The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri today told members of the Senate Judiciary panel’s Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee that there are not enough law enforcement and social services resources to combat child sex trafficking in the United States.

Beth Phillips (DOJ)

U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips, who worked on child exploitation cases as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, said U.S. child traffickers have “little fear” of arrest or prosecution because victims often won’t cooperate with law enforcement officials. Phillips said there needs to be more specialized services for victims, including secure housing.

“Without secure housing it is difficult for law enforcement officers to maintain the steady contact with victims necessary to build rapport and build trust,” Phillips said. “While general resources might be available at the state level, there are very little resources capable of addressing the full range of trauma experienced by these children.”

The U.S. Attorney, who was sworn into office on Dec. 31, said the Justice Department has employed a number of task forces and initiatives over the last decade to fight child prostitution, including the Innocence Lost National Initiative, begun in 2003, which tries to rescue U.S. victims of child trafficking. The DOJ also has a few, limited grant programs to help state, local and tribal officials save child prostitutes in the United States.

“The Department of Justice is committed to continuing its multi-pronged attack against the victimization of American children,” Phillips said. “Through a training and grant-making perspective, we continue to assist local communities in understanding and responding to this issue. From a law enforcement perspective, our efforts are focused on building capacity through the establishment and training of task forces to successfully apprehend and prosecute offenders who make money off of the backs of children.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced bipartisan legislation last December to create a dedicated grant program that would provide grants to state, local and tribal programs that fight sex trafficking in the United States. The bill, which would authorize $50 million over four years, has not seen any legislative action, however.

“[Child prostitutes] don’t have any power. They don’t have any clout. They don’t have any political action committee,” Wyden said today. He added: “We are not going to tolerate this kind of moral wrong. We are not going to tolerate sacrificing so many of our young people.”

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden named a Northern District of Georgia prosecutor to coordinate national efforts to reduce child exploitation, the Justice Department announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francey Hakes will be the DOJ’s National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, a position within the Deputy Attorney General’s office. She will also work with Congress and federal agencies in developing the national strategy. Hakes has worked extensively on child exploitation cases since joining the Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2002 and during her six years as a Georgia assistant district attorney.

“I am thrilled to announce Francey in this important position at the Department of Justice,” Ogden said in a statement. “The national coordinator will play a crucial role in combating child exploitation around the country, and I am certain that Francey will do an outstanding job.”

The position was created through the 2008 Protect Our Children Act. But Hakes is the first person officially to hold the title of National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.

Child exploitation became a higher priority for the Justice Department in 2006 when it launched Project Safe Childhood to fight the sexual abuse of children that has proliferated through the Internet. Each U.S. Attorney’s office now has a Project Safe Childhood task force.

“No child should have to endure the harm that results from predators and child pornographers on the Internet, abduction, being prostituted (a form of sex trafficking), sexual and physical abuse, and ‘child sex tourism’ in which travelers abroad seek to sexually abuse foreign children,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in November.