Pimp Pop Culture Brushes Aside Girls' Fate

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"When they heard about the girls who had befriended the pimp and ended up prostituting themselves, they were speechless. They didn't realize just how bad it could get."

Teaching children how to avoid life's pitfalls is an appropriate response to the pathology around them. Celebrating that pathology -- even when it's "only a movie" or "just a song" -- is cultural suicide.

According to Wilgoren, Brice's activities came to light after investigations by the District's Human Trafficking Task Force and the U.S. Justice Department's Innocence Lost initiative -- separate efforts that target pimps accused of using violence and preying on girls.

Next week, another pimp from the District is scheduled to be sentenced for prostituting a 12-year-old runaway.

"I just can't imagine a little girl in America wanting to grow up to be a prostitute," Overton said. "But we close our eyes to the roots of the dysfunctional aspects of our society: the poverty, the culture of violence and breakup of the family.

"Instead of opting for back-end solutions, like locking up our children, we need to help them before they get into trouble."

Now that would make it hard for a pimp.

E-mail:milloyc@washpost.com

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