Here is a bizzare example of how young girls are exploited on social media.
Recently, a Houston man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on child sex trafficking charges after identifying and contacting young girls through social media platforms and then luring them into prostitution.
20-year-old Tevon Harris—aka “Da Kidd” or “King Kidd”—didn’t have a legitimate job. He lived on and off with his mother but mostly moved from one motel room to the next. And he was very good at manipulating people. Harris trolled social media websites looking for vulnerable young girls he could sexually exploit. He complimented them, offered modeling jobs and promised them lots of money.
Some agreed to meet with him, and he would go and pick them up. But what waited for them was not the glamorous modeling world. It was a nightmarish world of motel rooms, forced sexual encounters—with Harris himself and then with paying customers—and other degrading and violent acts.
The victims were photographed and their images were posted in online ads for prostitution. Harris kept all monies they earned.
Harris used violence and intimidation to keep the girls cooperative. He took their wallets and their cell phones, cutting off their communication with the outside world. In one instance, he deprived a victim of food for four days because he thought she wasn’t serving a client well enough. He also supplied her with marijuana and alcohol. Another victim was beaten with a towel rack torn from a motel room wall when Harris found her using a phone to call her mother for help. And he helped himself to all the money paid by customers.
Using photos he took or occasionally pilfered from the victims’ own social media pages, Harris advertised the girls’ services on various Internet websites.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force in Houston, one of many child-focused task forces and other agencies working to investigate individuals and criminal enterprises responsible for victimizing young people. It was Houston uniformed officers who recovered one of Harris’ victims and subsequently notified the task force.
An investigation by the Houston FBI Innocence Lost Task Force, developed this case using statements from victims as well as online advertisements for the victims’ services and hotel records from several hotels.
The task force collected enough evidence to convince Harris to plead guilty. There was also enough evidence to prompt the judge to order that—after serving his 40-year sentence—Harris spend the rest of his life on supervised release. He’s also required to register as a sex offender.
