According to a 68 page report recently presented to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin the pervasive problem has been developing for nearly a decade with the community becoming mobilized in 2000.

The report entitled, Hidden in Plain View: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in Atlanta (A Study of the Atlanta Women's Agenda, September 2005) traces the community's initial awareness of children being exploited in the sex trade to a 2000 editorial written by Fulton County Chief Juvenile Court Judge Nina Hickson.

According to Judge Hickson in an editorial published by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she was compelled to write because her experiences with cases before her bench had "reached epidemic and tragic proportions."

The scope of the problem becomes focused when the statistics are considered. The average age for the commercial exploitation of girls in Atlanta is 14. The Federal Bureau of Investigation rates the territory served by the Atlanta Field Office as "having the highest incidence of children used in prostitution."

Sergeant D.M. Williams of the Atlanta Police Department says, "Within the last year, you see more and more girls out on the streets, and it is because so many pimps are coming into the city from other locations and other states. Their thing is to put the juveniles to work on the streets. They feel that the money is here in the city. They are flocking here in droves."

Department of Justice figures published in the report show that 17,500 to 18,500 people are trafficked into Atlanta each year primarily for the purpose of sexual exploitation for profit.

In 2003 Juan Reyes Rojas and his brother pled guilty in Federal Court in Atlanta to 2 counts of human trafficking for smuggling 2 young women from Mexico into Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, the females, one 16 years old, were forced to have sex with between 10-25 men a night.

"In February 2004, 2 men from Mississippi were found guilty of kidnapping, enticing a minor to engage in commercial sex, transporting a minor across state lines for purposes of prostitution, and inducing and transporting an individual to travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution. The 2 men had kidnapped a minor female from Arkansas and forced her to engage in street prostitution and then return to their motel room every day in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area."

As indicated in the report, having sex with a minor is not just prostitution; it constitutes the crime of rape. In June 2002 a multi-agency probe and investigation led to the arrest and criminal prosecution of 15 pimps targeting under aged girls for prostitution. The FBI took lead in the case that resulted in Charles Floyd Pipkins, 55, a/k/a "Sir Charles," Andrew Moore, Jr., 38, a/k/a "Batman," and Terrance Ramsey, 23, a/k/a "Playboy" along with 13 other defendants being given sentences.

Pickens was sentenced to 30 years, Andrew Moore 40 years, and Ramsey was sentenced to 54 months. Since their convictions and subsequent incarcerations the Atlanta Women's Agenda has successfully petitioned the Parole Board to deny any early releases in these cases.

The report also calls attention to the fact that these juveniles are not voluntarily choosing prostitution as a way of life. Poverty, lack of education, drug addiction, and sexual abuse from adults are leading contributory factors.

The 2000 US Census shows that 39% of all kids under the age of 18 live in poverty. Among the 243 cities with the largest populations, Atlanta ranked number five (5) in percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty.

Atlanta ranked number 1 in the nation for children living in "extreme" poverty. "Forty seven (47%) of the children under age 18 lived in single-parent households, usually with a female head-of- household."

With a growing population of juveniles living in poverty, Atlanta provides a productive recruiting ground for pimps. Recruiting takes place wherever children congregate: MARTA stations, bus stops, malls, schools and even churches. According to Sgt. Williams (APD) Underground Atlanta is a major recruitment area. "Men drive around in their cars, stopping and talking to these little girls."

Spatial data provided in the report records prostitution activity and arrests by police zones showing actual street by street occurrences. Among the hot spots shown are: Bankhead Highway, Metropolitan Parkway, Memorial Drive, Moreland Avenue, Stone Mountain Decatur Road, Cleveland Avenue, Peachtree and North Avenue, Pharr Road, and Vine Street.

The report claims that prostitution related activities occur around most Atlanta Public Schools with the highest incidence in Zones 1,3,5 and 6.