[Mrs. Don-o]

I, too, would like to see where they got those figures or how they arrived at them. Whenever I see a number like 100,000, no matter what the subject, I always think "Hmm... rounding up, are we?"

Having said that, I would also say that the 100,000 figure does not strike me offhand as being orders-of-magnitude unrealistic. We're talking truck stops, massage parlors, strip joints, and the street --- right?

There are over 150,000 truck stops in the USA (Source, truck stop numbers)

If only a small minority --- say 35% of them --- prove to be venues for underage prostitutes, but each one which has prostitutes has 2 on the premises who are underage, that's 100,000 right there.

Does that make a reasonable ballpark figure?--- speak up, truckers ---

And ---since we haven't even added in massage parlots, strip joints, bus stations, train stations, and the street--- does it in fact seem a conservative ballpark figure?

[Poser]

“say 35% of them “

Have you seen any credible evidence that even 2% of truck stops have underage slave prostitutes? Or even underage prostitutes who do it on their own volition?

It is more likely that fewer than 35% of truck stops have any regular prostitutes. Most truck stops have pumps, convenience store and food of some kind.

[wbill]

Fair enough on the truck stop numbers - you're right, though, to ask truckers what they think.

I'd also wonder how "underage" is defined...under 18? 19? 21? The article was a little vague "Children as young as 12" adds to the picture the author is trying to paint, without adding any factual context. Gun grabbers cite stats like this all the time..."5,000 children killed each year by gun violence" but they only get to that number by including the 4,993 Eighteen and Nineteen year old gang bangers that are killed in drug-related shootings.

IMHO, there's a big difference between a 12 year old girl kidnapped out of her front yard, and a 17-1/2 year old runaway with a meth habit that sells him/herself to support it. The former is a horrible crime, the latter is an avoidable tragedy.

[DBrow]

“, too, would like to see where they got those figures or how they arrived at them.

In a post above I estimate dthe percent of the population in that age group and came up with 100,000= one in 200.

That seems unreasonable, and yet the article says that 100K is the low end.

I think finding one in fifty of kids 10-15 involved in prostitution or sex slavery is too much.

But, I don’t have hard numbers, and it looks like the author does not either.