jg24 3708 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2009/11/14/11748206.html Ottawa?s street gangs like their guns, crack cocaine and pimping their women, the latter being an area where local police are about to crank up enforcement. However, their investigations will take them from the streets to the information highway. Free classifieds websites have become a haven for pimps looking to exploit girls under their control. ?Crime trends change, right? Obviously, that is an increasing crime area that we need to respond to more directly,? said Acting Staff Sgt. Steve Bell of the guns and gangs unit. Bell said police will be taking a more proactive approach to stopping the exploitation of young girls online, but he wouldn?t say how for fear of giving away investigative techniques. The number of posts in the ?erotic services? section of the Ottawa .......... website has exploded in recent months. An Ottawa Sun investigation into the online sex trade in April 2008 showed the trend was beginning to pick up. On any given day, there would be roughly 20 to 30 ads, compared to about 100 nowadays. The gang unit has received complaints in the past from people concerned the girls seen in the sex ads were underage and under the control of a pimp. ?We?ve done investigations where we?ve been able to lay charges and where we?ve been able to remove females from that pimping cycle,? said Bell. .......... bowed to pressure in the United States earlier this year after law enforcement and human rights agencies said they were providing a portal for illegal activity. They replaced erotic services with adult services and made it more difficult for people to post. Bell said the girls they?ve seen are all young offenders, around 16 or 17 years old, but they?re not the people police are after. ?We want to get her out of that cycle of victimization. We want the guy who is pushing her. That?s a difficult investigation to do. ... Many times it can be frustrating for police,? he said. One reason is the girls don?t want to squeal on their pimps. It?s a notion that is rampant among gangs. ?A lot of the gang members, including the girls, have a reluctance to co-operate with the police,? said Bell. ?So even with these girls that are victimized, that is part of the culture that they?ve been around. We fight that all the time. We fight that with people who have been shot. They know exactly who shot them.? [email protected] 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wade 101 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 I am new to CERB but read something that may affect us all. Acticle in todays paper suggests that all women on CL are being forced to work by pimps. That probably happens but by no means is it normal. In my opinion anyway. Although they dont say how, they apparently will be targetting SPs online so watch out ladies and possibly us guys too. I feel safer on CERB so what do we need to do to protect our ladies and their services we have come love. Maybe some new code in conversation. ALSO can they target us on here easily too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malika Fantasy 144625 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 I do post on Cl sometime and I totally don't have a pimp... do you have some infos? a website? something? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m**k 153 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 I think that he is referring to this story, posted in the News section earlier today. Cops to target online pimps Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andee 220524 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 If you go back and re-read the article, they are not suggesting "all women", are being forced to work by pimps - they are concerned about "underage girls" being forced to work by pimps. To quote the article: "Bell said police will be taking a more proactive approach to stopping the exploitation of young girls online, but he wouldn’t say how for fear of giving away investigative techniques." CL has its problems for sure and CERB is a better bet for legitimacy, but what you said is not accurate. It is always wise to be cautious, but to jump to the conclusion that they will be targetting CERB as well is a bit of a stretch. With cut-backs, limited manpower and resources, I think the cops have enough work cut out for them investigating CL alone, that they don't need to be looking for things that aren't there, here on CERB. Don't want to This is how panic, hysteria, fear-mongering, and urban folklore gets started. Thank you for wanting to protect us ladies, but I for one am just fine (even advertising on CL...I'm not a pimp, I'm not underage and I'm not a scammer, so I have nothing to worry about with regards to the scope of their investigation). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wade 101 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 Well written. Just posted about the same subject I am new to threads. I guess I have to practice a bit at writing on here. In my thread I was asking how to protect our SPs and ourselves. Any ideas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wade 101 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 Sorry if I insulted anyone Angela. I was a CL client and still read the ads but feel safer here on CERB. Just thought I would try my first thread, guess I should practice more I was more looking to warn people about the Sun article. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 CL was the big name mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking elsewhere online for info too. Not that I'm worried, but just saying... