USA TODAY International Edition
Sex ring charges follow sinister pattern
Child traffickers prey on the most vulnerable
Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier convicted 11 years ago of soliciting minors for prostitution, now stands accused of preying on children in a manner that is disturbingly familiar to sex trafficking experts: targeting society’s most vulnerable young people.
A federal indictment unsealed Monday charges that Epstein “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls,” some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, and other locations. The indictment describes the victims as “particularly vulnerable to exploitation.” Epstein has pleaded not guilty. Private investigator Mike Fisten – who has been working for more than a decade with attorney Brad Edwards, who represents 14 of Epstein’s accusers – said the victims have much in common.
“As far as I’ve been able to find from my investigation, vulnerable children and girls are all he targets. The more vulnerable and the younger the better,” Fisten said.
The charges – one count of sex trafficking and one of sex trafficking conspiracy – stem from accusations dating to 2002-2005.
“The only way his scheme works is to recruit the most vulnerable girls,” Edwards said. “First of all, that age group he targets, 13-17, is particularly vulnerable, and he knows that ... and then the most susceptible of falling
into his trap are the ones who don’t have a parent in the household or a good support system and who need money.
“Two to three to four hundred dollars to any 13-year-old in America is a lot of money, and you dangle it to those who’ve never seen that much money in one place at one time, and he realized you can get someone to do almost anything . ... Now he’s created a very solid spider web of girls whose vulnerabilities he can prey on.”
“He preyed upon children who were already vulnerable,” said Martina Vandenberg, founder and president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, about the latest allegations involving Epstein. “He preyed upon children in the foster care system. He preyed upon children already being abused.”
Perpetrators of sex trafficking often target victims who are poor, lack support networks and are living on the margins of society, experts say. They especially target children with a history of abuse and neglect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows:
❚ One in seven endangered runaways were likely sex trafficking victims, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
❚ 85% of girls involved in the commercial sexual exploitation of children were previously involved in the child welfare system, according to a Department of Justice report in 2014.
❚ A 2016 study on risk factors for child sex trafficking in the U.S. found participants who identified as a racial or ethnic minority were more than twice as likely to have been trafficked as a child than white participants.
❚ LGBTQ youth are at particular risk for sex trafficking: Up to 40% of homeless young people identify as LGBTQ. They are three to seven times more likely to engage in “survival sex” to meet basic needs such as shelter and food.
“Bias and discrimination end up equaling secrecy and alienation, and when you don’t have support systems ... that often creates risk factors that people who inflict harm on others are seeking out,” said Kristen Houser, chief public affairs officer at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Many of the children have experienced trauma before. They have been taught to believe their bodies are not their own, that they have no voice, experts say.
“After years in foster care, I didn’t think anyone would want to take care of me unless they were paid. So, when my pimp expected me to make money to support ‘the family,’ it made sense to me,” one survivor said in a 2018 report by ECPAT, a group aimed at ending child prostitution and trafficking.
Experts say immigrants are often told from the time they get to the USA that law enforcement is corrupt, and traffickers reinforce that notion by saying they are bribing police.
There are hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims in the United States, estimates Polaris, a non-profit that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Experts say traffickers and pimps target places where emotionally vulnerable girls can be found, such as group homes, shelters and rehab programs. Experts say the industry has also grown because perpetrators have gained more access to victims through the internet.
“Traffickers are very good a spotting these potential victims through social media,” said Donna Hughes, a leading international researcher on human trafficking. “They give the girls the things they are longing for: someone to talk to who will listen to them at length. Someone who will take their side when they describe conflicts with family, friends or school. They give them gifts, things the girls could never afford. They take them to places they’ve never been before.”
“Two to three to four hundred dollars to any 13-year-old in America is a lot of money, and you dangle it to those who’ve never seen that much money in one place at one time, and he realized you can get someone to do almost anything . ... Now he’s created a very solid spider web of girls whose vulnerabilities he can prey on.” Brad Edwards Attorney