Las Vegas — Marisela Quintero, third from left, is the only social worker in Clark County assigned primarily to child prostitutes. Here, she appears in Judge William O. Voy's courtroom in Las Vegas.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero talks with a girl who had been picked up over the weekend, taking her history and explaining what to expect in court. "I am a social worker because I love to help. Sometimes it can be really challenging, but when you can make an impact on one person's life, you have tremendous power to affect change," she said.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero, married and a mother, works with teens who need a family but instead have found a pimp.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero listens to a girl at the Clark County Detention Center. "At the beginning, a lot of times the girl thinks this is a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship," Quintero says, regarding their relationship with their pimps.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — In Las Vegas, the girls are treated as victims, not criminals, a relatively new tactic. Solicitation charges are usually dropped in favor of less severe offenses.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — A 17-year-old girl reads a Danielle Steel novel in her cell at the Clark County Detention Center. She has a history of being abused and working as a prostitute. "My quota -- I had to at least make between $500 and $800 a day. If I didn't, I had to stay out until I did."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero drives to a group home to meet with a girl with a history of prostitution. "The girls have been sexually abused and hurt. They have been brainwashed by pimps," she said.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero walks into the detention center. "I have heard girls talk about situations where they were thrown into a tub full of ice.... Graphic, really gruesome things that happen," she said.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero talks with a girl who said, "Honestly, it was kind of a thrill.... I really didn't think about my health or if I was going to get killed or not -- until after I got beat."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Part of Quintero's job is to consult with prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, group homes and the girls’ relatives to recommend where the girls should go next.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero talks with a girl she's known for many years outside a Las Vegas courtroom. After a history of prostitution, the girl is planning on going to beauty school.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — "What haunts me is not knowing if [the girls] are going to be OK. Sometimes I can have all the services in place. Potentially, they can be killed out on the street," Quintero says.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Susan Roske, chief deputy public defender, left, talks with Quintero. "These children are victims. They are not criminals. They are not whores. They are victims of sexual exploitation, and they are worth saving," Roske says.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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Las Vegas — Quintero hugs one of her clients during a visit to a group home. "At 14, 15 years old, some girls are playing with Barbies and riding their bikes. These girls are being forced to sell their bodies. These are children."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
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