Victims of Youth Trafficking in Oakland (Series Part 2)
Article by Barbara Grady.
Last updated at Mon, 11 Feb at 12:21pm.

This is Part 2 of an eight-part, four-day Oakland Local investigative series on youth sex trafficking. Continued from Part 1.

 

By Barbara Grady

Who is this "commodity" being traded on the street? Statistically she is a 13-year-old girl who has run away from an abusive parent, guardian or foster home. Too young to fend for herself as a runaway, she ends up under the control of a pimp who promises to take care of her. Then the trafficker turns on her and, either by emotional manipulation or physical threat, gets the girl to work the streets to bring in money. 

"These are children who have never known love, so they look for love in all the wrong places," said Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Sharmin Eshraghi Bock, who has directed 148 cases against people alleged to have sold teenagers and children for sex. "All the pimp has to say is, 'Baby I love you and some day I want to have a family with you but today I'm short of cash. Can you help me make the rent?'" Bock continued. 

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Come out to a night of music, art to benefit MISSSEY - Saturday, Feb. 9
Article by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Tue, 5 Feb at 10:13am.

By Bonnie Chan


“We envision a world where children are protected and free from sexual exploitation.”

That is the vision statement of Oakland-based MISSSEY - a nonprofit working to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

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Demythologizing Oakland’s pimp culture (Analysis)
Article by Eric K Arnold.
Last updated at Fri, 4 Jan at 8:52am.

For at least four decades, Oakland has been celebrated as a center for pimp culture. The city’s history of producing modern macquereaus doubtless extends much further back, but the 1973 film “The Mack” codified Oakland’s status as Pimp Central.

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Black Cinema At Large Presents: Stand Up against Sex Trafficking: A Community Engagement Forum
Blog entry by Jeannine Etter.
Last updated at Sat, 3 Nov at 10:01am.

The subjects of prostitution and human sex trafficking seem to be growing in casual conversations among Oakland residents as the numbers of minors engaged in prostitution also seem to be growing, most notably in downtown and East Oakland. The ages of the workers are particularly noticable, in addition to the earlier and earlier hours that they can be seen “working.”

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Eight arrested in East Bay for operating huge prostitution ring

Article by Barbara Grady.
Last updated at Tue, 13 Mar at 1:20pm.

A massive prostitution ring spanning the Bay Area was busted Thursday when 125 law enforcement officers from six cities, three counties and the federal government descended on 10 locations, served search and arrest warrants and arrested eight people on charges of operating the ring.

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Oakland's Youth Radio wins Peabody Award for investigative series 'Trafficked'
Article by Oakland Local edi....
Last updated at Sun, 22 May at 9:00am.

Oakland's Youth Radio is the recipient of a 2011 George Foster Peabody Award for its investigative series "Trafficked." 

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Alameda County's chief legal foe of human trafficking seeks office in San Francisco
Article by Barbara Grady.
Last updated at Fri, 20 May at 9:32am.
Alameda County’s chief prosecutor of human traffickers in Oakland and the architect of a statewide crack down on criminals selling children for commercial sex may be leaving for higher office in San Francisco if she has her way.
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Youth Radio Wins Peabody Award for investigative series Trafficked
Article by Oakland Local edi....
Last updated at Thu, 19 May at 9:28am.

Youth Radio is the recipient of a 2011 George Foster Peabody Award for its investigative series Trafficked.  The two-part report, produced in collaboration with National Public Radio's All Things Considered, exposes child sex trafficking in

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