Dallas Police Arrest 2 In Child Sex-Trafficking Investigation
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DALLAS (CBS 11) — Dallas police are asking for the public's help finding possible victims of a child sex-trafficking ring. Officers arrested two men after they say a 15-year-old girl was able to escape from being forced to be a prostitute.
Both Rafael Rodas and Mike Osorio face charges of trafficking and organized crime. Osorio is also charged with sexual assault of a child, and his bond is considerably higher. We met with Rodas' mother, and she claims her son is innocent and fell under Osorio's influence.
How 19-year-olds Osorio and Rodas may have worked together remains under investigation, but police say both men contacted the 15-year-old girl on Facebook, lured her to a meeting and eventually forced her into acts of prostitution with at least six men per day.
Rodas' mother, Maria Pena, did not want her face to appear on camera, but she told us through a translator that Osorio was often an unwelcome guest in her home.
"I know that my son is innocent. Yes, Mikey would come back, but then when I told him to leave, I threw his stuff out, and he kept on coming back," Pena said.
In fact Pena and others close to the family say they did see suspicious activity involving young girls.
"And then the girls would come, and it was about 2 in the morning when they would come, but I told them to leave because I have my own daughter, and I know that a little girl that age shouldn't be outside of her house," Pena said.
Police believe there could be more victims still at risk. Lindsey Speed, with the group Traffick 911, is an advocate for trafficking victims. She says they're seeing a rise in the use of social media to target girls by forming a bond with them.
"Some of the tactics they use as far as bait can be things like love, compliments, attention. Maybe they're offering them a false job or just false promises," Speed said.
Now investigators are asking anyone with information about young girls who may have been involved with either suspect to contact police.
"Yes, I had Mikey here, but I had told him to leave because I found four girls here, and I told him to leave, and I asked Mikey why were they here, and he ignored me," Pena said.
To be clear, we have no confirmation that the girls described by Rodas' mother are trafficking victims, but police are investigating the possibility that more victims exist.
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