A 17-year-old Miami boy has been detained for allegedly prostituting a 14-year-old girl on social media for money and drugs, police said. The girl, who was rescued on Wednesday night, told police that she would manage to fix at least five clients every date against hefty money, which the boy would take form her.
According to police, the girl had run away from home. Later, a family member lodged a complaint with police and told them that she probably was being sold on social media for sex. Following the tip off, police rescued the girl and tracked the boy and arrested him for human trafficking and sexual abuse and exploitation.
Not a Childish Act
According to the State Attorney's Office in Miami-Dade County, the 14-year-old girl ran away from her home in July after an argument with her family. The rescued girl told police that after running away she met up with one of her friends who introduced her to 17-year-old Quintero, who allegedly took her to motels, where he would sexually exploit her.
A few days later, Quintero told her that she could make up to $250 per hour by engaging in sexual acts with men. However, even before the girl could react, he started arranging clients for her via social media. Quintero allegedly also trained the girl how to act in front of the clients, who he called "dates", and how to handle sexual transactions.
On the other hand, the girl's family was frantically searching for her. Finally, a family member called up the police on August 11 and told them that she might have been trafficked and sold for sex at a motel. The family member also directed the officials to a specific Instagram account which was allegedly being used by the accused for the purpose of prostitution. Acting on the tip off police tracked down the girl and rescued her. However, police didn't say how the family member came to know about the girl's whereabouts.
Acting like a Pro
The girl said that she had strict instruction from Quintero to first collect payment from the clients before engaging in any sexual activity. He also asked her to ensure that the "dates" always wear condoms and never flouted the rules. However, the ordeal of the girl didn't end there. The accused used to take away all the money that she would get from engaging in sexual activity with her clients.
He would instead provide her with a variety of drugs including cocaine, Percocet and Molly (MDMA). "Quintero allegedly provided the hotel room, the transportation, drugs, social media platforms for the operation," a press release from the State Attorney's Office in Miami-Dade County stated.
Quintero, who is now in Juvenile Assessment Center, has been charged with human trafficking, renting space to be used for prostitution, contributing to delinquency of a child and other relevant provisions of the law.
