According to a United Nations report, the recruiter in 54 percent of human trafficking cases was a stranger to the victim. In 46 percent of the cases, the recruiter was known to the victim. The U.N. report said that the “majority of suspects involved in the trafficking process are nationals of the country where the trafficking process is occurring.” However, Any pimp who knowingly manages a minor would be considered a trafficker. Additionally, a trafficker could be someone who knowingly profits from coerced prostitution even if he or she is not directly involved in the management of the prostitutes. For instance, a human smuggler in Guatemala would be considered a trafficker if he was knowingly bringing people to the U.S. to be trafficked, even though he would not be considered a pimp..

  The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14-year-old. In St. Louis, MO the average is 14 years old. According to Shared Hope International, children exploited through prostitution report they typically are given a quota by their trafficker/pimp of 10 to 15 buyers per night, though some service providers report girls having been sold to as many as 4-5 buyers in a night at peak demand times, such as during a sports event or convention. Utilizing a conservative estimate, a domestic minor sex trafficking victim who is rented for sex acts with five different men per night, for five nights per week, for an average of five-seven years, would be raped by 6,000 buyers during the course of her victimization through prostitution. Her only chance of escaping is through rescue, or even death.