Trial reveals child prostitution subculture in Atlanta

ATLANTA - They are known as Atlanta&#39;s ``children of the night.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Girls as young as 10 are forced to walk the streets, wearing short skirts, tight tops and 6- to 8-inch heels. They carry fake IDs, cell phones and condoms, forced into ``the life&#39;&#39; by pimps who lure them from schools and movie theaters. <br> <br> ``The pimp holds them hostage,&#39;&#39; says Alesia Adams, head of Victims of Prostitution in Atlanta. ``That&#39;s what it&#39;s all about. It&#39;s about control.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> There&#39;s a hidden world in Atlanta and other American cities a world where pimps own young girls as slaves, selling them to each other and using violence to make sure they don&#39;t run away. <br> <br> But in Atlanta, the sexual exploitation of children is no longer a secret. A recent federal investigation exposed a subculture of child prostitution and led to the conviction of 15 of the city&#39;s most notorious pimps. <br> <br> Earlier this month, a jury convicted Charles ``Sir Charles&#39;&#39; Pipkins, 56, and Andrew ``Batman&#39;&#39; Moore, 38, on racketeering charges, wrapping up a three-year investigation. <br> <br> Both Pipkins and Moore face likely sentences of more than 20 years. The other 13 pimps pleaded guilty to federal charges in exchange for lighter sentences between five and 15 years. <br> <br> ``It was certainly our hope to make as big a dent as possible,&#39;&#39; said Richard Deane, the former district attorney who helped indict the pimps last year. ``Our investigators identified these people as some of the most active, so they became our focus.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But just because some of the worst pimps are in jail doesn&#39;t mean Atlanta&#39;s juvenile prostitution problem is solved, warns Camellia Moore, executive director of Alternate Life Paths, which works with sexually exploited girls. <br> <br> ``I think it&#39;s a fantastic victory, but I think it is just one of the many battles that has to be fought,&#39;&#39; Moore said. ``The war is not over by any stretch of the imagination.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> During the federal trial of Pipkins and Moore, 14 girls took the stand and testified that pimps took them under their wing when they were no older than 12 and forced them into prostitution. <br> <br> One 14-year-old testified that ``Batman&#39;&#39; threatened to kill her if she refused to have sex with a customer. With tears streaming down her face, she told the court she was too scared to run away or ask for help. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m not a whore,&#39;&#39; she said. ``I didn&#39;t know him. He was a stranger.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Michael Davis, another pimp known as ``Hollywood,&#39;&#39; testified that pimps lure children and teens into the sex trade by cloaking the business in a false glamour. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s about manipulation, selling dreams of fancy cars, mansions, jewelry and expensive clothes. Some aren&#39;t accustomed to such things,&#39;&#39; said Davis, who testified for the prosecution in exchange for a lesser sentence. <br> <br> Prosecutors said the pimps took all the money the girls made, making them financially dependent. In exchange, the girls received only ``non-negotiable&#39;&#39; goods: shelter, food, clothes, drugs, manicures and visits to the hair salon. <br> <br> Lois Lee, president of Children of the Night, a residential program to help juvenile prostitutes, describes the pimp-prostitute relationship as a love-slave bond. <br> <br> ``These girls are psychologically held by these pimps,&#39;&#39; Lee said. ``It&#39;s like the battered women&#39;s syndrome. Their highs with him are really high; their lows with him are really low.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> About 90 percent of the juvenile prostitutes have been sexually or physically abused, Adams said. <br> <br> ``The other 10 percent are girls who stepped out there thinking it was some kind of adventure,&#39;&#39; she said. ``It&#39;s not an adventure. It&#39;s dangerous.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Authorities in Georgia have only recently gotten serious about shutting down pimps. Pimping was only a misdemeanor in Georgia until last year when the Legislature passed a law making pimping a felony punishable by 20 years in prison. <br> <br> Atlanta police also created a child exploitation unit last year to handle all prostitution cases. <br> <br> But Camellia Moore said she and other child advocates will continue to remind people about Atlanta&#39;s ``children of the night,&#39;&#39; even after the headlines disappear and the politicians move on to other issues. <br> <br> ``We have such short memories,&#39;&#39; Moore said. ``Once the sensationalism is gone and the newness is gone, it just becomes one of the many problems we deal with in this society.&#39;&#39;