The STOPLight

Teen prostitution investigated by 20/20

Melissa Cornick, a producer for ABC's "20/20" show, recently completed an assignment -- "Small Town Girls" -- which aired on March 5, 1999. It told how girls are recruited into prostitution and featured Vicky, a young survivor from a small town in Minnesota.

Melissa's assignment was to investigate kids getting recruited into prostitution at places where they hang out, particularly at shopping malls. "Experts told us that if they were isolated, alone, or just wandering around in a mall, kids would eventually be approached, just as they are at bus stops and major bus terminals.

"During my investigation, I must have talked to about 500 people about teen prostitution, from the Justice Department to police departments, outreach groups, parents, prostitutes. I cultivated a number of police officer contacts around the country.

"I worked long and hard to find people who had been coerced out of malls. I found several kids who had been but I wasn't able to hold on to them. They'd tell me their story, then they'd disappear. Eventually I found Vicky, who had just gotten out of prostitution, and the story took on a small town focus."

Melissa felt hearing and telling Vicky's story was one of the harder stories she's done because of what was happening in Vicky's life.

"One of the main concerns I had was that no one else seemed to be concerned about her. I don't mean her family, because obviously her family was concerned. She has a great family and a mother who somehow planted in Vicky the strength that allowed her to turn around and report her pimp to the police. Most girls are unable to do that. They don't have the strength. They get sucked in and dehumanized. They lose themselves -- that's the goal of pimps. It's so effective that they can't see themselves out of that life.

"But something her mother planted in her gave her the strength to do that, and I really admire that in her. I think Vicky has qualities where she could be a great help to other people." One problem Vicky and others face is a lack of resources. There are not enough people who care; and those who do care can't do an effective job focusing on just one person when there are so many others who also need help. "One thing I observed is that many people who say they want to help make a phone call or two, then disappear.

"Vicky told me her pimp controlled every moment of her day. She couldn't go to the bathroom without his permission. She couldn't eat. He never bought her a coat. He would tell her what to do every second of the day. When I visited with her, she expected that control from me. She admitted she had been brainwashed into not being able to make her own decisions. I think girls in this situation need somebody to manage their lives to the same degree that the pimps did, except in a positive way.

"When you're trying to fix somebody's life, you can't just make one phone call. You have to step in, show them what to do, help them improve their education, teach them the skills they need to find employment and housing. Then you have to find ways to keep them from regressing, because sometimes they think [prostitution is] all they deserve.

"Personally, I found many of these service organizations to be disappointing. They couldn't help Vicky through the turmoil and trauma.

"I think there's a real need to revamp the system. I'd like to see many more people volunteer to get involved because the government is not going to do it. Right now, the government is not directing funds [toward the issue of] child prostitution. Many resources have been taken away. Prosecutors are also understaffed and have to choose what things are going to capture their resources and attention -- child prostitution is rarely their top priority."

Melissa feels that making "Small Town Girls" may have affected her co-workers by making them think about their responsibility to their own kids. In a profession that is very demanding of time and energy, there may be children in their private lives who aren't getting close enough attention.

"I'd like to see people taking action on an individual level. That includes keeping abreast on the issue, finding an organization to help, writing letters or making calls to legislators saying this is an important issue. We need to pay attention to the kids in our own lives.

"We live in a philanthropic society; besides money, people should give of themselves, give their time. We need to be more sympathetic and understanding of the situations people may find themselves in -- and learn what we can do to help."

from an interview of Melissa Cornick by Amy Hartman