Human trafficking victim texts father, leading to her rescue, prosecutor says

MIAMI, Fla. (Gray News) – A human trafficking victim was able to sneak a text to her father on Thanksgiving, alerting him to her location.

The 21-year-old woman's father called the City of Miami Police Department to let them know what was going on.

Officers arrested 29-year-old Kyron Lajon Richardson on felony charges for his alleged involvement in human trafficking activity.

According to the Florida State Attorney's Office, Richardson is accused of recruiting the woman from Arkansas using social media messaging.

He allegedly groomed the victim over the course of this communication, telling her that she was too beautiful to be in Little Rock and she should be in Miami with him, the attorney's office explained in a press release.

Richardson offered the woman a chance to join his lifestyle by providing her a one-way ticket to Miami, but didn't say what she would be doing when she got there.

The attorney's office said Richardson took the woman to a home where she met three other women who also lived with him.

The victim told authorities she was scared of Richardson after he was physically violent toward the other women in the house. She was afraid to anger Richardson if she didn't earn enough money through prostitution and exotic dancing.

When she texted her father on Thanksgiving, the woman explained she was in trouble and gave him Richardson's address.

“Every Human Trafficking arrest involves the daily sexual exploitation of victims, often young victims, with the sole goal of putting cash in the trafficker's pockets,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.