A total of 12 people were arrested in Florida (USA) for a case of "large-scale human trafficking" that occurred in Pasco County and involved a 15-year-old teenager who, when she escaped from her home, lived at least two weeks of sexual assault and strip club jobs, authorities said.
In a press conference, Chris Nocco, sheriff of Pasco County (Florida's west coast), detailed a long history of sexual abuse of this teenager, now 16, who ran away from her home in New Port Richey in November 2022, she was kidnapped and forced by several adults to have sex.
This case, described by the authorities as "large-scale human trafficking", began on November 21, 2022 when the teenager, whose identity was not revealed, ran away from her home and was reported missing to the Pasco Sheriff's Office. (PSO, in English).
Two weeks later, the authorities found her in a hotel and the interrogations revealed several episodes of sexual abuse that she suffered in just two weeks.
It all began, the sheriff explained, when the girl was 15 years old and lived with her aunt in New Port Richey in a house that Steven Graham, a 43-year-old man, had been hired to clean the pool, who tried to seduce the minor.
According to authorities, this relationship became "sexual" in June 2022 and continued like this for several months.
On November 21, 2022, the "survivor" (as the authorities call her) argued with her aunt and ran away from home with the aim of meeting Graham.
During the run, the girl ran into two different men, one who bought her food and paid $40 for sex, and another who offered her a shower that ended in sexual assault, Nocco explained.
The minor met several people who, offering her drugs and forcing her to have sex, took advantage of her young age and innocence.
The story of sexual abuse escalated, the sheriff said, when a woman named Candance Tekdogan "entered the scene."
Tekdogan took the teen to strip clubs, gave her a stage name and began making her dance at the venues, according to Nocco.
While working at the clubs, the 16-year-old danced with men who allegedly also sexually abused her.
This all happened in a span of two weeks and ended when someone showed Tekdogan information from the Sheriff's Office that alerted the teen's age and that she had run away from home.
When officers arrived at the motel where the teen was staying, they reportedly found her in bed drunk and high.
"This is a totally intoxicated, totally drugged, totally drunk 16-year-old... and these guys, instead of doing the right thing, are taking advantage of this young woman," Nocco said.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who attended the press conference with the sheriff, thanked the "hard work" of Sheriff Nocco, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis, as well as the "dedicated officers" who followed the case.
"Those who abused the victim face serious charges and my state prosecutors will make sure justice is done," Moody said.
In addition to human trafficking charges, these 12 defendants face charges including illegal sex with minors, use of a child in sexual acts, traveling to meet minors, and possession of child pornography, among others.
