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According to prosecutors, an off-duty New York City police detective and a woman
were charged for promoting prostitution after forcing a 13-year-old girl that ran away from home, to prostitute at parties in the city.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said on Wednesday
that Wayne Taylor, 35, and Zelika Brown, 29, who the girl thought to be Taylor’s
wife, are held on charges of second degree kidnapping, second- and third-degree
promoting prostitution, third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a
child.
Taylor
has been working for 14 years with the New York Police Department. According to
the department, he was suspended without pay. He and Brown pleaded not guilty
to the charges brought against them.
If the two are convicted they might receive 25 years in
jail. They are now held on a bail of $250,000.
The prosecutors said that the 13-year-old girl ran away from
home on January 10 and she met someone known as “Drama” who had a job
for her, dancing at parties for money.
“Drama” presented her to Brown who told the girl that she
was bought by her for $500 and that she has to work as a prostitute. Taylor was introduced to
her as Brown’s husband and he told her that she has to tell people that she is
19 and that she charges 40 to $80 for sexual acts, according to prosecutors.
She was taken to parties around town in order to have sex
with about 20 men. They told her that if she failed to bring money or tried to
escape they would force her to work as a prostitute on the streets.
According to prosecutors, another 17-year-old girl was
also arrested on charges of promoting prostitution, assault and endangering the
welfare of a child.
She had to oversee the 13-year-old at the parties.
District Attorney Brown said in a statement: "This case
is every parent and every child's worst nightmare, made even more frightening
by the fact that one of the defendants is a police officer who swore to uphold
the law and the community he serves," the Associated Press reports.
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