What are your thoughts on how Bay Area Rap/Hip Hop Culture has cultivated ,endorsed and conditoned the Bay Area Pimping Mentality and how the effects of the Local Music has had on city streets in and around the Bay Area?
Not to Blame "Bay Rap" on the oldest profession in the world, Rather what are your thoughts on people Still Packaging and selling the lifestyle on cd's and dvds in 2008 and how in turn that effects real people in and around the streets of the bay area?
Check out some of these recent articles about The Epidemic Facing cities like Oakland who cant control the numbers of Child/Teen Prostitues, Johns/Tricks and a Infinite number of Pimps.
Not to Blame "Bay Rap" on the oldest profession in the world, Rather what are your thoughts on people Still Packaging and selling the lifestyle on cd's and dvds in 2008 and how in turn that effects real people in and around the streets of the bay area?
Check out some of these recent articles about The Epidemic Facing cities like Oakland who cant control the numbers of Child/Teen Prostitues, Johns/Tricks and a Infinite number of Pimps.
Article Created: 04/22/2008 02:35:41 AM PDT
OAKLAND - THE DAY AFTER Christmas, 14-year-old Desiree went shopping at the mall with her friends, missed her curfew and never went home.
Desiree's family grew concerned and filed a missing person's report with the Oakland Police Department.
The girl, who stands 4 foot 11 and has an olive complexion and long, wavy dark hair, disappeared for days. Then an uncle was shocked to come across a nude picture of Desiree in the shower posted on the Craigslist Web site.
He called the telephone number listed looking for his niece. She answered and, recognizing his voice, hung up.
Desiree was among the hundreds of children under 18 advertised on the site's erotic services section. With one click on a blue link, girls called"Sexy Blonde Bombshell," "Asian Rockstar Gone Wild" and "Ebony Playmate" appear on the screen wearing thongs and lacey bras.
Technology and cell phones have given pimps greater reach and the ability to solicit pedophiles from all over the country who are willing to pay top dollar for sex with children.Demand is great, and the profits are huge. But Desiree and many young girls who turn tricks typically don't take in any of that money.
On a busy night, Desiree — who turned 15 on Saturday and is home again with her family in Oakland — said she had sex with as many as four men and made $600 a night, which she turned over to her pimp. But by the end of her one-month stint of being pimped on the Internet, Desiree was out $1,000 and had a busted lip and an excruciatingly painful pelvic inflammatory disease. She also was arrested on charges of possession of drugs and truancy.
On the streets
It was last winter when Desiree went to the mall with some high school girlfriends who, after telling her how much money they could make as prostitutes, recruited her.
"It was good money," she said in an interview last week. "So, I just went with them."Desiree agreed to share her story because she wants others to know what she experienced as a teen prostitute. She said she is not ashamed and hopes her story will raise awareness of the issue.
Desiree thought a life on the streets would be better than living at home with her mother, who spent a decade addicted to crystal meth. Desiree said she also felt comfortable around older men because when she was 12 her father forced her to touch his penis. He was later sent to prison for that — convicted of lewd acts with a child — and other charges.
"I think that really affected me," she said. "It made me think it was OK to serve tricks."
Experts say Desiree fits the profile of underage girls who end up turning tricks — many of them have run away from unhappy home lives.
Besides advertising herself on Craigslist, Desiree said she and her friends also hunted for tricks by walking the "track" — as the girls call the street — any time they needed money. They looked for men who were willing to pay for sex or take them joyriding around town.
"I felt like it was my vacation away from my family and I could do my thing," she said.She stayed with a friend's family, who Desiree said didn't know what the girls were up to.
One night in November, Desiree, dressed in fitted jeans and a tight T-shirt that read "I'm Bossy," was busted by the police who saw her soliciting sex from a man in a car.
"I was hecka scared and I never thought this would happen," she said. "I thought I should try to run, but they (the police) already had me in handcuffs."Desiree also got caught with Ecstasy pills in her purse. She said the police told her the man had a machete in his car and could have killed her.