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grass_Hopper 18263 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 Eventhough I advertise twice a day, everyday, I'm absolutly not worried... I think under-age girls, scammers, crackheads,... will be the firsts to be investigated... Serious girls, we don't cause trouble, card fraud, or abuse in any kind... I don't think they really care about us, honestly... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 I merged these two posts and Wade, comments like this " they apparently will be targetting SPs online so watch out ladies and possibly us guys too. " sound like you are trying to scare people more than give them a heads up. We already have the media to try to scare everyone and blow everything out of proportion (as news is not so exciting these days) so please keep this in mind when you regurgate something you read. It really does not help the industry. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 I merged these two posts and Wade, comments like this " they apparently will be targetting SPs online so watch out ladies and possibly us guys too. " sound like you are trying to scare people more than give them a heads up. We already have the media to try to scare everyone and blow everything out of proportion (as news is not so exciting these days) so please keep this in mind when you regurgate something you read. It really does not help the industry. Maybe for the media, prostitution is the new swine flu ;) At least for a moment anyways... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cat 262460 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 The reality is law enforcement has a job to do, and in this industry I support their choice to try and protect the underage girls who are in these situations. From experience, I know teenagers are incredibly stubborn and naive. I am sure these girls think they are in a partnership of sorts, but they don't realize it is a pact that will leave them damaged and broken. Coercion and violence are a part of life when a girl has a pimp and they are usually estranged from their loved or less than loved ones. The police need to do what they can to protect these young girls. Quite often it takes a prison cell to keep these girls away from their pimps. The loyalty is so disturbing. The police are not looking for consenting adults who do not make a nuisance of themselves to the community, they are going after the one group that permeates this business and makes it dirty. I for one support this effort and I think we do not need to become paranoid and blow this out of perspective. Cat 13 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PistolPete 61421 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 Very well said Catherine, right to the point, and I agree with all of your statement 100% especially this comment "I for one support this effort " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jg24 3708 Report post Posted November 16, 2009 Well I agree with Cat also and I sure did not post this to scare anyone. Im sure they will target what needs to be targeted and should by all means. It is going on there is no doubt and it should be stopped groups gangs and pimps that use under aged girls should be dealt with to the full extent of the law. When you have a lady of adult age she makes her own choices but when you are a young lady and forced against your will they need the protection from these PIMPS or gangs. Again I posted this for info more than anything not to scare anyone. If guys on here get scared then you have to look if you are seeing under aged girls then you can be a part of the problem. I would say most men on here are mature enough not to partake in the abuse of under aged girls. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andee 220524 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Sorry if I insulted anyone Angela. I was a CL client and still read the ads but feel safer here on CERB. Just thought I would try my first thread, guess I should practice more I was more looking to warn people about the Sun article. No insult taken. I have a friend who often calls me when he hears the cops will be doing sweeps which turn out to be street level, but he still gets worried and I listen because even after explaining it to him, he doesn't get it. I agree with Grasshopper - I don't think they are worried too much about the legit providers - they have their hands full with the scammers and those procuring underage etc. to be worried about us. And Cat said it best: The police are not looking for consenting adults who do not make a nuisance of themselves to the community, they are going after the one group that permeates this business and makes it dirty. I for one support this effort and I think we do not need to become paranoid and blow this out of perspective. But the MOD is right, we still need to mindful of these things. An as a wise older SP in this community once told me "if they really want to bust you, they will" (what happens after that is another story). As much as we may not like it, that's just an occupational hazard one needs to accept if you're in this business. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fortunateone 156618 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 The police are not looking for consenting adults who do not make a nuisance of themselves to the community, they are going after the one group that permeates this business and makes it dirty. I for one support this effort and I think we do not need to become paranoid and blow this out of perspective. Ditto. The fact is that if the sp is 18 and over, and the discussion of rates/services is not done in a public place, and the activity itself takes place in a legal location, there is absolutely nothing illegal about prostitution. In other words, there is nothing for LE to investigate. There does seem to be a lot of misperception about this biz, due to those pesky little laws that make this legal activity more difficult, but that does not take away from the fact that no criminal charges can be laid (therefore no stings are going to be setup) for prostitution. 