FLORENCE, Ky. — Boone County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Florence man Wednesday after they say he raped and sodomized several teenagers and in some cases offered them marijuana in exchange for sex acts.
Deputies say Tyreecse M. Merritt, 22, first began selling one 13-year-old victim marijuana earlier this year before they quickly developed a sexual “relationship” in which "they both claimed to care for one another."
During the course of their “relationship,” authorities say, Merritt raped and sodomized the victim several times and traded marijuana for sex acts.
Merritt later told authorities he has a “thriving drug operation” and prefers to surround himself with girls aged 13-16 with whom he has some sexual contact, police say.
Deputies charged Merritt with three counts of human trafficking, three counts of rape, five counts of sodomy and three counts of unlawful transaction with a minor.
Merritt was lodged at the Boone County Detention Center Wednesday afternoon and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
