She took cues from her friend Lita, a fellow homeless teen, who had worked the streets since she was 12 years old. Morales knew she needed the money. But she did not know how she would feel after the stranger had finished. I felt like everybody could see it.
It was an escape into a cycle Morales said most women on the street are caught in - one of shame and dependency. Eighteen years later Morales sits in a Lubbock County Jail cell. She is small, 5 feet 5 inches, with large eyes and curly hair pulled into pigtails. She has worked the streets off and on ever since that day. Morales is incarcerated on charges related to her drug abuse for the second time. The first time, she spent her time and money on a correspondence course, earning her associate degree in child psychology.
But when she got out of prison, she found the degree was not enough to get her a job. A fast food chain told her she was overqualified. Other companies couldn't see past her criminal background. Sex workers like Morales are more common in Lubbock than people think, said Cpl. Theresa Bulls of the Lubbock Police Department. The exact number of women is difficult to pin down because many prostitutes come through Lubbock only to leave soon after for another city, Bulls said.
Morales recalled a group of at least 15 to 20 women that she used to work with on Lubbock streets. He said he believes there are many more he does not know of.
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DeLeon said she receives one or two complaints a year about prostitutes in her district. One complaint involved a group of prostitutes who were working a corner near a school bus stop. It tells them it's a way of life. Prostitution is a misdemeanor for the first two convictions and a felony for the third, said Bulls.