93% of all arrests related to this biz are for solicitation re: street work, either the sps or the clients get dinged for talking rates & services in public. So how to proceed? Avoid, like the plague, any and all ads that use the 18 age or refer to the sp as "barely legal". More often than not, she is not just "barely legal" she is not legal at all. 18 is the legal age for sex work, period. On CL it is more likely that the 16-17 year olds will be advertising this age. In Victoria, LE targetted those ads to discover underage workers. They are fairly easily spotted anyway, barely legal and barely literate, sometimes no clue about what the acronyms mean, and no clue that no one in their right mind offers services at such low rates, or advertises they are available for bbfs. In this day and age, as well, I wouldn't assume the younger ones are pimped out. There are enough addicts or looking for short cuts to fancy clothes and shoes out there that pick up on this as an easy way to make money. I have chatted with a couple of ex-meth addicts who did this underage to fund the addiction, but there was no one else around them forcing them into it. It was a means to an end. As well, there have been a few news stories on the teenagers who want all the stuff their parents won't buy for them, so this seems like a good idea. Heck lots of teens are sexting naked pics to friends, doing bjs to fit in, etc, this probably seems like a great idea to make some $$ as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andee 220524 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 In this day and age, as well, I wouldn't assume the younger ones are pimped out. There are enough addicts or looking for short cuts to fancy clothes and shoes out there that pick up on this as an easy way to make money. I have chatted with a couple of ex-meth addicts who did this underage to fund the addiction, but there was no one else around them forcing them into it. It was a means to an end. As well, there have been a few news stories on the teenagers who want all the stuff their parents won't buy for them, so this seems like a good idea. Heck lots of teens are sexting naked pics to friends, doing bjs to fit in, etc, this probably seems like a great idea to make some $$ as well. Having known people who were caught up in the cycle of addiction, I have witnessed first hand the worst of this business. There are what I call "extended pimps". Even though these girls may have told you they weren't forced to work, c'mon - their money was still ending up in the hands of their dealer to feed their addiction. If they owe for fronts or need a phone card and they're broke, sometimes the dealers (or others) will do them favours - so they have to do what they do to avoid being beat up or worse, so they're still caught up in the cycle of having to work. If you're a prostitute and owe a dealer money and can't pay him, see how fast you'll be under his/her thumb. And this can happen to anyone at any age, not just young people. And the person does not have to a drug user themselves. I have known of girls supporting their spouses' drug or gambling addiction by working so they could try and keep a roof over their heads. I know a woman who is in her fifties who advertises on CL (as much younger) and does not have a computer. Up until recently she depended on her dealer to post her ads. If there was a day he didn't have product, he wouldn't put her ad up because he didn't want her making money and buying from someone else. Her whole reason for working is to pay for her addiction but she will tell you that no one makes her do anything. It it not the lifestyle I could stomach. Another example is hanger-ons, so-called friends and boyfriends who encourage the girl to work so they can "party". They don't pimp her per se, but because maybe someone is providing a place to crash or do business, their motive is "encourage" the girl as much as possible to work. And has been said before here, even if someone is being co-erced to work, often they will not want to go against their perpetrator, so it is very hard for the police to make charges stick some times. Being under-age is a little easier for the cops to make a procuring charge stick, but the people orchestrating these things are like cockroaches. The moment you turn on the light, they scatter. And even if you do catch some of them, there are hundreds waiting in the wings. It's so sad, and no matter how the laws are changed, I believe we will always have this element of society attached to business because they view it as quick and easy money to get what they want. It's nice to think we are all independent in that we work when we want, how we want with no one telling us what to do, but some have chosen a lifestyle that although it may start out like that can get very ugly as lines are crossed. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
