Teens accused of pimping girls

[almaty 19]

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Several teenage gang members have been arrested on suspicion of forcing girls as young as 12 into a prostitution ring, police said Tuesday.

Gang members allegedly targeted runaways and other girls with unstable homes for the prostitution ring.

After befriending the girls and getting them high, Varrio Central gang members took them to some regular customers and then sought other men by trolling apartment complexes, offering the girls' services for $50, Fort Worth police Lt. Ken Dean said.

The gang apparently targeted runaways and other girls with unstable homes, and if the girls refused to have sex for money the members beat and sexually assaulted them and threatened their families, Dean said.

"The age of the victims and suspects is the surprising part of it," Dean said. "To have such young individuals in a somewhat organized business, a forced prostitution ring, is somewhat alarming and such a horrendous crime against the 12- to 16-year-old girls."

Fort Worth detectives found five victims, ages 12 to 16, but believe there may be more. Those girls are back with relatives or in other safe places, he said, declining to elaborate.

A 15-year-old girl who may be a gang member helped the suspects by going to the victims' houses to pick them up under the pretense of going shopping or to a movie, which fooled the parents, said Lt. Dan Draper. Watch mom react to teen prostitution arrests »

Four alleged gang members were arrested January 3 after they took a 14-year-old to a convenience store to have sex with the owner, a regular customer of the prostitution ring, police said.

Diego Rodriguez, 19, and Martin Reyes, 17, were charged with counts including engaging in organized criminal activity, aggravated kidnapping and trafficking of a person. Rodriguez, held on $170,000 bond, did not have an attorney, and a lawyer for Reyes, held on $150,000 bond, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The cases of two boys, ages 15 and 16, and the 15-year-old girl accused of helping the gang are being handled in the juvenile system. Police expect more arrests as the investigation continues, Dean said.

The convenience store owner, Chang Hyeong Lee, 56, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity and prostitution. He remained jailed Tuesday with bail set at $300,000. His attorney could not immediately be reached.

Police discovered the prostitution ring after a woman was arrested in August in a neighborhood allegedly offering men sex with a 14-year-old girl for $50. Police have declined to reveal the relationship between Debra Flores Castillo, 33, who was charged with compelling prostitution, and the teen gang members.

She was released on a $20,000 bond. Her attorney, Mark Scott, declined to comment.

Jorge Martinez, accused of paying for sex with the teen in August, remained jailed on $10,000 bond Tuesday on a sexual assault of a child charge. His attorney did not immediately return a call. E-mail to a friend

[Nagishkaw 510]

What a world....sigh

[Amby 490]

sad...taking advantage of the vunerable

[almaty 19]

terrible..and just wrong.....

[Nagishkaw 510]

it really is.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

What's sicker? The man that feels the need to sexually violate a 12 year old. Where's my pliers and blow torch?

[almaty 19]

i agree..there are no heroes except law enforcement in this story.....the perverts who ahd sex with kids need the full blunt of the law in tewxas..and the juveniles ...need to be tried as adults..the vicitms ..need counseling paid for by the perps

[Aymerlu 3]

wrong, wrong, wrong

[Nessa 23]

that's very sad

[Danno 1,228]

With the Glorification/ normalization of being a "pimp" or a "Ho", don't think this is the only place it is happening, hell, we have JR High kids Looking to be Pimps now.

Any Teachers in the house agree/ disagree?

Low-life Adults pimping kids is not new, kids pimpin kids is the interesting part of the story.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Danno

[AtlantiCat 0]

The age doesn't really surprise me, it was only a matter of time. I worked in a pet shop years ago and we had a regular gang of kids who would come in and steal anything they could get their hands on. And they were good, you wouldn't see them taking anything, just walking through the store. Then you'd check the aisles where they'd been after they left to find high-ticket items missing and occasionally even live animals. Though the iguanas did give them a bit of a scare when they caught one by it's tail and the tail broke off.... (The tail wiggled for a good 20 minutes before it "died.")

The oldest was about 14 and they ranged in age down from there to the youngest at about 8. If there were any kids capable of doing something like being pimps, kids like these would have been among them.

[slim 1,525]

This is why time out doesn't work.

[panamania79 2]

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Several teenage gang members have been arrested on suspicion of forcing girls as young as 12 into a prostitution ring, police said Tuesday.

Gang members allegedly targeted runaways and other girls with unstable homes for the prostitution ring.

After befriending the girls and getting them high, Varrio Central gang members took them to some regular customers and then sought other men by trolling apartment complexes, offering the girls' services for $50, Fort Worth police Lt. Ken Dean said.

The gang apparently targeted runaways and other girls with unstable homes, and if the girls refused to have sex for money the members beat and sexually assaulted them and threatened their families, Dean said.

"The age of the victims and suspects is the surprising part of it," Dean said. "To have such young individuals in a somewhat organized business, a forced prostitution ring, is somewhat alarming and such a horrendous crime against the 12- to 16-year-old girls."

Fort Worth detectives found five victims, ages 12 to 16, but believe there may be more. Those girls are back with relatives or in other safe places, he said, declining to elaborate.

A 15-year-old girl who may be a gang member helped the suspects by going to the victims' houses to pick them up under the pretense of going shopping or to a movie, which fooled the parents, said Lt. Dan Draper. Watch mom react to teen prostitution arrests »

Four alleged gang members were arrested January 3 after they took a 14-year-old to a convenience store to have sex with the owner, a regular customer of the prostitution ring, police said.

Diego Rodriguez, 19, and Martin Reyes, 17, were charged with counts including engaging in organized criminal activity, aggravated kidnapping and trafficking of a person. Rodriguez, held on $170,000 bond, did not have an attorney, and a lawyer for Reyes, held on $150,000 bond, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The cases of two boys, ages 15 and 16, and the 15-year-old girl accused of helping the gang are being handled in the juvenile system. Police expect more arrests as the investigation continues, Dean said.

The convenience store owner, Chang Hyeong Lee, 56, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity and prostitution. He remained jailed Tuesday with bail set at $300,000. His attorney could not immediately be reached.

Police discovered the prostitution ring after a woman was arrested in August in a neighborhood allegedly offering men sex with a 14-year-old girl for $50. Police have declined to reveal the relationship between Debra Flores Castillo, 33, who was charged with compelling prostitution, and the teen gang members.

She was released on a $20,000 bond. Her attorney, Mark Scott, declined to comment.

Jorge Martinez, accused of paying for sex with the teen in August, remained jailed on $10,000 bond Tuesday on a sexual assault of a child charge. His attorney did not immediately return a call. E-mail to a friend

OMG,that's jsut sick.

[mawilson 2,133]

terrible..and just wrong.....

I agree. Pimping out 12-year-olds is despicable, the minimum age should be 14-15.

[Peikko 1,575]

This is why time out doesn't work.

So, you are saying you know exactly how these kids were brought up and that it's because they were given 'time outs' instead of 'proper corporal punishment' that they ended up like this? Your perspicacity is uncanny.

Sadly, I think it's far more likely these kids were completely neglected than that the parent's methods of correction were inefficient.