Super Bowl 'a huge magnet for sex traffickers'

Washington, Nov 18 (ANI): The Super Bowl attracts more than just fans to whichever city it is held in, with figures showing that it is also a huge magnet for sex traffickers.

The problem of sex trafficking is already huge in Texas, and according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the state may account for 25 percent of all human trafficking victims.

Thousands of women and children are trafficked in and through the state each year, though not all of them are forced into sex slavery.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the problem is big, and getting worse.

He has convened a Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force which is now focusing its efforts on making sure Super Bowl 2011 in Arlington doesn't signal open season for sex trafficking.

"There is an organized effort to bring in women and children... for the purpose of trafficking in sex. It's hard to estimate how many will be attempted to be trafficked," Fox News quoted him as saying.

The task force is working with local law enforcement to make sure they know how to identify potential victims (as opposed to prostitutes who may voluntarily commit crimes).

Abbott says the Super Bowl 2011 crackdown will also target customers.

"They need to realize they are helping to victimize a young teenage girl who is being used as a slave," he added as a warning. (ANI)