"It was really risky because you never know what people are up to," Desiree said.'He kinda made me feel comfortable'
After that incident, Desiree decided she would be better off working for a 19-year-old pimp she met through her friends.
She said he helped her and gave her a place to stay.
"He kinda made me comfortable and feel like I was going to be safe and cool with him," Desiree said.
One day while she was in the shower, Desiree said her pimp took naked pictures of her to post on Craigslist. She said she worried because she didn't want her face in the pictures.
"He told me that no one would notice me," Desiree said. "He said he would make my face look blurry."
As soon as the ad was posted, the phone calls came in.
Desiree said she worked around the clock and charged johns by the minute. For 30 minutes, it cost $50 and for one hour it cost $200.
"He (her pimp) used to make me work, work, work," Desiree said. "I got the money first, then I served the trick."
Desiree said she had sex with four or five men a day and hardly got any sleep.
After one too many times of her pimp sending her on dates on an empty stomach, Desiree decided she'd had enough. In addition, she developed pelvic inflammatory disease and had to resort to giving massages to make money instead of having sex.
"My vagina was hurting and I was sitting on my knees, holding myself and crying," Desiree said. "I hated it, I was in so much pain and it made me rethink prostitution."
After a month of turning tricks on the "track" and on the Internet, Desiree asked her pimp to take her back home to her family.
He dropped her off in her East Oakland neighborhood with $40 in her hand. Desiree had become a less valuable commodity to her pimp because she was unable to serve tricks with her health conditions.
She said her pimp still owes her about $1,000, but she is not in contact with him anymore."I'm just going to forget about the money," she said. "It's bad money anyway."
A fresh start
When Desiree returned home in January, her relatives called the police.
Jim Saleda, an officer with the Oakland Police Department Child Exploitation Unit, said the FBI also informed them of the case and of Desiree's photos on the Internet.
"If you look at the pictures on Craigslist you can tell the girls are not of age," Saleda said. "The Internet has kicked up the level of prostitution."
Desiree said she is glad to be home, healthy and making a fresh start. She is re-enrolled in school and said she maintains a 3.25 grade point average. She also works an after-school job at a cafe.
Desiree said it's been a difficult adjustment living in her neighborhood again because many men and pimps in the area still solicit her for sex.
"It's kind of hard," she said. "I just tell them that I'm busy and I have to go to work or go to school."
Several times a week, Desiree attends Project Re-Connect and MISSEY — Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth. Through the Alameda County probation department and courts, high-risk youth are referred to these programs to help transition back to their families, school and society.
"Going to the classes with a bunch of other girls made me feel like I'm not alone," she said.
Desiree said the programs also have helped her realize why she was attracted to a life of prostitution.
"I was trying to find someone that would really, like, like me or love me or something," she said. "I just wanted to be happy."
OAKLAND - THE DAY AFTER Christmas, 14-year-old Desiree went shopping at the mall with her friends, missed her curfew and never went home.
Desiree's family grew concerned and filed a missing person's report with the Oakland Police Department.
The girl, who stands 4 foot 11 and has an olive complexion and long, wavy dark hair, disappeared for days. Then an uncle was shocked to come across a nude picture of Desiree in the shower posted on the Craigslist Web site.
He called the telephone number listed looking for his niece. She answered and, recognizing his voice, hung up.
Desiree was among the hundreds of children under 18 advertised on the site's erotic services section. With one click on a blue link, girls called"Sexy Blonde Bombshell," "Asian Rockstar Gone Wild" and "Ebony Playmate" appear on the screen wearing thongs and lacey bras.
Technology and cell phones have given pimps greater reach and the ability to solicit pedophiles from all over the country who are willing to pay top dollar for sex with children.Demand is great, and the profits are huge. But Desiree and many young girls who turn tricks typically don't take in any of that money.
