Our johns study is mentioned on CNN

CAASE is mentioned in a story today on CNN about a girl who survived prostitution after being recruited into the trade at age 11. The research cited in the story is "Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution", a project generously funded by the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Michael Reese Health Trust.

The CNN story is heartbreaking yet inspiring. We can all do more to raise awareness about the commercial sexual exploitation of children. We also urge you to check out our tool kits here, which offer action steps you can take to end sexual exploitation. Want to get involved with CAASE and our End Demand Illinois campaign? Sign up for our action alerts here.

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Pimp Faces 18 Years for Trafficking

Today, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez claimed a huge victory as a pimp, Troy Bonaparte, received an 18-year sentence for human trafficking. From the news story on WGN:

Troy Bonaparte, 46, had been convicted in March of involuntary servitude and trafficking in persons for forced labor and pandering. He was the first person convicted in Cook County under updated laws against human trafficking.

Bonaparte, who has 55 other arrests on his record, had been arrested on the trafficking charges on Aug. 8, 2010 in an Elk Grove Village motel room after an undercover investigation.

Bonaparte had the women he forced into prostitution call him "Magnificent," prosecutors said. He would rent motel rooms in the city and suburbs and force women to prostitute themselves to between 5 and 25 men a day.

Bonaparte would keep all of the money earned in the prostitution and threaten to beat or kill the women if they tried to disobey him, prosecutors said.

We’re thrilled that law enforcement is holding pimps accountable and taking the time to build cases against these traffickers. This is a recognition that pimping often equals trafficking. When women (and men) are forced to sell their bodies, the person who’s controlling them must face consequences. To learn more about our campaign to end the types of exploitation caused by pimps like Bonaparte, visit www.enddemandillinois.org