We scream, we rant, we condemn, we demand and enact legislation to punish perpetrators [a.k.a sex offenders] for sexual abuse of children to little avail. The news media in such programs as 20/20, Dateline, Montel Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Sports Illustrated and many other television shows and magazines have joined in the campaign to illuminate the problem after the damage is done.

Montel Williams on his show on November 11, 1999 exclaimed in exasperation "Why can't we do something about this?" as he uncovered the details of a pregnant ten-year-old girl, who had been raped several times by her mother's live-in boyfriend's eighteen-year-old son. Although, this story may seem unusual and/or fodder for a dramatic Montel Williams show, it is sadly all too common.

WASHINGTON (CNN) September 11, 2001 -- A study released Monday revealed that between 300,000 and 400,000 U.S. children -- many from middle class homes -- are victims of some type of sexual exploitation every year.

The three-year study, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice, analyzed the problem of sexual exploitation -- particularly commercial sexual exploitation -- of children in the United States, Canada and Mexico. "Child sexual exploitation is the most hidden form of child abuse in the U.S. and North America today," said Richard J. Estes, co-author of the study. "It is the nation's least recognized epidemic."

Among the findings of a study titled "The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico":