413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Main Findings from this Chapter Include:
Trends: Cases of child and adult sex trafficking and prostitution were uncovered in all cities. Erotic Asian massage parlors
and Latino brothels were found in almost every city and all cities reported difficulty in determining the extent to which
adult sex workers were voluntarily employed in prostitution or victims of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking of minors, often
runaway youth, occurred primarily by pimps and rarely through Latino brothels or Asian massage parlors.
Social Networks: Street and Internet pimps were not commonly found to work closely together in an organized crime
network, but were found to be highly networked in a social capacity, sharing information about cities’ markets, warning
one another about law enforcement activity, and trading or buying victims between each other.
Weapons: A connection between sex trafficking, prostitution, and weapons trafficking was not reported to exist in these
sites, although some stakeholders did report that in a few cases pimps/traffickers were found to carry weapons.
Drugs: Stakeholders reported that street and Internet pimps commonly had prior arrests or incarcerations for drug
dealing and may have turned to pimping because they perceived it as less risky.
Gangs: The connection between gangs and sex trafficking varies by city. In some study sites (Denver, San Diego, Seattle,
and Washington, DC), gang involvement in sex trafficking was uncovered. In some cases, rival gangs were found to be
cooperating with one another to engage in sex trafficking.
Prices: Prices charged for underground commercial sex across cities were fairly consistent and often depend on the racial
and ethnic background of the victim. Age and drug addiction also plays a role in the price structure.
Venues: Erotic Asian massage parlors and Latino brothels were found to be operating in almost every city in our study.
The extent to which sex trafficking or prostitution was occurring through these venues varied. Nevertheless, the pricing
structure and operation of these venues was fairly consistent.
Findings by City
Miami, Florida
Sixteen individuals were interviewed about the local underground commercial sex economy in Miami,
Florida. Representatives from the following agencies were interviewed: Miami-Dade Police Department,
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Attorney
General’s Office, and the US Attorney’s office.
According to local and federal law enforcement, venues facilitating sex trafficking of adults and minors
and adult prostitution in Miami include: massage parlors, escort services, brothels, nightclubs and strip
clubs, open-air or street-based markets, Internet-based advertisements, hotels, and homes (see table 4.1).
Over the past five years, stakeholders have noticed a shift toward more Internet-facilitated prostitution
and sex trafficking. Brothels are primarily operated by individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or
El Salvador and managed by individual families, rather than large criminal networks. Erotic massage
parlors are typically run by Chinese nationals and are highly organized, with direct links back to China.
Online prostitution is facilitated by pimps or women who work for escort agencies. Although pimps in the
Miami metro area network with one another, they primarily work independently and are not highly
organized. Law enforcement has not seen a direct link between weapons, drugs, and sex trafficking.
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