Mar 12, 2008 12:27 pm US/Pacific
Arrest In Alleged Oak. Underage Prostitution Ring
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
Oakland police arrested one man and were searching for another in connection with a childhood prostitution ring that involved at least three runaway girls.
Two of the girls, ages 11 and 12, disappeared from Frick Middle School one afternoon last week, but were located by police a few days later. The investigation also led to the discovery of a third underage girl suspected of being sexually exploited.
"They were told what to say, what not to say, how to get around a police investigation," said Officer Holly Joshi. "When they're coming to us, they have a hardened shell and you have to build that trust and that rapport before they actually tell you what happened."
Joshi noted the age of the girls was much younger than police have previously seen in cases of child exploitation.
Police took a suspect in his 20s whose name was not released into custody Tuesday night. A search of his home uncovered a sawed-off shotgun and evidence one of the three girls had been there.
He now faces charges of sexual assault and lewd acts with a child.
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