IV 

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; 


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•HRES 1379 IH 

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 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) urges States to enact laws that address the 

3 crime of domestic minor sex trafficking by encom4 passing— 

5 (A) establishment of community-based, 

6 specialized residential facilities specifically tai7 lored to rehabilitating victims of sex trafficking; 

8 (B) presumption of victim status instead of 

9 a punitive criminal justice response; 

10 (C) the examination of ways to ensure that 

11 crime victim compensation funding programs 

12 are more readily available to victims of sex traf13 ficking; 

14 (D) increased penalties and fines for those 

15 who buy and sell children for sex acts; and 

16 (E) mandatory training for law enforce17 ment and others who come into contact with 

18 children; 

19 (2) encourages the Department of Health and 

20 Human Services to establish the pilot shelter for juVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:18 May 20, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1379.IH HR1379

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1 venile trafficking victims originally authorized in sec2 tion 203 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reau3 thorization Act of 2005; 

4 (3) recognizes that demand for commercial sex 

5 with minors is central to the problem of domestic 

6 minor sex trafficking and urges the United States 

7 Attorney General to make the arrest and prosecution 

8 of buyers a priority at the Federal level, and also at 

9 the State level by providing training and model laws 

10 to State governments and law enforcement; 

11 (4) recognizes the need for standardized prac12 tices of identification and response to domestic 

13 minor sex trafficking victims among law enforcement 

14 and service providers in order to prevent criminals 

15 from moving their business to the most lenient 

16 States; and 

17 (5) recognizes the need for an adequate number 

18 of specialized residential facilities and services that 

19 are gender specific and trauma informed for the pro20 tection and restoration of child sex trafficking vic21 tims. 

Æ 


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