This is a commonly cited statistic in the media and among politicians when discussing the sex trade involving children under the age of 18. Frequently, it is provided without any source, though ECPAT’s Web site attributed it to 2010 congressional testimony by Ernie Allen, at the time president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Full Article
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The below acknowledgment by Allen says it all; it’s all BS.
“but Allen acknowledges now that “there was no scientific empirical data” about the number of children in the sex trade.”
Sounds like the beginnings of manufactured consent to pass another stream of new laws that aren’t based on any kind of sound evidence. Sounds allot like the claims about “unreported” sex crimes.
The Washington Post explored this issue a little further here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/06/11/the-dubious-claim-that-on-average-girls-first-become-victims-of-sex-trafficking-at-13-years-old/