Commentators throughout the United States have been posing an important question: “Is child prostitution a crime committed by minors, or against them? Is it both?”1 Child prostitution has been defined as occurring when “a minor performs sexual intercourse in exchange for money.”2 There is a recognition that prostituted juveniles are victims on a federal level in relation to foreign national juveniles; however, domestic juveniles are currently not afforded the same protections and services in most states other than New York.3
Background
A startling statistic is that the “average age of entry into prostitution is between twelve and thirteen years old.”4 It is difficult to obtain accurate statistics; however, one study estimated “that nearly 300,000 youth may be at risk for commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution, within the United States each year.”5 The New York Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) estimates that there are 2,500 youth engaged in commercialized sex in New York City.6 One commentator emphasized that “[p]olice across the country have noted a growing number of juvenile prostitutes in the past decade.”7 What is the profile of these youths, and what happens to them?
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