A former employee of the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter in Key Largo, Florida, has been accused of sex trafficking two minor female residents of the shelter.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Ricky Jermaine Atkins, 28, was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1) and 1594(c).
The alleged crimes took place in August 2014, when Atkins met the two minor female residents in Tavernier, Florida. He then drove them to a motel in the Homestead area, where he introduced them to co-defendant Sandra Simon, 23, of Homestead.
Simon allegedly photographed the minors and arranged for them to conduct prostitution dates. During the several days they stayed with Simon, Atkins visited them on multiple occasions, including once to pick up money earned during their prostitution and once to drop off a cellular telephone.
Atkins was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes and was ordered to be detained pending trial.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth M. Schlessinger and Elina A. Rubin-Smith.
An indictment is only an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Human Trafficking|Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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