New Jersey is ready to welcome thousands of football fans for the Super Bowl this weekend, but authorities are also gearing up for a darker side of the big event: an influx of human traffickers.
On Monday, a congressional committee held a hearing on human trafficking at major sporting events and what is being done to combat the problem.
Lawmakers also heard the testimony of sex trafficking survivor, Holly Smith.
"Within hours of running away, I was forced into prostitution, on the streets and in the casino hotels and motels of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thirty-six hours later I was arrested by police and treated like a criminal," Smith testified.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said the only way combat the problem was with "zero tolerance."
"It must be vigorously and faithfully enforced by arrest of those involved in the nefarious trade modern-day slavery," Rep. Smith said at the hearing.
The average age of entry into forced prostitution for child victims in the United States is 13 to 14 years old.
Smith emphasized the government must respond more aggressively to end sex trafficking.
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