[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1379 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1379

     Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to domestic sex 
                         trafficking of minors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2010

Mr. Poe of Texas (for himself, Mr. Costa, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and 
Mrs. Maloney) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
  the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to domestic sex 
                         trafficking of minors.

Whereas nationally 450,000 children run away from home each year and 30 percent 
        of shelter youth and 70 percent street youth report being victimized 
        through domestic minor sex trafficking, including prostitution, 
        pornography, and sexual entertainment;
Whereas experts estimate that at least 100,000 children are exploited through 
        prostitution in the United States every year;
Whereas as many as 129 girls are prostituted on a typical weekend night in the 
        State of Georgia alone;
Whereas the average age of a child recruited into prostitution is 13 years old;
Whereas victims of domestic minor sex trafficking testify that they were 
        required to perform sex acts with up to 20 buyers per day;
Whereas only 10 buyers of sex trafficked minors have been indicted under the 
        Federal law and few are charged under State laws for the crime of 
        commercial sex abuse of a minor;
Whereas the United States Attorney's Office in the Western District of Missouri 
        has obtained seven guilty pleas for violations of the Trafficking 
        Victims Protection Act of 2000 from individuals who attempted to buy 
        commercial sex from minors;
Whereas prostituted children across the country are being responded to with 
        arrest and detention, such as in Las Vegas where 226 juveniles came 
        before the Juvenile Court judge on prostitution charges in just 20 
        months and in Dallas where 165 juveniles were detained on prostitution 
        and related charges in 2007, and in Miami where 21 girls were prosecuted 
        for prostitution in one year;
Whereas only 2 States have passed laws establishing a presumption that a 
        commercially sexually exploited child is a victim of sex trafficking and 
        requires a child protection response instead of a criminal justice 
        response;
Whereas the number of beds in specialized residential placements for victims of 
        domestic minor sex trafficking number only around 80 in the entire 
        country;
Whereas children charged with prostitution are often ineligible for crime victim 
        compensation under State laws due to their participation in the crime 
        for which they are claiming victim status; and
Whereas a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking can only heal through 
        specialized, trauma-centered counseling which is not available in 
        standard juvenile detention or other residential placement options: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) urges States to enact laws that address the crime of 
        domestic minor sex trafficking by encompassing--
                    (A) establishment of community-based, specialized 
                residential facilities specifically tailored to 
                rehabilitating victims of sex trafficking;
                    (B) presumption of victim status instead of a 
                punitive criminal justice response;
                    (C) the examination of ways to ensure that crime 
                victim compensation funding programs are more readily 
                available to victims of sex trafficking;
                    (D) increased penalties and fines for those who buy 
                and sell children for sex acts; and
                    (E) mandatory training for law enforcement and 
                others who come into contact with children;
            (2) encourages the Department of Health and Human Services 
        to establish the pilot shelter for juvenile trafficking victims 
        originally authorized in section 203 of the Trafficking Victims 
        Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005;
            (3) recognizes that demand for commercial sex with minors 
        is central to the problem of domestic minor sex trafficking and 
        urges the United States Attorney General to make the arrest and 
        prosecution of buyers a priority at the Federal level, and also 
        at the State level by providing training and model laws to 
        State governments and law enforcement;
            (4) recognizes the need for standardized practices of 
        identification and response to domestic minor sex trafficking 
        victims among law enforcement and service providers in order to 
        prevent criminals from moving their business to the most 
        lenient States; and
            (5) recognizes the need for an adequate number of 
        specialized residential facilities and services that are gender 
        specific and trauma informed for the protection and restoration 
        of child sex trafficking victims.
                                 <all>