Super Bowl prompts sex worker concerns

MIAMI, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Underage girls forced to work as sex workers likely are in Florida as the state hosts Super Bowl XLIV, child welfare advocates say.

Kristi House program manager Sandy Skelaney, whose program offers aid to sexually abused children, said volunteers will attempt to locate underage prostitutes as fans gather to watch Sunday's NFL championship game, The Miami Herald said Friday.

"The Super Bowl is obviously a really big deal for prostitution," Skelaney said during a volunteer meeting this week. "We have a bunch of girls being brought down by pimps."

Kristi House head Trudy Novicki agreed that major sporting events like the Super Bowl tend to attract prostitutes.

"Miami is known as a destination city for human trafficking, and sporting events are generally recognized by the experts as magnets for prostitution," Novicki said.

Authorities told the Herald most underage prostitutes are former runaways or foster children who were taken advantage of by criminals in the world of human trafficking.