The average age of entry into prostitution is 12 years old [View all]

[AlphaCentauri]

Some children in the county's foster care system are being recruited as child prostitutes from emergency shelters or group homes, members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors acknowledged Tuesday.

And of youth arrested on prostitution charges in Los Angeles County, a majority comes from the county's foster care system, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing county officials. The newspaper said that, according to the county, "in some cases, pimps use underage sex workers to recruit fellow group home residents."

``The average age of entry into prostitution is 12 years old, and the
average life expectancy following entry is seven years,'' said Supervisor
Michael Antonovich, citing sources from the U.S. Department of Justice and the
FBI.

How youth in county foster care, particularly in the emergency shelter, would be able to leave the shelter was not immediately clear. But as the accompanying video shows, the typical approach to young girls is to shower them with attention gifts, and a recruiter or pimp can earn up to $140,000 per child.

http://belmontshore.patch.com/articles/county-foster-kids-recruited-as-child-prostitutes