Rep. Brent Crane talks about sex trafficking and prostitution in Idaho

The prevalence of prostitution in Idaho is a concern for many local and state officials, particularly because of the growth of human and child sex trafficking across the Gem State.

At a local level, law enforcement is actively engaged in training to better understand prostitution and the problems that appear alongside it. Graham, the Bannock County deputy prosecutor, said it's important to remember prostitution rarely appears on its own.

"There are usually other things that go along with prostitution," she said. "It could be drugs involved, it could be child trafficking involved or human trafficking. It's not necessarily just someone hired to perform sexual activity where everyone is consenting. Some of these women may be being held against their will, and other crimes may be occurring alongside prostitution. That's what makes it more dangerous for everyone involved."

Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said prostitution can't be fixed at a local level, but can be continuously improved over time.

"You are not going to get rid of it, and so maybe the best thing you can do is create pressure and have the people involved go elsewhere," Herzog said. "You create an environment where the people engaged in that business will want to go someplace else. That's about all you can ultimately hope for."

On the state level, Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) is hoping new laws will help fight prostitution and specifically deter human trafficking and sex slavery. He has proposed legislation that would make it a felony crime for an individual to patronize a prostitute even once. Currently, patronizing a prostitute is a misdemeanor in Idaho that becomes a felony only after the third charge.

Crane has been working with non-profit group INsideOUT in Eagle and with former trafficked prostitutes to craft anti-prostitution legislation.

"We were told the number one thing we can do is go after the buyer," Crane said. "You can punish the girl and take her out of the community, and you can punish the pimp, but another pimp and another girl will just fill the void. You have to go after the guys who are purchasing this. We need to send a clear message that the boys and girls of Idaho are not for sale."

During a committee hearing for Crane's bill on Feb. 1, the representative brought a number of former child prostitutes to testify. Several young women testified johns are equally as dangerous as traffickers and frequently abuse and rape their victims. One woman described that as a child she was choked, tied up, cut with knives and then penetrated with sharp objects by an abusive john.

A 15-year-old Payette girl told the committee she had been forced into prostitution at age 13 by her mother's pimp.

"I wanted out so bad for so long. It was so hard to speak up and try and tell someone," she said. "Many times I’d tell a grown man my age, and he was OK with it. He didn’t care. He just wanted the sex. They severely abused and raped me. It was horrible for me."

Both women emphasized that they had been trafficked because there was a market for their bodies.

During the hearing, several representatives brought up concerns that the law could unfairly penalize prostitution cases where both the escort and the client are consenting adults.

Crane said he believes that's a misconception about modern-day prostitution. He emphasized that no girl leaves high school dreaming about a career in prostitution.

"Individuals think a lot of the girls who are over 18 are willing in this business, but most are not," he said. "Most are not there because they want to be. They are either addicted to a drug, they owe money or the pimp has some sort of power over them."

As of March 21, the bill was still in committee.