Recently in Prostitution / Solicitation Category

Twin brothers from Dolton are charged with forcing teenage girls to have sex with strangers, taking the money for themselves and allegedly beating them, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Brothers Myrelle and Tyrelle Lockett are being held in a medium-security division of the Cook County Jail on $100,000 bond each.

Each suspect was charged with trafficking in persons for forced labor of services, involuntary sexual servitude of a minor and involuntary servitude. All are felony charges.

Although you'd have to ask a Chicago criminal attorney, the young men likely will face severe sentences if found guilty.

Despite the legitimate arguments in favor of the decriminalization of prostitution, including the health and safety interests of sex workers, young girls often are treated as slaves by their pimps. Really, how could anyone say that a 13-year-old prostitute is in charge of her career?

A prosecutor was quoted as saying that one particular 13-year-old was nothing more than "an easy product to sell" in the eyes of accused 18-year-old pimp Josue Gomez (Daily Herald).

Gomez was found guilty (NBC, Rockford) on a charge of juvenile pimping last week. He faces between four and 15 years in the slammer, according to the article.

Five women, one man and one transgendered individual were arrested last week for sexual solicitation (Tribune) by Aurora detectives at a hotel on the west side. The detectives aimed their sting operation at suspected prostitution services advertised online, most notably the "erotic services" section of Craigslist.