TEXARKANA — A 27-year-old woman who helped a teen girl leave her home state of Tennessee to work as a prostitute in Texarkana has pleaded guilty in Miller County.
Ashley Elizabeth Hatfield entered the plea Tuesday afternoon to a charge of transporting a minor for prohibited sexual conduct.
As part of a plea bargain, Hatfield will serve six years of felony probation, must submit a sample of her DNA for registration in the state’s database, and must register as a sex offender.
Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson ordered Hatfield to pay a $2,500 fine and various court costs, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell said.
Members of Texarkana Police Department were contacted Aug. 21 by a Memphis police investigator about a teen runaway, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The teen and Hatfield both had online posts advertising prostitution, the affidavit said.
“Hatfield was very influential in getting the [teen] out of Memphis,” the affidavit said.
The next day, members of the Texarkana Police Department determined that Hatfield had rented a room at Quality Inn on North State Line Avenue and that she had a teen girl staying with her, according to the affidavit. Officers watched as Hatfield and the girl left the Quality Inn with two men in a car with Tennessee plates. Officers pulled the car over on State Line Avenue.
Hatfield was taken into police custody, and the girl was placed in state custody. Neither of the two men in the car was charged.