Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I Love Debates in The Corner, But ...   [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

... I don't hear the word "prostitution" and think "a victimless recreational activity between consenting adults." I think it needs a heck of a lot more popular scrutiny than, say, the Pretty Woman treatment (which we consider so mainstream that it airs on TBS — or one of those channels — many given weekends).

I guess we can thank Spitzer if his predicament highlights crimes that go unpunished, women who are suffering in this "profession," families destroyed by the industry ... and point people in the direction of some of the children (not just his daughters) who have been hurt and exploited by human sex trafficking.

A latest example:

A 35-year-old Prince George's County man pleaded guilty yesterday to human trafficking for forcing a 14-year-old female Mexican national into a life of prostitution in which she charged customers up to $30 for 15 minutes of sex, according to federal prosecutors.

Javier Miguel Ramirez of Hyattsville faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in June, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said. He pleaded guilty during a hearing in the courthouse in Greenbelt.

03/12 09:02 AMShare