Sun Sentinel

By Anthony Man

February 2, 2015, 2:14 PM

Even in South Florida's seemingly idyllic suburban enclaves, girls are vulnerable to being drawn into a netherworld of prostitution and human trafficking, a range of political leaders and child advocates warned Monday.

"It's out there. It's present in the community," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler. And that means everywhere, Seiler said. "We have a lot of vulnerable [girls] out there of all socio-economic backgrounds, and it's important that we recognize that it's not just the foster kids. It's not just the [high] poverty children. Everyone's at risk."

Seiler spoke at a gathering convened by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, at the PACE Center for Girls in Wilton Manors. Wasserman Schultz, Seiler and Broward Circuit Judge Stacy Ross and others heard from five girls who participate in the center's programs.

PACE runs several programs that attempt to help troubled girls get back on track or descend deeper into problems with the justice system. None of the girls it currently serves are trafficking victims, said executive director Aggie Pappas.

The congresswoman and the mayor said South Florida's position as an international gateway with many undocumented immigrants means that some girls are held in form of indentured servitude — working as prostitutes — until the debt to those who smuggled them into the country is paid off.

Afterward, Wasserman Schultz said girls can be enticed or forced into what amounts to sexual slavery at age 10 or 11. By the time they're cast out in their late teens, some can be raped 6,000 to 8,000 times.

For example, Wasserman Schultz said, if an older man brings a much younger, unrelated female to a health care provider, the doctor or nurse should try to find out more of what's going on when they're behind closed doors away from the pimp, she said.

Dr. Heidi Schaeffer, a Boynton Beachphysician involved with the Broward Human Trafficking Coalition and a board member of the KidSafe Foundation, said she has never received any such training — and it's desperately needed.

"There are so many signs and symptoms," said Schaeffer, who was part of the group that met with Wasserman Schultz. "There's all these subtle things that every doctor should be exposed to because we're all missing all these cases."

Added awareness won't be a panacea, Schaeffer said, because trafficked girls don't get regular health care. They end up in an urgent care center or emergency room once they're no longer able to "service 15 or 16 men a night," she said.

Among the grisly warning signs the doctor said she's learned to look out for are marks showing a child has been branded. Children who are forced laborers sometimes have hunched backs, she said.

Wasserman Schultz said girls with low self esteem can be enticed into such servitude when someone — who often ends up becoming their pimp — lavishes attention on them. Sometimes it comes from someone offering alcohol or drugs in addition to the illusion of friendship and support, Seiler said.

Katherine, 16, who participates in PACE programming, said danger lurks in many locations. The center does not provide last names of people who use its services to protect their privacy.

"After school, there's always someone trying to talk to me," she said. She said she's learned to look around and pay attention, and not become so preoccupied with listening to her music or using her phone that she doesn't know what is going on around her.

Broward's PACE Center had a had a $2.9 million budget last year, Pappas said, with money coming from the School Board, state Department of Juvenile Justice, the Children's Services Council, United Way and grants.

Pappas said the center's objective is to build up girls so much that they're not vulnerable. One effort runs school programs for girls who are having troubles at home and school.