Child-prostitution crackdown

Laurie was in Olympia in April when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill that toughens the state's child-sex-trafficking law.

She had a personal reason to cheer.

Laurie's 13-year-old daughter was a runaway when she met a 17-year-old pimp who lured her with jewelry and clothes, and the promise of a better life.

Laurie, whose last name is not being used for her daughter's sake, was frantic.

"I spent endless nights searching for her," the Tacoma woman said. "Passing out fliers and searching the streets."

Over the next two years, Laurie would see her daughter only briefly. When the girl was jailed several times as a runaway, for example. Once the teenager was out of custody, however, she would run away again, her mother said. Her daughter was arrested for prostitution once.

Today, with the pimp in prison, Laurie's daughter, now 15, is home and back in school, but Laurie can't relax.

"Every day I wonder, will she run away tomorrow?" she said at a news conference Wednesday in downtown Seattle.

On Thursday, the law goes into effect, setting tough penalties for those who engage in sex trafficking with children.

"The bill may be the strongest in the nation," said former U.S. Rep. Linda Smith, who highlighted the new law with Laurie and others whose children have been involved in sex trafficking. "Now you will pay," she said. "If you're buying someone's child, there's a penalty."

Smith was surrounded by supporters wearing T-shirts with the words, Kids Are Not For Sale.

Smith appeared with members of Shared Hope International, which works to prevent trafficking and to help those who have been subject to sexual abuse. The group estimates there are at least 100,000 children in the United States who are victims of sex trafficking and prostitution.

The new law toughens penalties for those involved in the illegal trade:

• Before the law change, customers paid a $550 fine for soliciting sex. Now they face 21 months to 12 years in jail and a $5,000 fine, which will be deposited in a special prostitution prevention and intervention account.

• Under the old law, pimps were not subject to a fine. Now they face nearly 8 to 26 ½ years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

• Buyers of prostitution previously could say they did not know the age of the victim. That is no longer a defense. Defendants have to prove a reasonable attempt was made to determine the true age of the victim.

• A child-sex-trafficking victim charged with a crime previously may have been ineligible for crime-victim's compensation because of participating in the crime of prostitution. Under the new law, a minor is considered a victim and can receive benefits through a compensation program.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com