News

Actions

Man, 18, arrested in El Paso for sex trafficking girls, 15

Posted at 10:13 AM, Jul 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-29 13:13:34-04

Federal authorities in El Paso say an 18-year-old man believed from Africa is held without bond on a sex trafficking charge after he was arrested for bringing two 15-year-old girls from Phoenix and then prostituting them on an internet classified website.

FBI assistant special agent Keith Byers says authorities arrested Edema Missiadan after police in Mesa, Arizona, relayed information that a girl possibly was being forced into prostitution in the El Paso area.

An investigator responding to ads set up a meeting at an El Paso motel Wednesday evening and Missiadan was arrested.

The El Paso Times reports (http://bit.ly/2amiXK3 ) Missiadan told a federal judge Thursday he committed no crime and is a U.S. citizen.

Officials say he's a refugee from Ghana and is believed to be a citizen of Togo.