A grand jury indicted a man in connection with a Phoenix child sex trafficking case, where authorities said a teen girl was being victimized.
Dennis Mitchell Jr., 42, was indicted Dec. 1 on suspicion of child sex trafficking charges and three other felony counts, including aggravated assault, pandering, and receiving the earnings of a prostitute.
Glendale police arrested Mitchell in November at a Phoenix motel after a 14-year-old girl told police she was staying with him in a room where she was being trafficked for prostitution, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said. The girl fled to find help after Mitchell struck her, the county attorney’s office said.
A woman who was staying with Mitchell and the girl was also rescued, according to the county attorney’s office.
Mitchell was being held on a $150,000 cash bond, according to prosecutors.
Mitchell’s arrest took place on “The Blade,” a stretch of Phoenix along 27th Avenue between Indian School Road and Northern Avenue that is known for prostitution, the county attorney’s office said.
Law enforcement recently conducted two operations to address prostitution on The Blade. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said law enforcement arrested 22 individuals near 27th Avenue between Indian School and Bethany Home roads on Nov. 5 and 6. An earlier operation was conducted in August, when law enforcement made 47 arrests for misdemeanor prostitution over three days.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 14-year-old girl at Phoenix motel saved by police, prosecutors say