GIRL, 11, ABDUCTED, FORCED TO BECOME PROSTITUTE IN B.C. THREE
ARRESTED: GIVEN DRUGS TO KEEP HER WORKING STREETS 12 HOURS A DAY

VANCOUVER - An 11-year-old Oregon girl was forced to work 12 hours a
day as a prostitute in Vancouver, earning up to $1,000 before being
spotted by a youth squad officer, police said yesterday.

Three U.S. residents have been charged with abducting the girl at a
Portland mall, plying her with LSD, speed and Ecstacy, and forcing
her on to the street.

''This is not supposed to happen in our society or anyone's
society,'' said vice squad detective Raymond Payette.

Youth Squad Constable Adam Dhaliwal spotted the girl, who he thought
looked about 13, on Saturday afternoon at the corner of Franklin and
Commercial, one of Vancouver's seediest strips.

After asking her some questions, Const. Dhaliwal called in vice squad
detectives Oscar Ramos and Det. Payette.

The girl told them she was in foster care and had been approached in
a mall by several people who befriended her and asked if she wanted
to join them on a trip. She agreed and travelled north to Vancouver
with two men, a woman and an 18-month-old baby. Police say they
crossed the border last Wednesday, telling guards they were coming to
Vancouver for a wedding.

"When she's here, all of a sudden things are changing dramatically,"
Det. Ramos said.

Police allege the girl was pumped full of drugs and caffeine pills to
keep her awake and working.

"It appears she was out for long periods of time; perhaps 12 hours at
a time," said Constable Anne Drennan, a police spokeswoman. "She felt
that she may, in the last four days, have had no more than about four
hours sleep."

Police say the woman occasionally worked the streets with the girl,
monitoring her activities. The money she collected was turned over to
the adults. They stayed in a different motel each night to stay one
step ahead of police.

"She was very, very frightened," Const. Drennan said. "She had been
assaulted repeatedly by these people, was threatened, was
intimidated, had been drugged. It was unlikely that she was going to
do anything, I guess, in their minds."

When Const. Dhaliwal approached, the girl leapt at the opportunity to
get off the street, police say. "She definitely wanted to get home as
quickly as possible," Det. Ramos said.

The girl told investigators there were arrangements to pick her up at
3 p.m. that day -- this time, though, it was the police who were
waiting. They arrested three suspects, all from Portland.

Jabari McCrory, 26, David Martin Walker, 25, and Milenda Mae Carter,
24, face charges of living off the avails of prostitution, exercise
and control of a minor under 18, and abduction of a child under 14.
Mr. McCrory is also charged with assault and sexual interference with
a person under 14.

Police say the three are known to U.S. police but not to authorities
here. The 18-month-old baby, who police believe is Ms. Carter's
child, has been placed in the care of B.C.'s ministry for children
and families.

The 11-year-old girl has been returned to Oregon. She had been
reported missing by her foster parents on Feb. 17.

Vancouver police say this is the worst example they have encountered,
but the pattern is familiar.

"Recruitment like that happens all over North America, all the time,"
Det. Ramos said. "It's definitely a seduction. It's a con. And the
victim doesn't know what's happening to them until it's too late."

Corporal Gerry Peters, an RCMP member and part of the Provincial
Prostitution Unit, said the youngest girl working the streets to his
knowledge was 12.

"In B.C. the average age of entry into prostitution is 14," he said.
"It's extremely rare that a woman older than 20 would decide to work
as a prostitute."

Cpl. Peters was not surprised the girl would be able to attract customers.

"There seems to be a high demand for it," he said.