Cities that host the big game often attract a bustling sex trade. This year, Texas authorities and advocacy groups are stepping up their anti-prostitution efforts, especially where young girls are concerned. We need to get angry about what's happening to our kids right here. For weeks, volunteers have been canvassing neighborhoods in Dallas and other cities, distributing door hangars and posters with information.
Others have placed coasters in restaurants and bars. Traffick has also made public-service announcements, some featuring current and former NFL players. They don't buy sex. Pimps hawking young girls see the thousands of men who travel to the Super Bowl each year as a gold mine of potential clients. Police in and around host cities have tried for years to crack down on prostitution by conducting stings or increasing patrols during Super Bowl week.
Only in recent years have underage girls come to light in increasing numbers. We want people to know what human trafficking looks like," said Thomas Lawrence, an assistant Dallas police chief. Last year's Super Bowl in Miami drew as many as 10, prostitutes, including children and human trafficking victims, police said. Before the big game in , Phoenix police broke up a child prostitution ring involving several teenagers.
The following year in Tampa, two men were arrested for advertising the services of a year-old as a "Super Bowl special. Last year, a Hawaii man was sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison for taking a teenager with him to Miami and forcing her to work as a prostitute. To deter men from the temptations of readily available prostitutes, Arlington police have put up an electronic billboard near Cowboys Stadium featuring four men's mug shots with the message, "Dear John, You Never Know!
This could be you. Tekla Roberts, who was a prostitute for nearly 10 years after starting as a teenager, said she raked in the most cash during major golf tournaments, NASCAR races and some pro playoff games in North Texas. She said she met "johns" after advertising her services in publications and online and hanging out in hotels near the venues.
