'Every Parent's Worst Nightmare': Prosecutors Announce Arrest Of 17-Year-Old Javier Quintero Accused Of Sex Trafficking Minor
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A 17-year-old is under arrest after police accuse him of sex trafficking a minor.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in Miami helped rescue the 14-year-old victim.
The teenage girl was found at the Runway Motel. Investigators said Javier Quintero would set up to five "different dates" within a week.
Investigators said it was late Tuesday evening when Miami Spring police officers received a call from the victim's family, saying they had seen pictures of their missing family member being sold on social media.
"This situation is every parent's worst nightmare," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "Children like this, our children, can be lost so easily. But I and our law enforcement partners are determined to keep that from happening."
Police traced the images back to the motel.
"When police approached her she said that she had runway from home several weeks before that, there was a conflict in her household," said Rundle.
Investigators said the 14-year-old girl was introduced to Quintero by a friend. After a week of the meeting, he took the underage victim to motels where they would have sexual relations.
He later told the teen girl she could make money by performing sexual acts with other men.
The victim told police, she was sold for $250 an hour.
Quintero allegedly took the money she received from encounters and was in control of their economic ties.
Rundle said this is not uncommon in South Florida.
"In the 700 victims that we have touched, putting their cases together, about 40% of them are under the age of 18, so they range from 13 to 14. We have had them as young as 12," said Rundle.
Quintero is being held at the Juvenile Assessment Center. He faces multiple felonies, including sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a life sentence if convicted.
