High school girls lured with expensive gifts, promises of fortune

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VANCOUVER - The pimps start off as boyfriends who buy clothes and jewellery for unsuspecting high-school girls as young as 16. Once the girls are lured into that trap, they are forced under threat of violence to sell sex by advertising on Craigslist.

RCMP are warning that the number of teenaged sex workers in North Vancouver is increasing with more and more young schoolgirls advertising on the popular free classified website.

North Vancouver RCMP issued a warning on June 16, saying that girls are being exploited by a ring of pimps and drug traffickers.

RCMP spokeswoman Corporal Marlene Morton said police were first made aware of the problem by school counsellors who overheard students talking about it.

The police are working to identify the pimps and press charges, Morton said.

The adult-only page on Craigslist warns users that "human trafficking and exploitation of minors are not tolerated." However, schoolgirls can get around that by lying about their age.

"It's scary," said Diane Sowden of Children of the Street Society, which educates young girls in schools on how to avoid being lured into the sex trade.

Sowden said the trade has moved from street level to homes and is spread throughout the region -- not only North Vancouver.

"There is a higher chance of a child connecting with a stranger online in the safety of a home," said Sowden, who is working on a campaign to raise awareness of the danger that young children who connect with strangers online could end up in the sex trade.

Morton said that it's the first time she has heard of school girls being forced to advertise on Craigslist and money continues to be the biggest lure.

"You could go work at minimum wage and make $8 an hour or you can connect with a customer and make $80 in that time," said Sowden.

"They want everything now."

Sometimes, teenagers get into the sex trade because they are looking for someone to love them.

"The fact that someone is paying to be with them makes them feel special," Sowden said.

But she warns that the typical customer a teen meets online is very violent and the interaction leaves long-term emotional damage.

She receives half a dozen calls every month from parents or teachers seeking help for a teen who has been lured into the sex trade.

Sowden said parents need to watch for warning signs but also need to have open communication about healthy relationships. She said parents should talk to their boys as well, so they don't buy sex.

Morton said police want to shut the online operation down.

"We want the girls to have the lives -- a normal life any teenager should be living," she said.