Four get prison for prostituting girl, 13. They sold 100 ‘out calls’ in a month in South Florida
Over a single month, a local ring advertised a 13-year-old girl online for prostitution and used her for at least 100 commercial sex acts throughout South Florida, authorities say.
Now, the four defendants in the group — Jeremiah Horenstein, 24, Racquel Lavette Bijou, 22, Ashton Gary Lewinson, 26, and Souprina Blanc, 29 — have been sent to prison for terms ranging from 16 to 10 years.
All four, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor, will be on probation for 15 years upon their release and be registered as sex offenders in Florida, according to sentences imposed last week by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal in Fort Lauderdale federal court.
Between mid-May and mid-June 2019, Horenstein, Bijou, and Lewinson took the girl to a string of “out calls” to have sex with clients at hotels and Airbnb’s throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according statements filed with their plea agreements. Bijou also recruited her to work for Blanc, who posted online advertisements of her for prostitution.
Horenstein, the ringleader, “knew [the minor] was under 18 years of age” or “had a reasonable opportunity to observe [the victim], who looks younger than 18,” according to his statement.
The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was investigated by the FBI along with the Miami-Dade Police Department and South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force.
Florida ranks third nationwide in sex trafficking cases, and Miami-Dade County is the biggest trafficking hub in the state, according to a report by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, which estimates that the average sex trafficking victim may be forced to have sex 20 times a day, seven days a week.
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
