call a “seasoned female,” she might be with you a couple of
years and then burn out and go to another pimp. More structure to older females, more
understanding with younger females. (D5)
Other pimps recruited minors because they themselves were underage and thus connected to younger
social circles: “When I was in high school, I would do high schools. Because I was younger and couldn’t
get into certain clubs” (E13). Law enforcement officials in San Diego similarly observed that minors who
pimp usually recruit other minors through high schools or malls to engage in sex work.
While a few interviewees highlighted reasons they recruited younger women, most respondents stressed
the importance of avoiding any business relationship with minors: “I was determined to stay away from
the younger bitches. 16 gets you 20” (B3). As discussed in chapter 5, many respondents reported that
minors lied about their age so that a pimp would hire them to engage in sex work. Similarly, law
enforcement officials from multiple study cities observed that minors sometimes pretended to be over 18
years of age and are commonly marketed as adults. One 32-year-old respondent explained that law
enforcement often misconceived the relationship between pimps and minors, assuming that pimps
actively seek out underage girls:
This particular business ain’t about pimps going to high school and recruiting a girl.
Government don’t understand how this game original come about. Girl run away from
home, look older than what she is. They think pimps are going out and enticing them. A
percentage of them might be out seeing if they can get a young girl, play on her, try to use
her to get money. (G3)
The same respondent reported that his felony conviction resulted when he hired a minor who lied about
her age:
The money was coming, I had three or four girls. We used to go out of town. They would
get arrested, I would get them out. I even got arrested. You could go through my name, I
had a criminal history, but it was all misdemeanors. The only thing that got me in here
was I had a minor sneak up in my stable and she lied about her age. Some girls want to
get out there and be grown when they ain’t grown. I got manipulated and it was too late.
(G3)
Working with minors or younger women introduced challenges and liabilities that some pimps preferred
to avoid, and some respondents expressed a preference for working with older women. One 28-year-old
respondent explained, “If they get stopped [by the police], they’re runaways. They got to go back home.
You can’t travel with them. It’s just a hassle” (B4). In the words of a 38-year-old respondent, “Bitch better
have a felony charge and stretch marks to mess with me. I know she is grown and been to jail” (D3).
Another offender reported that his choice to work with older women was not only based on concerns over
prosecution, but also dictated by his principles: “If a female got caught she got a misdemeanor, but if she’s
fewer than 18 it’s a whole different game. But it’s not just that, I have principles too. I mean, a lot of
people look at what I’m doing and they don’t like it, but, I can’t have any of that. I tried for 21 or older, but
18 is the youngest I’d even consider” (A7).
Personal History
Studies have highlighted some common characteristics of women targeted by pimps. According to extant
research, pimps and traffickers often sought out women for whom they could promise and provide
financial support, safety, and personal relationships. As a result, they target women who are economically
disadvantaged, dependent on drugs, victims of previous sexual assault, or lacking in emotional support
(Raphael and Myers-Powell 2009, 2010; Raymond, Hughes, and Gomez 2001; and Wilson and Dalton
2007).
Law enforcement respondents indicated that pimps often targeted women and minors from
disadvantaged backgrounds and groom women and girls through promises of living in a big home and
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