Man Accused Of Recruiting Women For Prostitution In Miami Beach
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A 24-year-old man accused of recruiting women to work as prostitutes in Miami Beach is facing several charges including human trafficking.
Miami Beach police say Kaleem Nurse was arrested on Sunday after a woman was screaming to "send police," saying she was being "held hostage by a pimp and his girlfriend."
Officers responded to the area of the 1300 block of 15 Street and found the trio.
Police also found evidence that a battery had occurred and all three were transferred to Miami Beach Police headquarters for further investigation.
Detectives said in late August, the victim was in town on vacation from Arizona when she met Nurse on Ocean Drive.
She told police that he treated her to food, drinks and clothes for the first couple of days. She then told detectives, Nurse told her that he expected her to pay him back to pay off her debt.
The victim told police Nurse instructed her to post online escort ads and was expected to make at least $500 per night before she was allowed to sleep.
She told authorities she worked every day from August until October 6, but that she never saw any money she made.
The arrest report says that on October 4, she returned to the hotel where she had been staying only to find Nurse with a new woman he had recruited and that she had been wearing her clothes. The victim became upset and told police Nurse slapped her a few times.
On October 6, the arrest report states, the victim returned to the hotel with the new girl and handed Nurse $780. It was then an altercation occurred in which Nurse pinned the victim down and told the other woman to punch her in the face.
Police said the victim retreated to a bedroom where she called police.
Nurse was arrested and faces several charges, including deriving proceeds from prostitution. He denied knowing that the women were prostituting.
Police obtained permission to search the women's phones, which revealed Nurse had knowledge that the women had been engaging in prostitution at his direction.