On a busy night, Desiree — who turned 15 on Saturday and is home again with her family in Oakland — said she had sex with as many as four men and made $600 a night, which she turned over to her pimp. But by the end of her one-month stint of being pimped on the Internet, Desiree was out $1,000 and had a busted lip and an excruciatingly painful pelvic inflammatory disease. She also was arrested on charges of possession of drugs and truancy.
On the streets
It was last winter when Desiree went to the mall with some high school girlfriends who, after telling her how much money they could make as prostitutes, recruited her.
"It was good money," she said in an interview last week. "So, I just went with them."Desiree agreed to share her story because she wants others to know what she experienced as a teen prostitute. She said she is not ashamed and hopes her story will raise awareness of the issue.
Desiree thought a life on the streets would be better than living at home with her mother, who spent a decade addicted to crystal meth. Desiree said she also felt comfortable around older men because when she was 12 her father forced her to touch his penis. He was later sent to prison for that — convicted of lewd acts with a child — and other charges.
"I think that really affected me," she said. "It made me think it was OK to serve tricks."
Experts say Desiree fits the profile of underage girls who end up turning tricks — many of them have run away from unhappy home lives.
Besides advertising herself on Craigslist, Desiree said she and her friends also hunted for tricks by walking the "track" — as the girls call the street — any time they needed money. They looked for men who were willing to pay for sex or take them joyriding around town.
"I felt like it was my vacation away from my family and I could do my thing," she said.She stayed with a friend's family, who Desiree said didn't know what the girls were up to.
One night in November, Desiree, dressed in fitted jeans and a tight T-shirt that read "I'm Bossy," was busted by the police who saw her soliciting sex from a man in a car.
"I was hecka scared and I never thought this would happen," she said. "I thought I should try to run, but they (the police) already had me in handcuffs."Desiree also got caught with Ecstasy pills in her purse. She said the police told her the man had a machete in his car and could have killed her.
"It was really risky because you never know what people are up to," Desiree said.'He kinda made me feel comfortable'
After that incident, Desiree decided she would be better off working for a 19-year-old pimp she met through her friends.
She said he helped her and gave her a place to stay.
"He kinda made me comfortable and feel like I was going to be safe and cool with him," Desiree said.
One day while she was in the shower, Desiree said her pimp took naked pictures of her to post on Craigslist. She said she worried because she didn't want her face in the pictures.
"He told me that no one would notice me," Desiree said. "He said he would make my face look blurry."
As soon as the ad was posted, the phone calls came in.
Desiree said she worked around the clock and charged johns by the minute. For 30 minutes, it cost $50 and for one hour it cost $200.
"He (her pimp) used to make me work, work, work," Desiree said. "I got the money first, then I served the trick."
Desiree said she had sex with four or five men a day and hardly got any sleep.
After one too many times of her pimp sending her on dates on an empty stomach, Desiree decided she'd had enough. In addition, she developed pelvic inflammatory disease and had to resort to giving massages to make money instead of having sex.
"My vagina was hurting and I was sitting on my knees, holding myself and crying," Desiree said. "I hated it, I was in so much pain and it made me rethink prostitution."
After a month of turning tricks on the "track" and on the Internet, Desiree asked her pimp to take her back home to her family.
He dropped her off in her East Oakland neighborhood with $40 in her hand. Desiree had become a less valuable commodity to her pimp because she was unable to serve tricks with her health conditions.
She said her pimp still owes her about $1,000, but she is not in contact with him anymore."I'm just going to forget about the money," she said. "It's bad money anyway."
A fresh start
When Desiree returned home in January, her relatives called the police.
Jim Saleda, an officer with the Oakland Police Department Child Exploitation Unit, said the FBI also informed them of the case and of Desiree's photos on the Internet.
"If you look at the pictures on Craigslist you can tell the girls are not of age," Saleda said. "The Internet has kicked up the level of prostitution."
Desiree said she is glad to be home, healthy and making a fresh start. She is re-enrolled in school and said she maintains a 3.25 grade point average. She also works an after-school job at a cafe.
Desiree said it's been a difficult adjustment living in her neighborhood again because many men and pimps in the area still solicit her for sex.
