How ‘open-air strip club’ red light area has plunged to new, depraved low as sick pimps parade girls as young as 12

IT WAS the all singing, all dancing £10billion football tournament that set new attendance records and was watched by millions of excited sports fans around the globe. But while all eyes were on the World Cup, for those living near ‘The Blade’ red light district in Seattle, the tournament brought yet another wave of misery – as violence and sex trafficking span out of control with gangs running amok. Campaigners have likened the area around Seattle’s Aurora Avenue to an ‘open-air strip club’ Credit: City of Seattle Aurora Avenue has become a notorious red light district as it’s a main route for truckers Credit: AP Terrified residents have even resorted to erecting makeshift metal barricades to keep out the pimps and gun-toting gangs that make it too dangerous to go out at night. The Sun first reported on prostitution around Aurora Avenue in North Seattle last year, after footage of a half-naked sex worker shopping at a petrol station went viral. Campaigners likened it to an “open-air strip club” and authorities pledged to crack down. But since then the problem has got even worse, we can reveal. Peter Orr, a member of Neighbours of North Aurora group, says shootings have become a nightly occurrence on roads where the police fear to tread. He is demanding the city council “immediately shut down the streets to separate the pimps from our neighbourhood”. He adds: “You’ve got people trying to live here and not get shot at night. “In the meantime, the pimps aren’t taking a break. It’s ratcheting up. Footage of a half-naked sex worker shopping at a petrol station in the area previously went viral Credit: x/choeshow News crews in the US have captured footage of drive-by shootings and gun fights Credit: AP “FIFA coming into town brought an extra wave of sex trafficking. “It’s seen all over the world and Aurora is the number two hotspot for human trafficking in the US. “Pimps are only going to want to make it number one so we need to combat that with some kind of action. “Living along Aurora right now is waking up to gunfire at any time from 10pm. You never know exactly where it’s coming from. “All you can do is call the police and hope for the best.” At least 60 sex workers prowl The Blade most nights, underpinned by an army of pimps who battle for control of the most lucrative spots. US news crews have captured footage of drive-by shootings and gun fights that have broken out on roads where scores of houses are peppered with bullet holes. Politicians say the constant bloodshed has reached unprecedented levels. In June, around 300 fed-up residents marched down Aurora Avenue carrying a banner reading: ‘Stop sex trafficking, no more shootings.’ Large metal barricades were hastily erected on streets leading into North Seattle in a desperate bid to keep out the criminals. One protester, who declined to give his name, said: “A pimp shoot-out right across the street from my house put bullets into my home right above where my six-week-old baby was sleeping. Today we march for no more bullets in our bedrooms.” Campaigners say many of the sex workers are trafficked from Central and South America as well as other parts of the US. Horrifyingly, a significant number of them are under the age of 16. Seattle council member Debora Juarez said: “What we are seeing in the years I have lived there, is a much more violent Aurora than I have ever seen in the last decade. “It is a public safety issue. It’s more predatory and we have more sex trafficking.” Council member Joy Hollingsworth added: “The first thing I want to talk about is shutting the streets down. That is by far the most important thing. The Safe Night Access Project hand out drugs and food to the sex workers Credit: AP Girls can make around $4k a night but many are sex trafficking victims and some are underage (File image) Credit: Getty “The second thing is the 12, 13 and 14-year-old girls that are being raped and exploited by paedophiles on Aurora – that needs to be addressed. “Right now, we can shut those streets down to ensure they are safe. “Point blank, they have the authority to do that and then we can look at the next steps.” Aurora’s plight became international news when campaigning journalist Jonathan Choe posted a social media video titled: “North Seattle is lost.” His film showed a young prostitute clad in nothing little more than high heels, skimpy knickers and a pink top, shopping for food in the middle of the day. When she realised Choe was filming, she asked: “What are you recording for?” Then – showing how normalised vice has become in the area – she added: “This is the Blade and we are selling ass over here so you can put your camera down. I ain’t got no shame in my game.” Aurora Avenue, also known as State Route 99, became a notorious red light district due to it being a main route for truckers travelling to and from the Canadian border. Seattle was one of the World Cup’s major centres attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors Credit: Getty The city is home to some of America’s blue-chip companies However, recent studies have shown that many of the men paying for sex are white collar workers working for major corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks. Between 2013 to 2021, at least 77 per cent of sex buyers were employed, with about 30 percent of those working in tech and business, according to local government statistics. Ben Gauen, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney who focuses on human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation cases, calls the men that inhabit Aurora an “incredibly privileged sector of our society”. He added: “I can’t think of any other subset of offenders that we see who have that level of employment at the time they committed their offence.” Some prostitutes boast they can make $4,000 (£3,061) to $7,000 (£5,355) a day, picking up the wealthier clients. But most will only make a few hundred, turning tricks for between $60 (£45) for oral sex and $100 (£76) for full sex. One sex worker, called Winter, told the Taboo Room YouTube documentary: “I’ve been kidnapped and tortured but this lifestyle – and the money – is very addictive. “I got out of it before. I got a job as a paralegal. But I wasn’t making the amount of money that I was making doing this so I was like, it’s easier to come and do this. “On a slow day I will make $1,000 at least and the most I’ve made out here is $4,000.” Violent crime has shot up by 43 per cent in the last decade, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Last year 427 serious crimes known as felony cases were recorded along Aurora Avenue North. The cases included 99 felony assault cases, 30 unlawful gun possession cases, 44 residential and commercial burglaries, and 67 organised retail thefts. Drug use is rife and pimps feed the sex workers’ addiction to crack cocaine and fentanyl, an opioid that induces zombie-like behaviour. One person writing on the Reddit site commented: “Many of the girls aren’t there by choice. They were conned into the trade by their “boyfriend” AKA pimp. “The pimps then use pretty extreme measures to keep them in the trade. “Those measures can lead to drug addiction and PTSD worse than a combat veteran. And the vast majority are under 18 when they start, on average around 13.” Another outraged local chipped in: “I drive this section daily as I live about six blocks from this area. “It’s really ramped up in the last two years. I really am like most in that I don’t have a problem with it if the girl wants to do it and she is of age (18 at least please). “But some of these girls are definitely not 18 and that I have a huge issue with. I saw a girl recently that had to be no older than 12 or 13 and it broke my heart.” Seattle City council caved into pressure and installed concrete barriers to keep out the gangs late in June. The delayed action coincided with the start of the World Cup, when a total of six games were played in Seattle including the controversial round of 16 grudge match between the USA and Belgium. Whilst fans enjoyed the spectacle, Seattle police launched Operation Circuit Breaker and Operation Red Card to clamp down on the vice scourge. Three juveniles were removed from The Blade and four pimps and johns were arrested during simultaneous two-day operations. Seattle Deputy Chief Andre Sayles said: “There were a lot of pimps and sex workers that left the area because they understood what we were doing. “We were able to contact 60 individuals that we identified as sex workers and 10 of those individuals took the services we provided. “We have the pimps and criminals that are controlling these individuals and we have to be aware of that, and also be aware of our safety and the safety of these sex workers as we bring them back to their families. “We are going to continue these efforts not just along the Aurora corridor area but throughout Seattle as a whole.”