Chapter 5 Teenage Recruiters
(The excerpt is from the middle of chapter 5)
Courtney is skinny with stick straight brown hair that falls to her waist. In blue jeans, a pink tank top, and without a trace of makeup, she appears to be about 12. She is only 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds. Courtney attends an alternative school where she is finishing 12th grade. She is also a volunteer at Douglas Park Elementary School where she teaches girls how to recognize the signs of being recruited. “A recruiter who was enrolled at the school had approached at least 10 students, one girl was 8,” says Tatiana Sean, a youth outreach worker, who helped develop the program. Pimps have enrolled girls in schools to recruit other girls. “They show up with new clothes, jewelry, invitations to party with older guys. They’re the bait,” Courtney explains.
Courtney, 16
“The first time I met a pimp, I was 12 and hanging out with my best friend at Guilford Mall. This black guy approached us. He told me he could get me free minutes for my cell phone. We actually said, “Don’t you think you’re a bit old to be talking to us?” He told us, “I hang out with young girls all the time.” He told us he could get us free jewelry and that he could get us into the bars, so I went with him. He bought me minutes for my phone, took me to dinner, got me into clubs, so I thought he was a cool guy. I knew that he would want something in return because nothing is for free. When I told him I wasn’t going to have sex with his friends, he got pushy, but I was like, “I don’t even listen to my parents. Why would I listen to you?” He could see he wouldn’t be able to recruit me, so he told me to invite a bunch of friends out to the bar. I would call my friends and ask them if they wanted to go drinking. At 13, everyone wants to go to a bar. He took us to clubs. We were only asked for ID once, and usually he said, “She’s with me,” and so we always got in, which was so cool. I started recruiting girls at my school, or I would meet them at the mall. I would tell them, “I know this really cool guy and he wants to take us out for drinks and I don’t want to go by myself. Do you want to come? Free drinks.”
Courtney is skinny with stick straight brown hair that falls to her waist. In blue jeans, a pink tank top, and without a trace of makeup, she appears to be about 12. She is only 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds. Courtney attends an alternative school where she is finishing 12th grade. She is also a volunteer at Douglas Park Elementary School where she teaches girls how to recognize the signs of being recruited. “A recruiter who was enrolled at the school had approached at least 10 students, one girl was 8,” says Tatiana Sean, a youth outreach worker, who helped develop the program. Pimps have enrolled girls in schools to recruit other girls. “They show up with new clothes, jewelry, invitations to party with older guys. They’re the bait,” Courtney explains.
Courtney, 16
“The first time I met a pimp, I was 12 and hanging out with my best friend at Guilford Mall. This black guy approached us. He told me he could get me free minutes for my cell phone. We actually said, “Don’t you think you’re a bit old to be talking to us?” He told us, “I hang out with young girls all the time.” He told us he could get us free jewelry and that he could get us into the bars, so I went with him. He bought me minutes for my phone, took me to dinner, got me into clubs, so I thought he was a cool guy. I knew that he would want something in return because nothing is for free. When I told him I wasn’t going to have sex with his friends, he got pushy, but I was like, “I don’t even listen to my parents. Why would I listen to you?” He could see he wouldn’t be able to recruit me, so he told me to invite a bunch of friends out to the bar. I would call my friends and ask them if they wanted to go drinking. At 13, everyone wants to go to a bar. He took us to clubs. We were only asked for ID once, and usually he said, “She’s with me,” and so we always got in, which was so cool. I started recruiting girls at my school, or I would meet them at the mall. I would tell them, “I know this really cool guy and he wants to take us out for drinks and I don’t want to go by myself. Do you want to come? Free drinks.”