3/19/2014 – OKC, OK — A new study finds that Oklahoma City is closely tied to the $100-million-a-year illegal sex industry in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The non-profit Urban Institute and their policy research group for the Justice Department recently released a study of eight U.S. urban areas to determine the breadth and depth of the illegal sex trade through consensual and illegal sex work and forced human trafficking.
The study is entitled ‘The Hustle; economics of the underground commercial sex industry.’
Abstract from the study;
The underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) generates millions of dollars annually, yet investigation and data collection remain under resourced. Our study aimed to unveil the scale of the UCSE in eight major US cities—Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Seattle, San Diego, and Washington, DC. Across cities, the UCSE’s worth was estimated between $39.9 and $290 million in 2007, but decreased since 2003 in all but two cities. Interviews with pimps, traffickers, sex workers, child pornographers, and law enforcement revealed the dynamics central to the underground commercial sex trade—and shaped the policy suggestions to combat it.
Researchers interviewed some 73 convicted pimps.
The Dallas-Fort Worth portion of the study revealed that its is extremely common for pimps and human traffickers in Oklahoma City to transport women for commercial sex in the DFW area. The study also showed that women from OKC are often lured to Texas independently.
The study gave the following overview of the illegal underground commercial sex industry;
According to interviews with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials (investigators and prosecutors), the UCSE in Dallas is mainly composed of pimp-controlled online and street-based sex trafficking and voluntary prostitution, with an increasing number of erotic massage parlors. A practice relatively unique to Dallas is that non-Asian pimps run some massage parlors and send some of their women and girls to work in massage parlors owned and operated by Asians. Although there have been some cases involving Latino brothels, they are not thought to be as prevalent as in comparison to other cities in Texas (e.g., Houston). Cases of sex trafficking and prostitution have also been found behind fronts for legal commercial sexualized services such as topless bars. The operators in each of these distinct venues will often network with others operating similar businesses in order to maximize profits and keep the “merchandise” fresh and new.
Other findings of the study;
- A Dallas pimp’s average weekly cash income from 2005-2011 $12,025
- Pimp’s most commonly recruit from within their own circle of friends, family and influence.
- Pimp’s report that they recruit from the Internet and ‘the stroll’ equally, about 22% of the time.
- Recruitment is the most important aspect of a pimp’s ability to make money.
- Interviewed convicted pimps stated the preferred to recruit Caucasian females because they believe they appeal to a broader range of potential ‘Johns,’ are easier to control and blend in in more environment than other races.
- Pimps use a variety of psychological methods to manipulate recruits; flashing money and luxury items, seduction, rationalization that why should they give it away when they can make money with sex, or using other females to convince recruits to join them.
- One-third of pimps interviewed stated they entered the illegal sex industry because because they grew up around it.
- 20% of interviewed pimps stated they prohibited their prostitutes from ‘dating’ certain types of ‘Johns'; most typically their women were not allowed to engage in commercial sex with black males or males in general under the age of 25 .
- 18% of the pimps interviewed admitted to imposing a quota on their prostituted women; usually $400 – $1,000 per day.
- A third of interviewed pimps stated they delegated day-to-day management of their prostituted women to their ‘Bottom’ or ‘Bottom Bitch’ – the highest ranking prostitute within the organization.
You can read more about the study at the following links;
Below is an overview video of street level prostitution and human trafficking in Oklahoma City by JohnTV’s own Video Vigilante Brian Bates.