A Cincinnati man is facing federal sex trafficking and child exploitation charges after police found two missing teenage girls — including one from Greenwood — at his home.
Payton Jamar Brown, 26, is charged with sex trafficking and sexually exploiting children. Brown could face life in prison if convicted, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Last October, federal investigators received a report from the Safe Harbor/Human Trafficking Coordinator at the Hamilton County, Ohio Juvenile Court regarding a potential human trafficking victim. The teen, who was from Evansville, said that both they and a teen from Greenwood had been reported missing, the news release says.
Prosecutors say Brown met the Evansville teen on 3Fun, a dating app. After meeting in person, the two began to have a sexual relationship and he took them to his home in Cincinnati, according to court documents.
Eventually, the teen wanted to leave and offered to give Brown’s marijuana to anyone who could take them away. Someone agreed, but they took the marijuana and left without the teen. Brown reportedly asked the teen to go on “dates” with men to make up the financial cost of the missing marijuana, court documents show.
Brown reportedly posted photos of the teen to an escort website from June to October 2022 to advertise for sexual encounters, federal prosecutors say.
Additionally, Brown allegedly filmed sexual encounters with the teenager which they then attempted to sell to other individuals.
Sometime later, the Greenwood teen was picked up in Indianapolis by Brown and taken to Cincinnati. The two teens were friends, and the Evansville teen allegedly asked Brown to pick the Greenwood teen up, court documents say.
Not long after this, police took both teens to the Hamilton County, Ohio Juvenile Detention Center, the affidavit says. Court documents do not indicate whether the Greenwood teen was involved in any sexual activity.
Brown appeared in federal court in Ohio on March 1. He has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sex trafficking a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. Sexually exploiting children is punishable by a range of 15 to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors say.
Non-emergency help dealing with sexual assault resources is available at Franklin-based ASSIST Indiana at 317-739-4456. For a complete list of resources from the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, visit icesaht.org/get-help/. For emergency help call or text 911 to report the crime.
