By Linda A Smith Samantha Healy Vardaman Melissa A Snow

8Shared Hope InternationalIn 2006, the mother of a 14-year-old girl in Louisiana, allowed a 39-year-old crack dealer, HenryLee Bass, to have sex with her daughter in exchange for drugs. The mother was arrested andcharged with cruelty to a juvenile. Upon the mother’s arrest, she allowed her daughter to remainin Bass’ custody, who continued to supply the juvenile with crack and sexually abuse her. Bass, aregistered sex offender, introduced the minor to another man who also provided the minor withcrack and sexually exploited her. The two men then made an arrangement with Roy Myers topurchase sex with the juvenile for $300. Myers was later arrested. 15Another manifestation of DMST involves a trafficker/pimp who poses as a “boyfriend” who builds aromantic relationship with the youth. Through a series of calculated and methodical stages, the traffickerestablishes trust, and psychologically and physically bonds with the victim through a web of deceit andlies, securing her allegiance — even after the relationship changes drastically into one of violence, torture,and abuse. According to a survey completed by the Clark County Public Defenders Office-JuvenileDivision, of the 103 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related offenses, 59 indicated that they werecurrently under control of a pimp, and another 30 stated that they had “boyfriends.” 16“I was 14 years old, and the way the pimp came at me was that at first I didn’t even know he was apimp. He came at me like a boyfriend. Yes, he was an older boyfriend but he cared about me.... Sixmonths later he told me ‘Let’s run away together. We can have a beautiful house and family.’ And Idid believe him, and we ran away, and then the story changed and I met the other girls that he hadin his stable. And I had to go out every night and work the streets — the alternative was being gangrapedby a group of pimps while everyone watched.” 17— Tina Frundt, Founder of Courtney’s House,and Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingU.S. Citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident Children are the Victims of Sex TraffickingAmerican children are victims of sex trafficking within the United States. Domestic child victims tendto be easy targets and carry less risk for the traffickers and buyers than adults and foreign nationals. Forexample, in San Antonio, Texas, a human trafficker named Timothy Gereb had an order for 10 female sexslaves to sell to a brothel in Louisiana. 18 Gereb and his accomplices were only able to traffic two girls fromMexico, so he began to recruit local girls from San Antonio to fill his quota. He was apprehended, pledguilty, and was sentenced to 10 years. 19 This case demonstrates a potential trend of traffickers to view localyouth as viable product in the criminal market of commercial sexual exploitation as the recruitment and15Bayhi-Gennaro, Jennifer. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana(Shared Hope International: April 2008), pg.14, citing Fitch, E. “Grand Jury Indicts Murder Suspect,” The News-Star. June14, 2006.16Clark County Public Defender — Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses(July 2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.17Tina Frundt, Personal Interview. Shared Hope International, February 15, 2006.18Struble, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — San Antonio, Texas, pg. 63-4.19U.S. Department of Justice Press Release, “Man Sentenced to 10 Years For Role in San Antonio Sex-trafficking Ring,”March 12, 2008. http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/08_crt_202.html. Accessed on April 8, 2009. Also, San AntonioExpress-News, “Man pleads guilty in sex trafficking case,” February 25, 2008. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA022508_pleadeal_en_29c247ef_html30618.html. Accessed on April 8, 2009.