SECTION 6
Outcomes for Buyers and Victims Consequences for Buyers Buyers of sex with minors face a range of consequences as a result of being identified, although the primary consequences result from arrest and prosecution. With the exception of an identified buyer in Pima County who was not prosecuted in exchange for testimony, law enforcement said in most cases buyers of sex with minors would be arrested and prosecuted. The potential consequences of arrest and prosecution include conviction and sentencing, financial penalties, sex offender registration and public exposure. Buyers who are prosecuted generally proceed to conviction and sentencing. In the Demanding Justice Report, released by Shared Hope International in August 2014, the range of sentences faced by buyers in Maricopa County varied considerably. Law enforcement in Maricopa County felt the differences in sentencing outcomes were related to prosecutor concerns that sting cases lacked jury appeal because there is not a real victim. Since none of the sting cases in Maricopa County have gone to trial, and prosecutors were unavailable to explain why these cases consistently conclude in plea agreements, it is not clear whether the decision not to go to trial is due to purported concerns about the limited jury appeal of sting cases or if other factors such as case volume and crowded court dockets influence prosecutors’ decisions. In Yavapai County, some sting cases have concluded in plea agreements, but in two cases that have not proceeded to a plea, prosecutors encountered an obstacle when two judges ruled the mandatory minimum sentence under the child prostitution law was inapplicable in sting cases. Since Pima County has not focused on arresting buyers of sex with children, there were no case outcomes identified. Sex offender registration for those convicted of buying sex with minors plays an important role as a deterrent and in putting the community on notice. Shared Hope’s 2014 Demanding Justice Report, tracking the outcomes of buyer cases in four regions of the country, one being Maricopa County, included tracking whether sex offender registration was required at conviction. That research showed sex offender registration was required in 75 percent (18/24) of the cases in Maricopa County. Public exposure is another consequence incidental to arrest and prosecution. Buyers face public exposure through a variety of avenues including sex offender registration, media coverage of arrest and/or legal proceedings and mug shot posts by local organizations. However, interviews did not uncover any examples of civil proceedings used to hold buyers accountable and expose their crimes. As discussed above, legal service providers identified several reasons that survivors are not pursuing civil remedies against buyers, including the fact that survivors are often not ready or inclined to endure the adversarial court process. Additionally, due to historical impunity for buyers, survivors feel dubious about the possibility of pursuing legal remedies against a party who has not been held accountable, criminally or culturally.
50 Shared Hope International