Submitted by klevin on Thu, 2010-06-24 13:11

In a groundbreaking Texas Supreme Court decision, the court ruled yesterday that a 13-year-old girl in Harris County charged with soliciting sex is not a criminal, but a victim.  This decision will assist in the protection of child prostitutes who have become engulfed in the growing sex industry.

“I applaud this ruling by the Texas Supreme Court,” said Covenant House President Kevin Ryan.  “For too long, the buying and selling of children has been either ignored or looked upon as just another intractable social problem.   We see the victims of the sex industry at Covenant House every day.   They are children, innocent victims, and every day they risk their lives to escape from their captors and find their way to our shelter doors.    

“The fact that this case had to go all the way to the Supreme Court for a decision to be made that a 13-year-old girl is a victim is a troubling sign that we have much work to do,” said Ryan.   “Our society continues to allow an enormous sex industry that we seem powerless to do anything about.  The time for rhetoric and expressions of concern is long past.  Too many children are living and dying on our streets.  This ruling in Texas brings hope that young children being used by pimps will be seen for what they are – victims and beautiful children whose lives are filled with hope and promise.”  

For the complete report from Texas, click here.