THE US REPORT

Commentary by Kay B. Day

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has been fighting child sexual exploitation for more than 20 years.Most of us will celebrate Super Bowl Sunday with friends, family and food as we cheer our team and laugh at the TV commercials. What’s more American than the annual gridiron matchup?

While we make plans for what we’ll serve guests, lowlifes are making plans to exploit children for profit. “Super Bowl is also a lure for underage workers in sex trade,” said a headline in my morning paper. Who knew?

I’d never thought about it—most of us probably never thought about it. But the story, sourced to McClatchy Newspapers, has appeared in The Florida Times Union, the Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald, so more of us will now be aware of a sordid back story running parallel to the story of the Saints vs. the Colts.

Trudy Novicki, head of Kristi House, told media, “Miami is known as a destination city for human trafficking and sporting events are generally recognized by the experts as magnets for prostitution.”

But child sex trafficking isn’t just happening in Miami. Novicki said during last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa,  24 children were taken in by the Dept. of Children and Families. The children were brought to the city for purposes of prostitution.

Last year as a result of a nationwide sweep, the FBI rescued 48 suspected teenage prostitutes. CBS11 TV said some of the children were as young as 13 years old.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, there are between 100,000 and 150,000 child sex workers. The NCMEC head said girls are typically 11 or 12 years old when they "enter prostitution." He called these exploited children "21st century slaves."

In Miami volunteers met to prepare for the big event. They hope to assist law enforcement in rescue efforts for young girls brought to the popular resort as sex workers. A program manager at Kristi House told media the Super Bowl is a “really big deal for prostitution.” Who knew?