britney999999999 105 Report post Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) I often advertise w/ CL, Kijiji ect. as well as CERB and I really dont believe the police have any interest in "busting" anyone who is not directly contributing to the drug/pimping trade whatsoever. Most clients I have gained from using these medias have been regular contributing members of normal society that occasionally hobby and simply have never seen that there is a CERB yet which is why I still find CL useful. And as long as you(|sp's) are not under aged or being "put out" by someone else-we have nothing to hide so have nothing to fear! Dont worry-be happy!;-) Edited November 24, 2009 by britney999999999 spelling mistakes. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m******e 100 Report post Posted December 5, 2009 that is so true britney999999999 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fortunateone 156618 Report post Posted December 5, 2009 Refreshing this thread reminded me of this statement here lol: The number of posts in the ?erotic services? section of the Ottawa .......... website has exploded in recent months. An Ottawa Sun investigation into the online sex trade in April 2008 showed the trend was beginning to pick up. On any given day, there would be roughly 20 to 30 ads, compared to about 100 nowadays. Because I had expected the numbers were going to be huge, right, so the 100 made me chuckle. As of now (7:45pm PST) Dec 4 on the Vancouver erotic services section (not just w4m, but let's face it, there are not a lot of ads that are not w4m), there have been over 1400 ads posted TODAY ...... SO FAR. And I only went back to about 7AM this morning. Oddly enough the number of ads posted daily before the account system put in place to control the overposting was usually around 800 for a 24 hour period. (The asian micros & a couple of individuals continue to overpost continuously and normally are able to have at least 8 ads per sp per day adding to the overwhelming number of ads daily) So if 100 ads daily is an explosion, I wonder what they would call Vancouver's. It got so bad, they have sectioned off the different city areas -- and even there certain individuals still post 8 times daily even when the effect is they show up 4-5 times per 100 ads if you select their area :confused: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tulsa 130 Report post Posted June 20, 2010 Hi, I am an SP and I advertise on CL every day. For now it's the best place for me to advertise since I can have my post up in 10-15 minutes and it is widely known. I have had many calls from weirdos and people just fishing, even kids trying to hire me. To my surprise however, I got a call from a pimp wanting me to work for him. I tried brushing him off and it wouldn't work. I got my fiancee, which is well aware of my work, since we met while I was an exotic dancer. I do this work because I love it and was doing it before we met. I got him to call this pimp and set him straight. Finally after some choice words, he apologized and I haven't heard from him since. But the way he approached me, if I was a teenager with no street smarts I would have been lured by his offerings of good money and teachings on how to protect and market myself. I do wish the police well in getting those predators off the street. I believe all SPs should have some sort of male acting as a driver/security agent for them. But they should be paid accordingly. Pimps take your money and leave you with nothing. We are out here to make money to get ourselves out of a bad financial situation or for other personal reasons, not to allow someone else to get rich. Those are my thoughts, thanks for publishing and reading me. Tulsa xox Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest O***wa**W Report post Posted July 23, 2010 I often advertise w/ CL, Kijiji ect. as well as CERB and I really dont believe the police have any interest in "busting" anyone who is not directly contributing to the drug/pimping trade whatsoever. Most clients I have gained from using these medias have been regular contributing members of normal society that occasionally hobby and simply have never seen that there is a CERB yet which is why I still find CL useful. Ditto this. A lot of my clients from those sites either don't know about this site (I tell them of course) or don't feel comfortable participating here. I do feel more weary using CL as there is so much more drama there then here, but I have to go where I get business, and what I offer seems to appeal more to the infrequent user/newbie. I always have a nagging thought in my head that one day a cop is going to show up at my door, but I think it is largely unfounded paranoia. I hope so, anyways! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexy Grace 103697 Report post Posted July 23, 2010 Ditto this. A lot of my clients from those sites either don't know about this site (I tell them of course) or don't feel comfortable participating here. I do feel more weary using CL as there is so much more drama there then here, but I have to go where I get business, and what I offer seems to appeal more to the infrequent user/newbie. I always have a nagging thought in my head that one day a cop is going to show up at my door, but I think it is largely unfounded paranoia. I hope so, anyways! I agree and feel the same way at times. I hate the CL drama but I meet alot of first timers and newbies to the hobby and always tell them about CERB and hopefully they join. Most have and I feel great when they do:-D. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicole Kelly 130 Report post Posted July 25, 2010 I always have a nagging thought in my head that one day a cop is going to show up at my door, but I think it is largely unfounded paranoia. I hope so, anyways! I've had cops show up at my door...but never without an appointment :wink: 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexy Grace 103697 Report post Posted August 2, 2010 I've had cops show up at my door...but never without an appointment :wink: I like that one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
