ST. PAUL (AP) St. Paul police say more and more women and girls are being prostituted in Minnesota largely due to the Internet.

Officer Heather Weyker says the Internet has made the buying and selling of sex both anonymous and swift.

Participants at a conference yesterday say trafficking has emerged as a distinct category of crime, involving individuals who are forced, defrauded or coerced into servitude.

Danette Buskovick is a statistical director at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. She says it's difficult to quantify the scope of the problem in Minnesota because it's a hidden crime by nature.

This month, her office released a report which found that 48 percent of service providers helped at least one victim of human trafficking in 2007, up from 43 percent the previous year. They had assisted 446 female victims, 62 child victims and one male victim.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 09-29-07 0835CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list