NEW YORK: White Slavery, 1972

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First Trick. "So right now," he continues, "my partner's finding out everything about her. If she sniffs coke [cocaine], he'll give her some. If she wants grass, he'll give her that. She's in a beautiful crib [apartment], like a penthouse almost. It's heaven on earth—until tomorrow. Tomorrow the respect thing starts. A few blows. Some ass kicking. You've got to stomp her ass a few times to let her know where you're coming from. You've got to set the rules, make her show respect. Maybe use a coat hanger—depends on what she needs." The pimp drained his glass. "If she makes it through tomorrow, the process will take three days. We'll get her a wig, some clothes, then put $10 in her pocket and see if she tries to run. You watch her close, maybe send another girl out with her. If she turns her first trick and comes back smiling, you've got her."

Hard to Help. The most vicious irony of the situation is that these girls are not young swingers, but lost children in search of a family life they never had. Says Andi Stromberg, director of a private counseling service called Project Yes: "Most of these girls are looking for mothers or fathers—even if it involves a violent relationship. For many, this is their first sex experience." Adds Louise Cooper, a psychotherapist who has worked with runaways in the Village: "They wander around lost and angry, and it is hard to help them. There are almost no social agencies with government money. The public shelters are like jails. Since street life is hard, the kids get down to the basic fact of finding money for food. The boys deal drugs or panhandle—even become male prostitutes. The girls become whores." nan

Miss Cooper was not speaking idly about young male prostitutes. In Long Island's Nassau County last week, District Attorney William Cahn announced that his office had broken up a homosexual ring that would fulfill the fantasies of a Marquis de Sade. Four men and a woman—all respected members of their communities, all but one married—were indicted by a grand jury on charges ranging from sodomy to endangering the welfare of a child. According to Cahn, the group had been operating for ten years with at least 45 members—adults and boys aged seven to 17 seduced into homosexuality. The ring's activities allegedly ranged to Pittsburgh, Puerto Rico and Los Angeles. Club members supposedly got together on such outwardly innocent enterprises as fishing trips, and then swapped boys, generally fatherless youngsters who had been coaxed into the ring with gifts. Those who threatened to call the authorities were promised beatings and even death.

Three months ago, according to Cahn, a Long Island druggist got back from the developers a roll of color film that showed homosexual orgies. He called police. They traced the film to George Brehm, 49, a prosperous father of three who sells school equipment. Also among the accused were a professor of English at Adelphi University and a married couple who had encouraged their teen-age son to join the ring. The group had even drafted a "bill of rights" for each boy. The key clause: "Every boy has a right to a loving relationship with at least one responsible male adult after whom he can pattern his life."