"It's kind of hard," she said. "I just tell them that I'm busy and I have to go to work or go to school."
Several times a week, Desiree attends Project Re-Connect and MISSEY — Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth. Through the Alameda County probation department and courts, high-risk youth are referred to these programs to help transition back to their families, school and society.
"Going to the classes with a bunch of other girls made me feel like I'm not alone," she said.
Desiree said the programs also have helped her realize why she was attracted to a life of prostitution.
"I was trying to find someone that would really, like, like me or love me or something," she said. "I just wanted to be happy."
Article Created: 04/22/2008 02:35:41 AM PDT
ALAMEDA COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER - SHE was raped when she was 11. She was even younger when her grandmother started kicking her out of the house and telling her she wished she were dead.
She never met her father. Her real mother is a drug addict living homeless in West Oakland. "I see her sometimes," the girl said.
Yearning for love and appreciation, the girl, now 12, was enticed by the attention of a pimp, a friend of a friend who started flattering her and telling her about the money they could make soliciting on the Internet.
"After that, I started doing the track with him," said the girl, using the street name for the stretch of International Boulevard where many of Oakland's young prostitutes work.
"He'd be watching me," she recalled of her pimp, an older teen. "I wanted to go home sometimes, but he'd say if I left him, he would kill me and blow my house up."
The Oakland girl, whose name cannot be published because she is a minor, was arrested earlier this year and is serving time in the juvenile justice facility in San Leandro on prostitution charges and violating probation.
Her pixie face and ready smile are those of a typical 12-year-old. But she has seen some very hard times. She said her pimp beat her, pulled the braids right out of her head andcut up her arm. "My arm was leaking real bad," she recounted in an interview last week, showing off a 4-inch scar.
She said a john once threatened her with a gun.
The girl's experiences are typical for sexually exploited youth, experts say. The majority of youngsters involved in the sex trade have been abused or neglected. Almost all the youngsters on the streets have run away from a home situation they find untenable.
"A lot of these young girls are foster care youth and kids not connected to any family system," said Brian Bob, outreach coordinator for Covenant House, a nonprofit homeless shelter for youth that drives a van around Oakland five nights a week to provide food and, if they'll accept it, shelter to homeless youngsters. The vast majority of homeless girls Covenant House finds are prostitutes, he said.
"It's like, I am 15, and I don't like where I am living so I leave and then run into someone who is in the prostitution trade," Bob said.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Sharmin Eshraghi Bock, who prosecutes human exploitation and trafficking cases, said many of the young girls who fall into prostitution have never known a loving family, so they mistake a pimp's affection and promises of material things as love.
"If you don't know how to love or be loved, then you are going to look for love in all the wrong places," Bock said.
Many girls call their pimp "daddy" or their boyfriend, she said.
Sexually Abused and Commercially Exploited Youth, an Oakland-based counseling program, last year surveyed 100 children between the ages of 11 and 17 who had been peddled on the streets and referred for counseling.
They found that 75 percent of the children had been raped at some time in their lives, 48 percent had been physically or sexually abused, and 70 percent had been assaulted while working the streets.
Most of the respondents were runaways: Eighty-eight percent said they had run away from their family home or a foster care home.
They can come from any town, any neighborhood.
One 14-year-old from an affluent Contra Costa County town got caught up in prostitution after she ran away, because she was afraid she would get in trouble for running up a $10,000 debt on the family ATM card, her stepfather said.
She was missing for six months until law enforcement agencies and the stepfather found her by trolling through Craigslist's "erotic" listings.
"It's a world I never would have known until it came to my doorstep," the stepfather said.
The pimp was prosecuted in Alameda County and is now in jail.
Another girl being detained in juvenile hall interviewed last week said money was the reason she turned to prostitution. But once there, she sought love.
"I used to try to find love in the tricks," said the Hayward girl who turned 18 last week. She turned to prostitution at 15 after fleeing a foster care group home where she had been placed after being abused at home. Nola Brantley, coordinator of the SACEY counseling program, said the child prostitution epidemic in Oakland can be partially blamed on an overtaxed police system.
