CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati man has been charged with sex trafficking and sexually exploiting children after officials said two missing 16-year-olds were recovered from his home in Colerain Township.
According to a release, investigators received a report in October 2022 from the Safe Harbor/Human Trafficking Coordinator at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court regarding a potential victim. The coordinator said the teen, a missing girl from Evansville, and another girl reported missing from Greenwood, Indiana, were recovered by the Colerain Township Police Department at home on Niagara Street.
Officials identified that 26-year-old Payton Jamar Brown lived at the address. According to an affivait, Brown had two previous convictions for possession of marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon. He had also been arrested for trafficking drugs in 2020.
The affidavit says the Evansville teen told investigators she met Brown on the dating app 3Fun. The two went to Kings Island. From there, she did not return home, instead going to Indianapolis and later Chicago with a friend. She then called Brown, who picked her up and took her to his house.
The two began a relationship. According to the affidavit, the teen said she gave someone five pounds of Brown's marijuana after he cheated on her. The teen said Brown asked if she'd be willing to go on "dates" with men for money to make up for the incident. She said she agreed, and Brown posted photos of her to a website advertising sexual encounters. According to the affidavit, the teen had sexual relations with at least 45 men for money.
Officials said Brown then picked up a second teen in Indianapolis, the Evansville teen's friend, who he also brought home.
Brown appeared in federal court Wednesday and has been ordered to remain in custody pending his trial.
If convicted, Brown would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison for sex trafficking. Sexually exploiting children could result in 15 to 30 years in prison.
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