Little Rock man forced teen to sell sex, affidavit states

Human-traffic charge filed

Anthony Atkins
Anthony Atkins

A Little Rock man arrested last week on a charge of human trafficking of a minor told a homeless 17-year-old he would give her a place to live only if she would "work" for him, police said.

According to an affidavit released last week, Anthony Atkins posted an advertisement for an "Exotic white girl" online in early June. The post, which was reported to the FBI by Little Rock's Child Exploitation Task Force, contained a cellphone number, police documents said.

The affidavit said undercover Little Rock vice detectives sent text messages to the phone number, negotiating a location, time and price for the 17-year-old.

After arriving at the agreed-upon meet-up spot, detectives arrested and interviewed the 17-year-old girl, who said multiple times throughout the conversation that she only worked for Atkins because she "had nowhere else to go."

After her boyfriend kicked her out in early June, the minor said she went to Atkins because he had asked her to work for him before on Instagram, according to the affidavit. Atkins reportedly told her she could stay with him only if she agreed to work for him and began posting photos of her online with his contact information, the affidavit said.

The girl told investigators that she never knew to what websites Atkins posted the photos and advertisements and that Atkins set up all of her "dates." In the weeks since she began working for Atkins, the minor told investigators she had had approximately 10 dates, some of which occurred on the same day.

If she returned from a date without money, investigators said Atkins would "choke, beat up and threaten to kick her out." Atkins took all of the money the girl made, according to the affidavit, and after each date, the 17-year-old told detectives that Atkins would make her take her clothes off and search her to make sure she was not hiding any money.

The girl told investigators Atkins sometimes conducted these searches in public parking lots and that he would threaten to leave her or kill her if she did not comply. She told police that Atkins also gave her drugs to keep her awake so that she would not miss any late-night meet-ups.

When she was not working, the 17-year-old told investigators Atkins sometimes sexually assaulted her, and told her he would kick her out of his house if she refused him, according to the affidavit.

Detectives executed a search warrant on June 25 at Atkins' residence on Appianway Street, where the minor had been staying with Atkins and Atkins' father.

Officers arrested Atkins on Monday on a charge of human trafficking of a minor and placed him in the Pulaski County jail where bail was set at $20,000. He was still in jail Sunday.

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Metro on 07/16/2018

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