NEWPORT NEWS -- Numb from the drugs that ran through her petite body, Vanessa Rickerson returned to the streets after a stranger raped her. She didn't know his name -- he was anonymous just like all the other men Rickerson met as a prostitute. "You still go back and do it because you want that drug," recalls 39-year-old Rickerson, who needed the money to feed a heroin habit that wouldn't loosen its grip on her. Then another man raped her. This one hit her to get what he wanted. She struggled to break the cycle of prostitution and drug addiction. It was a lifestyle that ended with Rickerson being convicted twice for prostitution. Talking from a tiny jail interview room, Rickerson recounted how she fell into this lifestyle. [continues 529 words]
Milford, Pa. -- When Danielle Caggiano moved to Matamoras from Long Island she wanted to know what teens her age did for fun. So she asked her classmates at Delaware Valley High School. "Watch TV, have sex or do drugs," is what they told her, the 16-year-old Caggiano said. Pike County has a growing teen drug problem, according to Westfall police. During the 2004-2005 school year, police made more than 30 drug-related arrests between Delaware Valley High School and Middle School. Six of the arrests were made in one day, Westfall police Chief Mark Moglia said. [continues 539 words]
