3 Charged In Connection To Alleged Sex Trafficking Of 13-Year-Old Girl
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- At least three men are facing charges in connection to the alleged sex trafficking of a 13-year-old girl in Pittsburgh.
According to a criminal complaint, police were called to investigate the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in April.
The victim told police that her friend -- 22-year-old Lavelle Dinkins, of North Carolina -- had used her phone and the online dating service PlentyOfFish to set up dates for her with adult men. The victim said Dinkins met with two of these men at a Rite Aid in East McKeesport on April 16 before she met the men herself.
One man, who the victim identified as "Kanye," allegedly took the victim to the Shadyside Inn, sexually assaulted her, then took her back to the Rite Aid. The victim said she told "Kanye" that she was 13 years old and that she didn't want to have sex before the assault took place.
Police later determined 20-year-old Sadarius McKinney, of Kentucky, was the man the victim knew as "Kanye." Police discovered McKinney was in the Army and contacted the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
A CID special agent told police McKinney admitted he went to Pittsburgh to visit a friend and decided to meet with the victim after talking to her through PlentyOfFish. He told the special agent he then took the victim to the Shadyside Inn and had sex with her.
Dinkins is facing charges of trafficking, promoting prostitution, corruption of minors and unlawful contact. He is already in the Allegheny County Jail on unrelated charges.
McKinney is facing a number of charges, including rape and statutory sexual assault.
Nineteen-year-old Elijah Clark, of the East Hills, is also facing rape and statutory sexual assault charges for allegedly assaulting the victim.
According to online court records, Clark and McKinney have not yet been taken into custody.