Pal allegedly prostituted retarded teen
By Dave Wedge
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Brockton authorities have uncovered a disturbing junior high hooker ring in which a mildly retarded 13-year-old girl allegedly was pimped out by her best friend for as little as $5, sources told the Herald.
The eighth-grader, a developmentally delayed foster child, allegedly has been performing sex acts on junior high and high school students behind a bank and a supermarket, some of which may have been caught on surveillance videos. The girl's best friend, who is also an eighth-grade girl, allegedly set up the trysts, charging between $5 and $30, and pocketed all of the money, according to a source.
``The girl who set it up - who was supposedly her friend - never gave her any money,'' the source said.
The case came to light last week when two other eighth-grade girls told school officials the junior high madame tried to persuade them to go to work for her.
Authorities believe the prostitution has been going on since April and involves as many as 20 boys. One alleged john, an 18-year-old Brockton High School student, could face criminal charges for allegedly assaulting the girl, the source said.
The alleged madame reportedly convinced the girl to perform the sex acts by telling her it was the only way she could get boyfriends. The girl's foster parents have been notified and are working with investigators. The girl is still living with the family and has been put into counseling.
The Department of Social Services and Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz's office have been notified, according to the source.
DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said last night that the agency had no information on the case but will investigate. Cruz also said he was unaware of the case.
The case comes two months after a 15-year-old Boston prostitute ran away and was tracked down as she was preparing to flee to Las Vegas with a reputed pimp. The teen was picked up on sex-for-cash charges in Brockton in March but slipped out of court by using a fake name.
Citing a surge in the number of teen girls falling into the flesh trade in the Bay State in recent years, DSS has set up a new prevention program called My Life, My Choice in four Boston-area schools. Of the estimated 1.2 million hookers in the United States, as many as 300,000 are believed to be children. The average age of first-time streetwalkers is between 13 and 16, according to a national study.
) 
Previous Topic
Index
