A Conversation With DCF Commissioner Joette Katz
The department is aware of roughly 100 CT children who have been sold for sex.
The state’s child welfare agency said it's aware of roughly 100 children who have been sold for sex in the state during the past five years - and that’s just who they’ve identified.
Joette Katz - commissioner of DCF is launching a public awareness campaign to try to train both safety officials and the public to identify and treat these minors as victims rather than prostitutes.
All this week, The Connecticut Mirror has featured a comprehensive series on child trafficking in the state - which you can read at ctmirror.org. The latest story highlights the low number of pimps sent to jail.
"But although DCF has identified 89 children who have been sold for sex across the state since 2009, the federal prosecutor's office has sent just a handful of pimps to jail during that time," wrote the Mirror's Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Grace Merritt.
Today, we’ll talk with Commissioner Katz about this initiative - and others initiatives aimed at protecting children in the state.
Since taking over the department, the former Supreme Court Justice has been working to turn around an agency that’s been troubled by ineffectiveness and monitored by the federal courts.
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What about the buyers of child sex?
You should also look into the number of buyers who were arrested, charged, and/or prosecuted for purchasing sex with children. We cannot effectively tackle child sex trafficking without addressing demand-- and when buyers escape with impunity, demand will only grow.