You may not see it in your neighborhood, you may not even think it happens here. But so far this year, 50 women have been arrested in Lubbock for prostitution. But these aren't just numbers, they're daughters, mothers, sisters, and little girls. Not only did NewsChannel 11 go to the part of town where prostitution is most common, we also met a Lubbock prostitute who is behind bars right now because of her choices. But to her it's not a choice, it's an addiction. So, how does someone get hooked on prostitution?
In this case, she learned by example. I would just get out of school and go straight home and do what I was taught to do you know," says local prostitute, Linda Trevino Carbajal. Carbajal is only years-old, but some may say she's lived a long life.
My mother was taken to prison, so I kind of went wild there. So I started using drugs, and from drugs I went to the streets," she says. I was doing dope, selling dope, just trying to get by," she says. Linda may play with words when she describes her lifestyle, but the reality is she sold her body for drugs. How easy is it to get drugs in Lubbock, how common is prostitution here?
So just how much truth is there to her statement? NewsChannel 11 took our hidden cameras to the streets to find out. Our photographer drove down Avenue Q, then 8th street near Avenue R, and in just 10 minutes, he made a deal. It was that simple. One Lubbock Police officer works undercover prostitution stings and asked that we not reveal his identity. He says he's not surprised by what we found. In fact, he says it shows how prostitution is intertwined with another illegal activity: drugs.
Obviously narcotics and prostitution do go hand in hand," he says. Perhaps Linda's story is a true testament. It's not over the money. It's over the drug," she says. Linda says she walks the streets alone, and for her, everyday is a gamble. I'm surprised I'm alive to this day. I've been through a lot. I've had my friends killed in front of me. I've seen a lot," Linda says. At 20 years-old, Linda has been in and out of Lubbock County Jail a total of 39 times. I was out for three days, and I was right back in.
