"Party Row"
The last row in the truck stop is often referred to as the "Party Row". At truck stops all across the US girls as young as 11 are "pimped" out to truck drivers.
The roots of Innocence Lost can be found in investigations begun in Oklahoma City back in 2003, after a series of murders of prostitutes who worked at truck stops. The investigations led to the discovery of a loose network of more than 45 pimps and over 100 prostitutes, who recruited girls from Oklahoma City and followed trucking routes to Denver, Miami, Houston, and Dallas. Fourteen pimps have since been convicted on federal charges as a result of the Oklahoma City probes, with sentences as long as 210 months. Three major interstates cross Oklahoma City, and the truck stops here, such as Pilot and TravelCenters of America, are like little cities, with everything from restaurants to TV lounges. The parking lots can cover acres. The back row of each lot is known as "Party Row," and the truckers know that's where the girls are. Law enforcement officers monitoring CB radio traffic regularly hear girls ask, "Hey truckers, anyone want some commercial company?" If someone responds, they switch to a different frequency, then get down to business. "I'm blond-haired, blue-eyed, 34C . . . if you want to play with this baby doll, tell me what color your house is," she will say, referring to his truck. He will often flash his lights so she knows where to go. A girl can have dozens of "dates" a night but will not stop until she has made her "trap," the amount of money she has to bring home to her pimp.
At truck stops in California, girls often wear jeans and carry a backpack, looking as if they're studying. "But there is something about their eyes, and the way they smile at you, that tells you they're not just regular kids," says James Morrow, an outreach worker for a nonprofit called Children of the Night, who used to frequent truck stops to educate both the girls and the truckers--until threats from the pimps made that too dangerous. Sometimes the same girls will travel to Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma, greeting truckers in each place by name.
(humantrafficking.org)
The roots of Innocence Lost can be found in investigations begun in Oklahoma City back in 2003, after a series of murders of prostitutes who worked at truck stops. The investigations led to the discovery of a loose network of more than 45 pimps and over 100 prostitutes, who recruited girls from Oklahoma City and followed trucking routes to Denver, Miami, Houston, and Dallas. Fourteen pimps have since been convicted on federal charges as a result of the Oklahoma City probes, with sentences as long as 210 months. Three major interstates cross Oklahoma City, and the truck stops here, such as Pilot and TravelCenters of America, are like little cities, with everything from restaurants to TV lounges. The parking lots can cover acres. The back row of each lot is known as "Party Row," and the truckers know that's where the girls are. Law enforcement officers monitoring CB radio traffic regularly hear girls ask, "Hey truckers, anyone want some commercial company?" If someone responds, they switch to a different frequency, then get down to business. "I'm blond-haired, blue-eyed, 34C . . . if you want to play with this baby doll, tell me what color your house is," she will say, referring to his truck. He will often flash his lights so she knows where to go. A girl can have dozens of "dates" a night but will not stop until she has made her "trap," the amount of money she has to bring home to her pimp.
At truck stops in California, girls often wear jeans and carry a backpack, looking as if they're studying. "But there is something about their eyes, and the way they smile at you, that tells you they're not just regular kids," says James Morrow, an outreach worker for a nonprofit called Children of the Night, who used to frequent truck stops to educate both the girls and the truckers--until threats from the pimps made that too dangerous. Sometimes the same girls will travel to Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma, greeting truckers in each place by name.
(humantrafficking.org)
