Combating Child Pornography and Prostitution - One County's Approach (From Child Pornography and Sex Rings, P 187-200, 1984, Ann W Burgess and Marieanne L Clark, ed. - See NCJ-96305)

• NCJ Number: 96312
• Author(s): J B Rabun
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Lexington Books
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The success of the Task Force on Child Prostitution and Pornography in Jefferson County, Ky., shows that disparate organizations and agencies can unite to form an effective task force and that political and geographic boundaries can be crossed to address a problem that exists in every community.

Abstract

The Exploited Child Unit (ECU) of the Department for Human Services of Jefferson County was created to staff the task force. Managed by an investigative social worker, the unit detected and investigated county youth at risk of being endangered by adults involved in prostitution or pornography, and it helped law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations of child exploitation. In addition, an intensive public awareness and public education campaign was launched across the county and the State. Most important was the development of a team that included ECU social workers; city police, youth, and intelligence officers; and county police intelligence officers. The task force has developed cooperative relationships with a variety of law enforcement agencies. The task force effort has resulted in dramatic increases in information referrals and attention to child victims. In addition, the task force made 24 major arrests and prosecutions involving child sex rings. The task force has also gathered much information about child prostitutes and systems of child exploitation. Recommendations and descriptions of cases involving successful arrests and prosecutions are supplied, along with two endnotes.