September 10, 2001

Children's Sexual
Exploitation Underestimated,
Study Finds

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9. A detailed
study of child sexual exploitation in North
America has concluded that the problem is far
more widespread than has been previously
documented.

The study, to be released on Monday by
researchers at the University of Pennsylvania,
relied on interviews with victims, child welfare
workers and law enforcement officials in 28 cities
in United States, Mexico and Canada from
January 1999 through last March.

It also relied on the latest public and private estimates on the number of runaway and homeless youths in the
three countries and on estimates by law enforcement officials and child welfare authorities of the number of
these children sexually exploited.
The study estimated that in the United States 325,000 children a year were subjected to sexual exploitation,
including prostitution, use in pornography and molestation. The study's authors said the number of abused
children was much higher than was previously thought.

"The magnitude of the problem is really something that is not understood," said Richard J. Estes, one of the
main authors of the report and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work.

The study estimated that among the sexually exploited children in the United States, 121,911 ran away from
home; 6,793 fled mental hospitals, foster homes or other institutions; and 51,602 were thrown out of their
home by a parent or guardian. It said that about 11,500 were foreign-born children who came into the United
States either legally or illegally.

The study found that 47 percent of sexual assaults on children were
committed by relatives; 49 percent by acquaintances, such as a teacher, a
coach or a neighbor; and only 4 percent by strangers. The researchers also reported that about 20 percent of
sexually exploited children who were interviewed were involved in prostitution rings that worked across state
lines.

The study found that 95 percent of the commercial sex involving boys was with men, and it found that at least
25 percent of girls in gangs had had sex with other members as part of the gang rites. The report provides a
profile of people who engage in sex with minors: nearly all men and about a quarter of them married with
children. The profile was compiled from interviews with victims and arrest records.

The study's authors said official reports seriously underestimated the problem. The study found gaps in
policies and services to combat sexual exploitation and help the victims.

The researchers' recommendations for dealing with the problem, included increasing penalties, enforcing
existing laws more vigorously and expanding the federal government's role in combating abuse. The data from
Mexico and Canada were not available today.

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