A grand jury indicted a man in connection with a Phoenix child sex trafficking case, where authorities said a teen girl was being victimized.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A woman who was staying with Mitchell and the girl was also rescued, according to the county attorney’s office.<\/p>\n
Mitchell was being held on a $150,000 cash bond, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement recently conducted two operations to address prostitution on The Blade. The Maricopa County Attorney\u2019s Office said law enforcement arrested 22 individuals near 27th Avenue<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n