The family of a teenage girl is being credited with helping save her from a nightmare ordeal, after she was rescued from a Sacramento hotel room this week.
According to a report from CBS13, the girl’s family contacted police to help free the girl from a man who was forcing her into prostitution at a Sacramento hotel:
Investigators tell CBS13 that the family called from a
Denny’s off of Interstate 80 in Sacramento saying that the teen was
being held at a local motel. “She was being forced against her will to commit these acts of prostitution,” said Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Lisa Bowman.
She’s only 14, and investigators are concerned there could be other vulnerable girls. Zayquan Howard, 20, is accused of trafficking the teen from
a motel in Sacramento and advertising her on an adult escort and
massage site. “Once he obtained a client from that website he just sent them to the room,” Bowman said.
The police conducted a sting to trap Howard, which revealed some more horrific details:
Her family spotted her at a local motel and called 911,
where officers found her with a 49-year-old man who appeared to be a
client. That man received a citation to appear in court. Officers then had the teen call Howard and place him on
speakerphone. He allegedly threatened her for not producing enough for
him. “He didn’t know they were in the room with her,” Bowman said. She was rescued and Howard was arrested.
Howard is being held on $2 million bail. “On the surface, it may appear that your daughter is
rebelling and running away, but the message is she may be a part of
something she can’t control,” Bowman said.
Image via Shutterstock.
