LAS VEGAS -- Surrounded by young women who had once been forced into the sex trade, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a bill that makes Nevada’s child prostitution laws the toughest in the nation.

The bill, AB380, was one of few that passed without argument through the state Legislature this year. It enacts a $500,000 fine for sex traffickers prostituting children younger than 14, and a $100,000 fine for trafficking prostitutes 14 to 17 years old.

Tonight on FOX5 News At 5:30: A former child prostitute describes her horrific ordeal as a child sex slave

Lawmakers who supported the stricter penalties point to a report by the nonprofit group Shared Hope International, which offers support to victims of child prostitution.

The group has identified Nevada as a “major destination for child sex traffickers due to “high-risk conditions” that include gambling, access to alcohol and Las Vegas’ reputation as “Sin City.”

The new law will go into effect Oct. 1.