Sex trafficking is so widespread, said Nathan Wilson, founder of the Project Meridian Foundation in Arlington, which helps police identify traffickers and their victims, that “no country, no race, no religion, no class and no child is immune.”
He said 1.6 million children younger than 18 — native and foreign-born — have been caught up in this country’s sex trade.
But, he said, the number of victims is hard to quantify because of the lengths to which traffickers go to keep their crimes hidden. Analysts say the number of children sexually exploited in the U.S. or at risk of being exploited is between 100,000 and 300,000.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/23/sex-trafficking-us-called-epidemic
