Dywer, Jim. "Snared Into Prostitution at 13, and Now Given a Chance for a Clean Legal Slate." New York Times. New York Times Company, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
She was just 13 and going into the eighth grade. She came to be known as Leni Johnson by police in the Bronx. She started standing on sidewalks waiting for men to show up in their cars with money for her sexual favors.
She used to bag groceries for tips, wearing her catholic middle school uniform. In the summer of 2001, a 21 year old man payed her less then she made at the supermarket. He gave her a skimpy little outfit to wear and told her, ‘Just stand right there. When the car pulls up, just tell them, “You want to have a good time?” You tell them the price, then you go and do whatever.’
Johnson who is now 22, would be sold to men for the next eight years. She would be beaten with a stick for even looking at another pimp.
On Wednesday, she will be a part of a "vital revolution" in New York City. Her lawyers and prosecutors in the Bronx will be both asking for her charges of prostitution to be dismissed since when she was charged, she wasn't of age of consent.
In August of 2010, a law took effect stating that children who perform sex acts for money are victims rather than criminals and shouldn't have to deal with the punishments. The state have made more reforms to help these troubled teens.
Johnson now lives in Georgia and works at a waffle house. She has a daughter who is three that lives with her and a son, who is older, that lives with his grandma. Johnson is hoping to get a job at the supermarket, but one of the questions asked if she was ever convicted.
On Wednesday, her three convictions will be adressed. But her pimp gave her false identification, saying that she 18.
In 2008, she found out that she was pregnant with a girl which brought the end of her prostitution. She didn't want her child to grow up with that kind of environment.
This article was very touching. I hope that her Convictions are released. She was young and struggling to make money. I'm not going to say that she didn't know right from wrong because she was old enough to know better, but everyone deserves a second chance. This article is probably few among many about prostitution. You hear a lot about it in cities and in shows such as "Cops." It could be a good topic if you were doing a paper about problems in the U.S. Well I hope that You guys take a chance to read the whole article, beacuse it really interested me.
Very interesting article. I agree with you, that everyone deserves a second chance. I think this was very well written and such a good summary. Although, I don't know if you could find more info on if this is a controversial topic or not. If you are interested, maybe reaserch on, if they get pregnant should they keep the baby? Or is it there fault for getting into that type of situations? Just a thought!
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