Posted on 02/10/2004 8:43:23 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
February 9, 2004 ABC7's I-Team uncovers how Chicago men are feeding the exploitation of women and children who are bought and sold for sex. Watch part two of "The Shameful Obsession" Tuesday at 10 p.m. on ABC 7 News.
For years, Chicago men who didn't want to indulge their shameful obsession close to home, would travel to countries such as Thailand. The I-Team takes you to a much closer destination-- Costa Rica, where teenagers are plentiful for a price.
Night and day, American men cram into bars where prostitutes offer services that are illegal back home. Here there is both anonymity and impunity because prostitution is allowed, as long as the woman is at least 18 years old. But local investigators estimate there are 3,000 underage girls working as prostitutes in Costa Rica. Many of them were brought against their will from Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
"You cannot really sometimes see the difference between a seventeen-year old girl or a nineteen-year-old girl. So that it's there that we have this age line that will permit for sometimes that younger girls be exploited and it's hard to know," said Rosalia, Gil, C.R. children's affairs minister.
About 2,500 miles from Chicago, an intersection in downtown San Jose Costa Rica is what many male American tourists refer to affectionately as ground zero, the baseline for their sexual holidays. Within a few blocks of here are dozens of nightclubs, massage parlors and one hour hotels that feature prostitutes of all ages.
Chuck: "How old are you?
Michelle: Sixteen."
Michelle was one of the prostitutes ABC7 News met while working undercover in San Jose who admitted being underage. However, many working girls appeared to be younger than 18.
"If you can imagine 11, 12, 13 year old girls and what they are put through. It pretty much ruins their life," said Mark Cullinane, U.S. Embassy-Costa Rica.
U.S. diplomats here warn American tourists not to hire underage prostitutes and pledge to help local police prosecute American violators. Nevertheless, American patrons the I-Team met seemed to have convinced themselves that barroom prostitutes are of legal age.
Bar patron: "They are all over 18 or else they wouldn't be here. Make sure they are."
Chuck Goudie: He says there are a lot of guys here from Chicago...
Bar Patron: Yea there was...big group of 'em here.
ABC7 News met those Chicagoans who had come here on an expedition organized by the owner of Emmit's Pub, a well-known Irish tavern in West Town.
"One girl I had last year, her husband was killed, she brought her two kids here, she makes $600 a week and only works 2 days, she says that's all I need. She does three tricks a night."
He told us the Costa Rica contingent included a Chicago policeman and a Chicago fireman.
"Some of these firemen have been doing this for 18 years...it just grows every year and it gets more fun. You've got to love this, it's unbelievable, its so safe...I want to be comfortable, I want to feel safe," said Ronald Halverson, Costa Rica visitor.
Costa Rica's slogan is "pura vida," which means pure life. It is one of the world's greatest eco-centers, with cashmere beaches, lush rain forests, volcanoes and tropical animals. But for thousands of American men, the pure life that draws them is human wildlife.
Among them: Scott Fawell, the now-imprisoned aide to ex-governor George Ryan. Fawell and several other former Illinois officials were treated to Costa Rican prostitutes by then-state lobbyist Roger "The Hog" Stanley in exchange for government contracts. Stanley-- also now in prison-- owned a home here in San Jose, has a child here, and operated a travel agency that catered to Americans.
"Costa Rica has been sold out in the United States on the Internet as a sex paradise and we are trying to stop it," said Rosalia Gil.
Many of the Chicago men who take these trips write vivid reports on their conquests and post them on some of the 70 websites devoted to Costa Rican sex tours. They call themselves "Chicago Mongers."
Popular websites feature still photos of very young-looking girls. In some cases, there is also videotape shot in San Jose hotel rooms, along with consumer ratings for each girl's hygiene and performance.
Last month trafficking experts from Chicago and Central America met in Costa Rica to devise a battle plan. This month in San Jose taxi drivers are being trained to identify and turn in sex violators. Costa Rica cops are stopping street prostitutes who appear underage and checking birthdates on their government ID cards. They're also delivering a message to American men.
"They can enjoy our nature, our country, but this is not a place to come for sexual exploitation."
The best deterrent is probably the possibility of time in a clammy Costa Rican jail. Authorities invited the I-Team to see what horrid accommodations await American tourists arrested for child sex.
"We make investigation. We make arrests. In 2003 we arrested nine persons involved with crimes against children in Costa Rica," said Dir. Paul Chavez, Costa Rica Police.
But none of nine arrested last year was American, even though more sex tourists visit Costa Rica from the U.S. than anywhere else. Chavez says police need more money for undercover work. At the American embassy, Mark Cullinane has a more simple deterrent.
"I think we should ask those gentlemen if they have wives and daughters and how they would feel if their loved ones were victimized by their activities?" said Cullinane.
Since word got out that the I-Team was doing this story, internet chat rooms that cater to Costa Rica sex tourists have been buzzing.
Tuesday 10p.m., the I-Team looks at the women caught up in Chicago's shameful obsession and the men who keep them there.
You can see the ABC7 report by clicking on the video icon above. You will need Real Player 8 to view this video. You can get it FREE by clicking here. NOTE: Video clips will only be available for 10-days from the date they were created.NOTE: Security updates available for Real Player.
Only time in my life that I voted for a Democratic candidate for Governor (Poshard). I was a grad student at U of C at the time, and remember that many of my liberal cohorts voted for Ryan because of his "social liberalism."
Your account has been suspended? Whats up with that?
GEORGE RYAN AND HIS "REPUBLICAN" STAFFERS ARE CRIMINALS WHO DESERVE TO GO TO PRISON.
PLEASE, GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD, PEOPLE!
Thanks for the PING to read the article.
Thanks for the PING to read the article.
Sorry for the double post my Wi Fi connection hates me. Perhaps instead of going after the Bush admin, Fitzgerald could wage a battle against Comcast. Then he might be useful.
What nation is he refering to?
Sadly it doesn't seem to be our own.
No matter what you say Billy, Fitzgerald is a prosecutor who has organized a political show trial instead of investigating the CIA's attempted or actual espionage of a sitting presidents war policies. I am underwhelmed by Fitzgarulous's decision to secure his future with a supposed Democrat President in 2008, which will not likely happen.
Without the liberal media hype, the case he has against
Libby would be mothing more than a cut the cheese gas fizzle, unworthing of lighting up his scrofulous ass!
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