A young woman from Arkansas who became a sex trafficking victim in South Florida was rescued and a suspect was arrested after she was able to send a text message to her father, authorities said.
The victim, a 21-year-old woman from Little Rock, was allegedly recruited by 29-year-old Kyron Lajon Richardson through social media, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said in a news release Thursday.
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WATCH HERERichardson began grooming the victim by telling her that she was too beautiful to be in Little Rock and should be with him in Miami, officials said.
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He eventually offered her a one-way plane ticket to Miami, but didn't explain what she'd be dowing when she arrived, prosecutors said.
After she arrived in Miami, the victim was taken to a home by Richardson, where she met three other women who lived at the home with him.
The victim began witnessing physical violence towards the other women which caused her to fear angering Richardson, authorities said.
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She also knew Richardson owned a rifle, and said she felt she would anger Richardson if she did not earn money through prostitution dates and exotic dancing, prosecutors said.
All the money collected by the victim from the exotic dancing and prostitution went to Richardson, officials said.
On Thanksgiving, the victim was able to text her father that she was in trouble and gave him the location of where she could be found.
Her father called Miami Police and on Tuesday, Richardson was arrested by members of the State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force
At the time of his arrest, Richardson had $18,000 cash on his person, and when a search warrant was executed at the home, two firearms, a rifle, and a handgun were found, prosecutors said.
Richardson faces charges including human trafficking, deriving support from proceeds of prostitution and unlawful use of a communications device.
“Every Human Trafficking arrest involves the daily sexual exploitation of victims, often young victims, with the sole goal of putting cash in the trafficker’s pockets," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "The raw merchandizing of people’s lives will not be tolerated in this community. I am proud of the hard work done by my Human Trafficking Task Force to eliminate this problem and am appreciative of the consistent support supplied by the City of Miami Police Department in fighting this crime."
