Two teenagers arrested for allegedly running high school prostitution ring in US
A girl, 17, and boy, 15, are accused of trafficking schoolgirls to make money
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Your support makes all the difference.Two teenagers have been arrested for allegedly running a high school prostitution ring in the US.
A 17-year-old girl and boy aged 15, from Florida, have both been charged with human trafficking after four pupils at Venice High School told administrators they had been approached to join.
They used Facebook to recruit girls and make deals after concocting the plan to make money for alcohol and drugs, police said.
The girl allegedly the head of the scheme, from nearby Sarasota High School, claimed she convinced one girl to have sex in exchange for $40 (£25) and a bottle of alcohol, the complainants said.
An alleged customer, John Mosher, 21, is being held in Sarasota County Jail after being arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a victim over 12.
Police said she told detectives that the ringleaders arranged for Mosher to have sex with her against her will at a swimming pool in August, when she was 15 years old. When she refused, he allegedly attacked her.
Detectives said they found Facebook messages in which the arrested students detailed plans to use the girl for prostitution.
Both suspects have been charged with human trafficking of a person under the age of 18.
Tom Mattmuller, the captain of Venice Police, told a press conference the pair had arranged the plan over summer to prostitute teenage girls for money and alcohol.
“They discussed it as a business opportunity and tried to recruit others to buy into the business,” he told a press conference, according to the Herald Tribune. “You could see that the motivation was money, alcohol and drugs.”
Police said a price list had been drawn up including between $50 (£32) to $70 (£44) to perform oral sex and $100 (£63) for intercourse with a virgin.
Additional reporting by agencies