4 arrested for sex trafficking teenage girl, Georgia AG says
ATLANTA - The Georgia Attorney General's Office announced the arrests of four people in Fulton County for allegedly trafficking a teenage girl for sex.
"It was a 14-year-old girl from College Park who, unfortunately, had been missing for about seven weeks when she was rescued," Attorney General Chris Carr said.
According to Carr, an investigator with the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit opened a case after seeing an alert issued by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigator Bryan Kimbell not only located the teenager, but also rescued her in February.
"The life of that young girl is going to be changed for the better," said Carr.
As the result of a 10-month investigation, the AG's office charged four people in the case:
- Jody Netter: Human Trafficking for Sexual Servitude, Rape, Child Molestation and Cruelty to Children
- Raphel Olivia Sewer, Lithonia: Human Trafficking for Sexual Servitude
- Courdale Thayer, Decatur: Human Trafficking for Sexual Servitude, Cruelty to Children, False Imprisonment and Aggravated Assault
- Jahaundria Seabron, Atlanta: Human Trafficking for Sexual Servitude
If convicted, Seabron and Sewer could face life sentences. Netter and Thayer could face life plus 40 years.
This was one of the first start to finish cases for the new Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, which began in 2019. AG Carr said the unit allows his office to be involved in every aspect of human trafficking cases and leverage state, local and federal resources.
"I'm very proud in 2021 we have now initiated 25 cases. We've arrested nine individuals. We have investigated and prosecuted 51 defendants and we have rescued and assisted 107 victims just in this calendar year. Which tells me two things, even in a global health pandemic, criminals aren't taking time off and neither are we," Carr said.
The unit is made up of nine people including three lawyers, two investigators, two analysts, a victims advocate and an assistant.