PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Brothels are booming in Rhode Island.
Advocates say the state, one of only two that considers prostitution legal as long as it occurs indoors between consenting adults, is becoming a haven for those forcing women into prostitution.
Melanie Shapiro of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Human Trafficking, said Rhode Island used to have just a handful of brothels. Today there are 28.
Donna Hughes, a University of Rhode Island professor studying international sex trafficking told The Providence Journal the state is becoming the sex trafficking capital of the Northeast.
While sex trafficking is a federal crime, there are few prosecutions because women are too afraid to testify against the men who forced them into prostitution.
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