Politics & Government

Child Sex Trafficking, RB Welcome Sign, on Community Council Agenda Thursday

The director of the ACTION Network will discuss the warning signs for child prostitution.

A guest speaker at tonight's Rancho Bernardo Community Council meeting is scheduled to discuss how pimps and gangs are luring—or forcing—children as young as 12 years old into prostitution in San Diego County.

The meeting agenda also includes the , and updates on elections and the upcoming sidewalk chalk event.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the , 17110 Bernardo Center Dr.

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This month's guest speaker is Manolo Guillén, director of the ACTION Network, Institute for Public Strategies. ACTION stands for Against Child Trafficking in Our Neighborhoods.

"We hope that people understand that child sex trafficking is a serious issue in the county of San Diego," Guillén said. "Any child is really vulnerable to these pimps and gangs."

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Guillén said he plans to share some of the warning signs parents should look out for to detect whether their children are involved in prostitution. New expensive gifts, jewelry, cell phones and accessories, as well as new skimpier clothing could all be signs that a child is involved in prostitution, he said. The average age of victims is 12-14 years old, he said.

"If they are spending too much time outside and it's unaccounted time, and they are very secretive about who they are spending time with—that's also a warning sign," Guillén said.

Some children are forced into prostitution by gangs, which have "made child sex trafficking a lucrative criminal enterprise," Guillén said, but others are manipulated.

Guillén also will discuss a documentary titled Indoctrinated: The Grooming of Children into Prostitution which explores some of the tactics used by pimps and gangs to entice children from all backgrounds to become prostitutes.

"We're finding victims who are American kids who are being trafficked just as much as their foreign counterparts," Guillén said. Runaways and homeless youth are particularly at risk. One in three runaway youth in a survey of 200 had been sexually exploited, according to county data.

The documentary is a collaboration between ACTION, Legacy Productions and the San Diego County Office of Education.

After Guillén's presentation, the council is scheduled to discuss the results of the RB welcome sign voting which have .

Three design concepts were voted on between , bringing in more than 800 votes. Concept C, which is most like the former sign that was destroyed last year, received the most votes but not in a landslide victory. About two-thirds of voters chose concepts A and B, which are more contemporary. The Refresh RB Committee, which has been coordinating the sign project, decided Tuesday to blend concepts A and B into a new design for the welcome sign.

The results indicated that most people wanted a more contemporary design, even though Concept C received the most votes of any individual design, Refresh RB Chair Janet Atkin said late Wednesday.

"Most people voted for change," Atkin said. "Obviously, we've got to consider change here." The committee also looked at the fact that despite the community's 40,000 or so residents, only 824 votes were cast, Atkin said.

On Wednesday, San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, whose office is helping with the new sign project, asked the committee to consider a runoff with a new design and Concept C rather than eliminating Concept C altogether since it did receive the most votes.

Atkin said a runoff may be the solution. A new contemporary design will be created by Larry McIntyre, president of the Rancho Bernardo Business Association and committee member, and that design could go up against Concept C in another round of voting, Atkin said.

No final decisions have been made. The committee next meets March 8, she said.


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