"There are cases of severe child abuse in Oakland that will go uninvestigated and not prosecuted because of lack of manpower," Brantley said. "Some of these same children who were abused and nobody intervened will go on to become sexually exploited minors."
ALAMEDA COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER - SHE was raped when she was 11. She was even younger when her grandmother started kicking her out of the house and telling her she wished she were dead.
She never met her father. Her real mother is a drug addict living homeless in West Oakland. "I see her sometimes," the girl said.
Yearning for love and appreciation, the girl, now 12, was enticed by the attention of a pimp, a friend of a friend who started flattering her and telling her about the money they could make soliciting on the Internet.
"After that, I started doing the track with him," said the girl, using the street name for the stretch of International Boulevard where many of Oakland's young prostitutes work.
"He'd be watching me," she recalled of her pimp, an older teen. "I wanted to go home sometimes, but he'd say if I left him, he would kill me and blow my house up."
The Oakland girl, whose name cannot be published because she is a minor, was arrested earlier this year and is serving time in the juvenile justice facility in San Leandro on prostitution charges and violating probation.
Her pixie face and ready smile are those of a typical 12-year-old. But she has seen some very hard times. She said her pimp beat her, pulled the braids right out of her head andcut up her arm. "My arm was leaking real bad," she recounted in an interview last week, showing off a 4-inch scar.
She said a john once threatened her with a gun.
The girl's experiences are typical for sexually exploited youth, experts say. The majority of youngsters involved in the sex trade have been abused or neglected. Almost all the youngsters on the streets have run away from a home situation they find untenable.
"A lot of these young girls are foster care youth and kids not connected to any family system," said Brian Bob, outreach coordinator for Covenant House, a nonprofit homeless shelter for youth that drives a van around Oakland five nights a week to provide food and, if they'll accept it, shelter to homeless youngsters. The vast majority of homeless girls Covenant House finds are prostitutes, he said.
"It's like, I am 15, and I don't like where I am living so I leave and then run into someone who is in the prostitution trade," Bob said.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Sharmin Eshraghi Bock, who prosecutes human exploitation and trafficking cases, said many of the young girls who fall into prostitution have never known a loving family, so they mistake a pimp's affection and promises of material things as love.
"If you don't know how to love or be loved, then you are going to look for love in all the wrong places," Bock said.
Many girls call their pimp "daddy" or their boyfriend, she said.
Sexually Abused and Commercially Exploited Youth, an Oakland-based counseling program, last year surveyed 100 children between the ages of 11 and 17 who had been peddled on the streets and referred for counseling.
They found that 75 percent of the children had been raped at some time in their lives, 48 percent had been physically or sexually abused, and 70 percent had been assaulted while working the streets.
Most of the respondents were runaways: Eighty-eight percent said they had run away from their family home or a foster care home.
They can come from any town, any neighborhood.
One 14-year-old from an affluent Contra Costa County town got caught up in prostitution after she ran away, because she was afraid she would get in trouble for running up a $10,000 debt on the family ATM card, her stepfather said.
She was missing for six months until law enforcement agencies and the stepfather found her by trolling through Craigslist's "erotic" listings.
"It's a world I never would have known until it came to my doorstep," the stepfather said.
The pimp was prosecuted in Alameda County and is now in jail.
Another girl being detained in juvenile hall interviewed last week said money was the reason she turned to prostitution. But once there, she sought love.
"I used to try to find love in the tricks," said the Hayward girl who turned 18 last week. She turned to prostitution at 15 after fleeing a foster care group home where she had been placed after being abused at home. Nola Brantley, coordinator of the SACEY counseling program, said the child prostitution epidemic in Oakland can be partially blamed on an overtaxed police system.
"There are cases of severe child abuse in Oakland that will go uninvestigated and not prosecuted because of lack of manpower," Brantley said. "Some of these same children who were abused and nobody intervened will go on to become sexually exploited minors."
