Eight people have been indicted on charges they forced girls as young as 15 into prostitution, New York law enforcement officials said today.
Some of those arrested were allegedly Bloods gang members who recruited girls from junior high schools, the Daily News reported.
Pimps went to schools to find hookers for their operations in Bushwick, Brownsville and East New York, according to indictments that will be announced today.
The teens and older women worked out of hotels, motels and the pimps' apartments and on the street - known as "the track," investigators said.
Their services were advertised on sites such as craigslist, Backpage.com and other adult Internet pages - as recently as last month, the court papers say.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes today will announce the formation of a new sex trafficking unit on Wednesday.
It will help target the exploitation of women forced into the sex trade. The unit will work with the NYPD to raise awareness about the crime.
