Kessler and Maguire Funeral Home

PAUL — Ramsey County Attorney John Choi imagines a world 40 years from now without sex trafficking, where boys will grow up to be loving and kind and girls will be valued and safe. “How we raise our boys matters,” said Choi during an awareness event held at Kessler and Maguire Funeral Home in St. Paul March 29. “Trafficking is all about the demand.” The majority of sex trafficking perpetrators and buyers are male and the majority of victims are female.When local law enforcement does undercover stings posing as 13- to 14-year-old girls for sale for sex, they receive numerous phone calls, Choi said. “I swear to you, within two minutes the phone would ring,” Choi said. “I swear to you we would have 160 phone calls just on that one ad. That is the demand that exists in our own community.” The criminal justice system in Minnesota has seen an uptick in charges and convictions related to sex trafficking over the last decade. In 2007, there were five convictions for sex trafficking statewide and in 2016, 45 convictions. Victims often don’t call for help. Law enforcement has begun to search for them instead. “We were missing a lot of these situations that were right in front of us,” said Choi, who has been an advocate for the issue since he took office in 2010.In 2011, Minnesota enacted the Safe Harbor Law that protects sexually exploited youth under 18 from being charged for being involved in prostitution. Choi said the change has helped victims trust police and be involved in testifying at trials. The Safe Harbor initiative also supports victim services. Legislative funding has increased from $2.8 million in 2013 to $13.1 million in 2017. The number of beds in shelters for children at-risk for trafficking has increased from two in 2011 to 50 currently statewide.The average age of entry into prostitution is 13, Choi said. Children are often lured by someone who poses as a caretaker or boyfriend. Many are runaways, have mental health issues or are looking for love in their life. It is a rare prosti... (Press Pubs)

PAUL — Ramsey County Attorney John Choi imagines a world 40 years from now without sex trafficking, where boys will grow up to be loving and kind and girls will be valued and safe. “How we raise our boys matters,” said Choi during an awareness event held at Kessler and Maguire Funeral Home in St. Paul March 29. “Trafficking is all about the demand.” The majority of sex trafficking perpetrators and buyers are male and the majority of victims are female.When local law enforcement does undercover stings posing as 13- to 14-year-old girls for sale for sex, they receive numerous phone calls, Choi said. “I swear to you, within two minutes the phone would ring,” Choi said. “I swear to you we would have 160 phone calls just on that one ad. That is the demand that exists in our own community.” The criminal justice system in Minnesota has seen an uptick in charges and convictions related to sex trafficking over the last decade. In 2007, there were five convictions for sex trafficking statewide and in 2016, 45 convictions. Victims often don’t call for help. Law enforcement has begun to search for them instead. “We were missing a lot of these situations that were right in front of us,” said Choi, who has been an advocate for the issue since he took office in 2010.In 2011, Minnesota enacted the Safe Harbor Law that protects sexually exploited youth under 18 from being charged for being involved in prostitution. Choi said the change has helped victims trust police and be involved in testifying at trials. The Safe Harbor initiative also supports victim services. Legislative funding has increased from $2.8 million in 2013 to $13.1 million in 2017. The number of beds in shelters for children at-risk for trafficking has increased from two in 2011 to 50 currently statewide.The average age of entry into prostitution is 13, Choi said. Children are often lured by someone who poses as a caretaker or boyfriend. Many are runaways, have mental health issues or are looking for love in their life. It is a rare prosti... (Press Pubs)