Correction: DA will prosecute prostitutes
October 8, 2015
The San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday it plans to prosecute adult prostitutes who it does not deem are victims.
In a March Tribune article, “SLO County prosecutors to view prostitutes as victims, not criminals,” it says the district attorney’s office is changing the way it “prosecutes the sex trade industry, viewing prostitutes as victims of exploitation or forced labor rather than as criminals.” CalCoastNews later repeated the assertion.
Dan Dow said his office has never announced plans to stop prosecuting prostitutes. However, one of the goals of the department’s anti-human trafficking task force is to determine if the subject is a victim of human trafficking before labeling them a prostitute.
“The demand for adult sexual services or prostitution is too often filled by criminal organizations, gangs and others in society who prey on vulnerable juvenile victims by coercing them into a situation where the victims bodies are sold over and over again,” Dow said. “Therefore, in an effort to reduce the demand for activities that lead to commercial sexual exploitation of juveniles, we will continue to prosecute prostitution whether it be the solicitor or the adult sex worker.”
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