NBC 6’s Stephanie Bertini spoke to an advocate for human trafficking victims as a 17-year-old was arrested for selling a 14-year-old girl for sex.
South Florida law enforcement officials announced Thursday the rescue of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly being sold for sex by an underage male.
The 17-year-old boy is facing charges of human trafficking, renting space to be used for prostitution and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
Investigators say the boy took the victim to motels, where they "engaged in a sexual relationship." Later, he told the girl she could make $250 an hour for performing sexual acts with men.
The victim told detectives that the 17-year-old knew she was a minor. She alleges that he set up "dates" with contacts via social media, and then instructed her on how to handle the sexual transactions, making her meet with up to five men per day.
The teen allegedly took all the money the victim received from the encounters and was in complete control of their economic situation, paying for the hotel room and transportation and providing her with drugs and alcohol.
Investigators took up the case when one of the girl's family members called Miami Springs police to the Runway Motel, where they said she was being kept and sold for sex by an underage boy.
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According to the family member, the girl had run away from home after a family dispute.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney Office Human Trafficking Task Force, the Miami Springs Police Department, the Miami Beach Police and City of Miami Police collaborated on the operation.
“This situation is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement. “That is why the work of our Human Trafficking Task Force is so important. Children like this, our children, can be lost so easily. But I and our law enforcement partners are determined to keep that from happening. Our children’s futures are just too valuable.”
