Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten sounds like a real idiot and nazi thug with this comment from the article - She wants to change the laws so that men who have sex with child prostitutes, even if the girls or boys lie about their age, will be prosecuted as a child molesters and be forced to register as sex offenders. Thats really stupid Peggy Bilsten! Your a moron!!!! Original Article Phoenix officials to crack down on child prostitution Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor The Arizona Republic Mar. 11, 2006 12:00 AM An alarming increase in incidents of child prostitution has prompted Phoenix officials to create a statewide task force to push for tougher penalties for those who pay to have sex with the children and for the pimps selling them. They also hope to come up with ways to provide a haven for the children. Phoenix police said that in the past six months, vice detectives have found 35 prostitutes, some as young as 12. They have also identified 54 pimps. advertisement In one instance, police rescued one young girl from a dog crate tucked away under a bed, where police said she was being kept by a pimp. Other children have been found on the streets or were advertised by escort services on the Internet, police said. Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said the department was surprised at the number of young girls officers have come across working as prostitutes. He said detectives haven't encountered as many child prostitutes in the past as they have in the past six months. Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten has been the driving force behind forming this task force, which is expected to have representatives from the Governor's Office; county, city and federal prosecutors; advocacy groups; and non-profit organizations. "It's an ugly thing, it's disgusting," she said. "There is no place for this in Arizona." She wants to change the laws so that men who have sex with child prostitutes, even if the girls or boys lie about their age, will be prosecuted as a child molesters and be forced to register as sex offenders. Since the group is just forming, no bills have been introduced in the Legislature this session. Phoenix Police Cmdr. Glen Gardner said it is unclear how much of an increase the recent cases represent. "We can't say for sure it hasn't been out there in the past," Gardner said. "One of the things we're discovering is that the girls are pretty well trained on how to deal with us." He said the girls they have come across often carry no identification and pose as adults. Once the made-up profile gets into the police system, the girls continue to use it and are booked and jailed as adults. Discovering the true age is time consuming and takes a lot of investigative work, Gardner said. Police are investigating 38 of the 54 pimps who have been identified in Phoenix and across the state. In just 10 of the cases, police have served 20 search warrants; made 15 arrests, three of which have resulted in grand-jury indictments; and discovered that 15 of the young prostitutes have been trafficked across several states and two have children by their adult pimps. Gardner said the pimps prey on vulnerable young girls at malls, parks or parties. Often, the girls are victims of sexual or physical abuse and come from bad home environments. Some are even girls plagued with typical teenage issues and who feel alienated. "These folks are getting real good at picking these kids out of a crowd and being what they need, at least for the moment," Gardner said.