Pimps target teens at Montreal malls

Pimps target teens at Montreal malls

[link to www.cbc.ca]

Montreal police warning parents to watch for warning signs

Montreal police are warning parents that pimps are hanging around Montreal-area shopping centres, trying to lure teens into prostitution.

Police say pimps are using strategies that manipulate victims into thinking it's their own choice, then trapping those victims into a cycle of violence.

Pimps are targeting malls, schools, youth centres, metro stations and bus terminals, said Montreal police officer Josée Mensales, who co-created the Survivors program, focused on sexual exploitation.

Mensales said a pimp will often approach teen after teen, using flattery and offering his phone number and eventually someone responds.

Teen recruited over several months

"Jennifer" — a woman whose identity CBC has agreed to protect — was at a Montreal-area mall when she met a person she thought was becoming a friend but instead turned out to be a pimp.

Jennifer says they were friends for several months before he convinced her to try working at a strip joint.

Throughout those months, he gradually introduced her to a life of luxury, buying her expensive meals and thousands of dollars' worth of clothes and shoes. She says he took her to strip joints to make her feel more comfortable in that environment.

I think a lot of teenagers are attracted to money and fame and luxurious things....quick money. So basically (after seeing) all of this for months and months I was telling myself, 'oh it's not that bad, maybe I could try. I'll try one night and see if I like it,'" she said.

Jennifer says she realized she was in trouble when the man demanded she hand over the money after her first shift. The situation became violent and he would threaten to expose her life in the sex industry to her family.