20/20: Americans Enable Child Prostitution Abroad

July 18 -- Late on a Monday night, driving the streets of San Jose, Costa Rica, 15-year-old Juliana agreed to talk on camera about her life as a teenage prostitute — and about the Americans who pay her about $20 for sex in cars and hotels.

Some nights she can make $100, a small fortune to a runaway.

Juliana fled an abusive home when she was only 12. When 20/20 met her in the spring of 2000, Juliana was eight months pregnant and working as a prostitute. The baby's father is a police officer married to another woman.

Juliana's story captures the moral and economic scope of the problem of child sexual abuse and prostitution in Costa Rica. Poverty and domestic violence drive children into the streets to sell their bodies; American tourist dollars give them economic incentive to stay there.

Costa Rica's street scene for child prostitution is part of its highly organized sex industry. Prostitution over the age of 18 is legal, and downtown San Jose bustles with scores of sex bars, strip clubs and escort services.

Carnal tour guides, who are mostly American, meet clients at the airport and show them the ropes. There is even a barber shop where you can get a haircut and then have sex with your stylist.

Small wonder then that teenagers and children have found a niche in this sex market.

Operation Caters to Americans

In recent years, the Costa Rican government has been pressed to crack down on the institutions that peddle sex with minors. A notorious pimp, Tony "Max" Castillo, who ran a lucrative brothel with teenage girls for 18 years, was convicted and jailed. But that did not shut down his business.

Castillo and his American wife, Sharon, built the thriving business in one of their San Jose homes. An American flag served as a sign post for clients. Three years ago, child welfare advocate Bruce Harris filmed inside the Castillo brothel with a hidden camera. That tape helped to convict Tony Castillo, who is now in prison. Though Sharon was also charged, she fled Costa Rica for the United States.