Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
"For decades Portsmouth’s secret was an evolving red light district on the waterfront. Famous worldwide, locals talked about it in whispers. But in 1912 a 14-year old girl briefly told reporters about her abduction to a local brothel by an older woman. Although Portsmouth, NH had a thriving “combat zone”at the turn of the 20th century, it remained a hush-hush topic in the local media. Brothels on Water Street (now Marcy) in what is now the city’s gentrified waterfront were simply referred to in print as "houses." Female prostitutes, often underage, were called "inmates" according to one news report, or simply "women." The most explicit phrase of the era used in newspapers was "house of ill repute." Despite attempts to clean up the corrupt area in the Victorian era, local police conspired with bordello* and illegal bar owners to keep the red light district open and profitable. Police who attempted to clean up the area sometimes met a violent response. In 1912 a series of murders drew public attention to the situation in the South End and led to the closing of most houses of ill repute. During that summer a rare interview with a 14-year old girl appeared on the front page of a Portsmouth newspaper. Ethel Duffy was kidnapped while staying with friends in Dover, apparently drugged and brought to a Portsmouth bordello. Constance Perry, 25, her abductor, was held on $5,000 bail for what reporters called "white slavery.” Unable to place Duffy in a local bordello, Perry chose to solicit men on the Portsmouth streets who "assaulted" the girl as she stayed with Perry in a room on Deer Street. Police arrested two men who had reportedly paid Perry for access to the girl who was in "a pitiful condition" when she was brought to the police station. Ethel Duffy herself was held on a $500 bond to keep her available as a witness against Perry. Duffy’s published account, apparently in her own words, offers a rare glimpse inside the city’s flesh trade." From the Human Trafficking in New Hampshire Report issued by the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.