MOORPARK : Girls Told Risks of Sexual Activity

Moorpark resident Claudia Villa said she had a simple message to deliver to the teen-age girls attending a recent sex education program.

“They don’t have to be in situations they don’t want to be in,” said Villa, 18, who had a baby out of wedlock 1 1/2 years ago.

About 25 girls attended the event Friday night at the Moorpark Community Center that was sponsored by Our Town Teens to heighten awareness about the risks of becoming sexually active at a young age. Several of the girls, like Villa, already have children.

Villa told how she moved in with her boyfriend when she was 15, became pregnant and had the baby, thinking she wanted to spend her life with the man. But, Villa said, unhappiness drove her to change course. She moved back to her parents’ home with the baby and began college.

“At 15, 16, girls, you don’t know what you want,” Villa said. “You guys think about what you do before you do it.”

Ventura physician Leslie-Lynn Pawson delivered a similar message when she answered questions about sexually transmitted diseases ranging from genital warts to AIDS.

Teen-agers are now getting the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome at a faster rate than the rest of the population, she said.

Pawson asked the group how realistic it is for a teen-ager to demand that her partner to be tested for the virus, and said “the only 100% way” to protect against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy is not to have sex.

Esmeralda Alfaro, 16, said the program made her more aware of the risks of sexual activity. “I’m going to think harder,” Alfaro said.