In March, the Connecticut attorney general became the latest law enforcement official to raise concerns about craigslist and prostitution, demanding the site purge explicit ads. But some advocates think young girls posting on a well-known site, where police can search for them, is better than elsewhere on the Web.
"The illusion that shutting craigslist down would even put a dent in (the problem) is really a false illusion," said David Batstone, co-founder of Not for Sale, a San Francisco anti-trafficking organization.
A difficult search
On a recent evening, Seyffert and her detectives convened at a Starbucks on Alhambra Boulevard. She wore her traditional uniform: jeans and a T-shirt. The men had scruffy beards and wore beanies and cargo pants. None of the patrons appeared to notice them.
Despite the chill, the group set up shop at a table out back, armed with mochas and Americanos, laptops and cell phones.
Detective Aaron Borg opened a browser window. Click. Click.
"Sassy & Classy w4m – 18," read one ad.
"Come have some fun with Monica tonight – 18," suggested another.
The group studied the photos, trying – unscientifically – to decide if the girls were minors.
Finally, Borg picked up the phone and dialed. "Hey is Monica there?" Using a pseudonym, he requested an hourlong "date." She told him to drive to Madison and Interstate 80, then call her again.
"She sounds young," Borg said, as they walked to their cars.
The detectives say that in the past 18 months, they've changed their attitudes about these girls. They see them as victims now – not lawbreakers. Most girls eventually share that they've been raped or molested by relatives or family friends. Many are runaways or foster children.
Low self-esteem is universal, and pimps prey on it. Many pimps are current or former drug dealers who've discovered that trade in sex is lucrative and often carries lighter penalties. Initially, they shower the girls with everything they crave: new clothing, affection, praise. According to the detectives and the girls, a new pattern of abuse kicks in: beatings, rapes, verbal lacerations.
As such, Seyffert's team has refocused on two missions: Rescue the girls. Nail their pimps.
Arrest statistics bear out the department's change in attitude. In 2005, the team arrested two men for pimping juveniles. In 2006, they arrested one. But in 2007, arrests jumped to 12. In the first four months of this year, they netted seven.
Over the same time period, arrests of juveniles have dropped. In 2005, they arrested 23 girls for prostitution; in 2006 they arrested 24. But they arrested just eight of the 18 underage girls they picked up in 2007.
Detectives now see incarceration as a last resort. They dislike the notion of holding young sex-abuse victims behind bars. Whenever possible, the team tries to send girls to live in foster homes, or with caring relatives.
Unfortunately, Seyffert says, if they pick up a girl in the middle of the night, juvenile hall is often the only safe place to put her.
After racing out of Starbucks the other night, the vice team hit a dead end – Monica wanted to have the "date" in an apartment that the team thought sounded risky.
They pulled into a church parking lot, and sat in their cars scrolling through the craigslist postings. "Just turned 18 and ready for fun," offered one ad. The detectives started calling.
Around 10:15 p.m., one detective arranged a date at a Motel 6 with a blonde who claimed to be 20. He went inside, carrying a wad of money. The others followed soon after.
They found the girl sitting on a neatly made bed.
She was, indeed, 20, but Seyffert felt no less determined to catch her pimp.
"Who do you work for?" she asked.
"Myself," the girl whispered, her lower lip quivering.
"Why are you protecting this guy?" Seyffert pushed.
"I'm not protecting him," the girl sniffled.
Seyffert found a laptop in a desk drawer. She noted some bank deposit slips and receipts for jewelry, and pointed out the girl's tattoo: her pimp's initials.
