LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) — A 15-year-old lady is out of hazard and two persons are behind bars after an undercover operation in Central Florida resulted in a human trafficking takedown.
The teenager from Hillsborough County was reported lacking earlier this yr. In late June, detectives discovered her getting used as an escort.
“It’s one thing that no one ought to ever must undergo, not to mention a toddler,” mentioned youth and household advocate Ady Pena.
Detectives often monitor grownup escort commercials for suspicious exercise. They noticed {the teenager} in one of many adverts.
Detectives performed an undercover operation in Lakeland in June the place they rescued her.
Advocates at a nonprofit refuge for trafficked youth mentioned she’s fortunate.
“These are circumstances that we take care of on daily basis. We see nearly a brand new case each day,” mentioned Pena.
Authorities mentioned the teenager recognized 22-year-old Terrence Whitfield as her trafficker, who was then arrested.
Brittany Armstrong was additionally taken into custody. Investigators mentioned she helped submit the escort adverts.
Detectives mentioned Whitfield communicated with consumers — arranging sexual encounters, appearing as safety through the conferences and accumulating the proceeds.
Gabrielle Triplett, a survivor of a unique case, defined how the criminals normally function.
“They work on constructing relationships with folks, they work on discovering out what their vulnerabilities are, what their weaknesses are, after which they exploit these,” she mentioned.
The Lakeland case comes days after College of South Florida is St. Petersburg launched a examine displaying simply how widespread human trafficking is within the Sunshine State.
Based on the report, about 200,000 Floridians reside as victims of intercourse trafficking and one other 500,000 are being pressured to work.
Tampa has the third most adverts within the state. Miami is ranked at ninth.
The quantity signifies a necessity for specialists who might help the victims.
“We’re simply there to supply companies. We’re there to make sure that they’ve what they want with a purpose to proceed and go on,” mentioned Pena.
Each Whitfield and Armstrong face a number of prices associated to human trafficking and prostitution.
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