FL - Student led high school prostitution ring in Florida

VENICE, Fla. — A 17-year-old recruited fellow high school students for a prostitution ring and coordinated deals on social media, charging $50 to $100 in cash and alcohol, police in Florida said.

The teen is charged with felony human trafficking after a Friday arrest in Venice, near Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

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The alleged ring first came to light in October after four students at Venice High School told administrators that the 17-year-old — a student at Sarasota High — and a male student from their school wanted them to join, according to police. About the same time, police looked into reports of a Riverview High School student’s involvement with Mosher.

The 17-year-old and at least one other student are said to have come up with a plan over the summer to prostitute other teens for money and alcohol. Police documents indicate that the ring leader arranged for Mosher to have sex with the 15-year-old girl in a community pool shed in August.

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As detectives investigated the information that the school resource officers received, Venice Police Capt. Tom Mattmuller said, they found out students from other Sarasota County schools were involved.

Police said none of the sexual activities they are investigating happened on school grounds.

Students told officers that the Sarasota High student coordinated at least three prostitution deals — including the one with the 15-year-old — by using Facebook private messaging.

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