The group, Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking, is headed up by former Nye
County Commissioner Candice Trummell, who says a brothel owner tried to bribe
her. Another member of the group, Kathleen Mitchell, was a prostitute for 21
years.
"I left that business with nothing but rage and anger. I could have hurt
someone at the drop of a hat. I ended up going to jail," Mitchell said.
Mitchell was arrested in Las Vegas and decided to call it quits. She quickly
found out that there are few services for prostitutes who want to leave their
lifestyle behind.
Although prostitution is not legal in Clark County, that doesn't stop it from
happening. According to a recently released report by the U.S. State
Department, there is nine times more illegal prostitution in Nevada than where
prostitution is legal in the state. It also says 90-percent of prostitution in
the state is happening in Las Vegas whether it's in illegal brothels or private
homes.
According to Melissa Farley who has written a book based on the report says she
found that there's $24 million worth of advertising in Las Vegas where
prostitution is illegal. In addition, the local phone book has 173 pages of
advertising for the sex industry alone.
"There is a lot of prostitution in Las Vegas because there is a lot of
advertising for prostitution in Las Vegas."
Farley says the report estimated that the sex industry in Las Vegas generates
between $1 billion and $6 billion a year.
Last August, prostitutes were bussed in from all over the United States and
seen parading down West Tropicana. The U.S. State Department report shows that
they have quotas amounting to more than 1,800 customers a year. That money gets
split between taxi drivers, pimps and bell hops at casinos, leaving very little
for the prostitutes.
Farley's book, Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connections,
is being used as a launching pad for the coalition's efforts raise awareness
about prostitution in Nevada. What they would really like to see is some help
for prostitutes who want to get out of the business. They would also like
tougher penalties against people who pay for prostitutes.
