Catherine J. Pratt

Catherine J. Pratt was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2006. As a court commissioner, she currently sits in Juvenile Delinquency Court in Compton, CA. In 2011, in conjunction with efforts by the Los Angeles Probation Dept., she created and implemented a collaborative court to work with commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). The project was originally designed to work with 50 youth. Since then, she has worked with over 250 CSEC youth on probation. Preliminary data shows that these youth are spending less time in custody and that 73% have not been re-arrested for prostitution, either as a juvenile or an adult.

Commissioner Pratt now provides training for judges and other professionals throughout the country on how to work with CSEC children. She also continues to work with dozens of the girls who are now over 18 and no longer on probation, like Rebecca.