For their own good? Exploring legislative responses to the commercial sexual exploitation of children and the Illinois Safe Children Act

I. WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD GIRLS GONE? COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES AND ILLINOIS 1362 II. FAST AND FURIOUS: A LOOK AT EXISTING AND RAPIDLY CHANGING JUVENILE PROSTITUTION LAW 1367 A. Criminalization of Juvenile Prostitution 1368 B. Safe Harbor Laws 1369 1. New York Safe Harbor Act 1370 2. Connecticut Safe Harbor for Exploited Children 1371 C. Federal Commercial Sexual Exploitation Statutes 1372 D. Canadian Response 1374 E. The Illinois Safe Children Act 1376 III. ON THE GROUND IN ILLINOIS: PROCESS AND APPLICATION OF THE NEW LAW 1378 A. Entry into the System 1378 B. Abuse Designation or Criminal Adjudication 1381 C. Postadjudication Processes 1382 IV. THERE AND BACK AGAIN: BENEFITS AND SHORTFALLS OF THE NEW LEGISLATION 1384 A. Benefits of a Bright-Line Rule 1384 1. Statutory and Conceptual Consistency 1384 2. Reality of Harm and Necessity of Social Services 1387 B. Practical Shortfalls of the Safe Children Act 1389 1. Quantifying the Problem and Studying the Process 1389 2. Identification and Classification of Victims 1390 3. Recidivism and Return to Abusers 1394 V. ALL HANDS ON DECK: FILLING THE GAPS IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE SCHEME COMBATING COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN 1395 A. More Robust Identification Procedures for All First-Contact Actors 1396 B. Protective-Care Options for All Child Victims 1397 C. Statutory Language That Covers All Victims 1399 VI. CONCLUSION 1399 For too long, exploited children have been treated as criminals while the adults who stole their innocence go free. Illinois does not tolerate exploitation of our children. Today, we give important new tools to aid law enforcement in this fight and help our victimized children to heal. - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn1 I. WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD GIRLS GONE? COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES AND ILLINOIS Illinois has long struggled to contain what is the perfect storm for exploitation - a large city with consistent conventions, attractions with many tourists,2 significant amounts of population movement and immigration,3 access to major airports and interstates,4 and entrenched gangs with an entrepreneurial bent.5 These factors make Chicago in particular an appealing destination for runaways6 and throwaways7 across the Midwest. In 2001, a study conservatively estimated that 16,000 to 25,000 women and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Chicago each year.8 By 2004, the New York Times had named Chicago a hub for sex trafficking.9 When Illinois was at the top of the list of states from which calls were made to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center for the second time in 2009, legislators insisted that something be done.10 Anita Alvarez, then Illinois State Attorney, initiated the Human Trafficking Initiative and began drafting the Illinois Safe Children Act.11 Deciding that treatment and social services were a better alternative than juvenile adjudication, the Act made all individuals under eighteen immune from prostitution-related charges and transferred authority over such children, who would now be considered abused and neglected, to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).12 Though the solution in Illinois is novel, the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is not limited to Illinois.13 According to an oft-cited study, over 300,000 children are at risk of sexual exploitation in the United States alone.14 Legislators have become increasingly aware of this threat, of the methods used by those who exploit children, and of the vulnerability of juveniles to manipulation, which has led to a rapid development of laws regarding the involvement of minors in prostitution-related activities. …

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