A new study has found that the market for illicit sex is a $99 million-a-year industry in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The study by the nonprofit Urban Institute policy research group for the Justice Department covered eight U.S. urban areas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The research found that commercial sex is almost a billion-dollar industry in the seven of the urban areas alone.
Meredith Dank, the lead researcher, says North Texas was unusual in that non-Asian pimps run some massage parlors and send some of their women to Asian-owned-and-operated parlors.
Dank also said Dallas law enforcement officers reported strong ties between Dallas and Oklahoma City, with pimps shuttling between the cities.
Women and girls are either recruited in Oklahoma City or come to Dallas independently.
More: Urban Institute
