Stolen Innocence: Inside the Shady World of Child Sex Tourism

N.J. millionaire Sued for Child Sex Tourism -- ABC Takes an Inside Look at the Industry

Profiling the Predator

The majority of child sex tourists are typically male professionals or mentally ill pedophiles from Western European nations, the United States and Canada, said Driss Temsamani, founder of SOS Morocco, a Morocco-based humanitarian agency. The offenders come from all different income brackets and career paths, he said.

Since the passage of the Protect Act, a 2003 law that criminalizes different types of child exploitation like child porn and sexual assault, even when committed in foreign countries, the tourist who travels with the intent to have sex with a minor and the one who decides to do it after he arrives both violate federal law.

Meanwhile, many sex tourists have claimed they are not abusing these children, many of whom contract HIV and suffer from severe psychological problems later in life, but actually are helping them by giving them money, said humanitarian experts.

According to the Department of Justice Web site, one retired U.S. school teacher said about his child sex tour, "I've had sex with a 14-year-old girl in Mexico and a 15-year-old in Colombia. I'm helping them financially. If they don't have sex with me, they may not have enough food. If someone has a problem with me doing this, let UNICEF feed them."

Child advocates are not convinced, saying this line of thought is merely justification.

"If they have the disposable income to buy sex, they have the disposable income to donate to a shelter or school to help keep kids away from prostitution," said Smolenski of ECPAT-USA.