3rd man charged in connection with teen trafficking investigation

A third man is facing criminal charges in connection with the alleged trafficking of a 17-year-old girl in Salt Lake County.

A third man is facing criminal charges in connection with the alleged trafficking of a 17-year-old girl in Salt Lake County. (Zolnierek, Shutterstock)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A third person has been charged in connection with the alleged exploitation and trafficking of a teen girl in Salt Lake City.

Abudle Adonis Rafal, 44, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with with human trafficking of a child, aggravated exploitation of prostitution involving a child, and two counts of drug distribution, all first-degree felonies; and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.

In April, a 17-year-old girl went to a medical clinic in Salt Lake City that specializes in helping people with drug addictions obtain clean hypodermic needles. The girl was with Kent Weston Busco, 46, who "would not allow (the teen) to leave his line of sight and repeatedly spoke over her instead of allowing (her) to talk to staff," according to charging documents.

When staff members were able to separate the girl from Busco, she "immediately disclosed, through tears, that she had been sexually assaulted by Busco multiple times," prosecutors state.

Charging documents released Tuesday state the teen also met Rafal who told her "he would give her meth and money in exchange for sex." Prosecutors say Rafal knew the girl "was struggling financially and needed money for food, gas and/or drugs."

The girl, according to prosecutors, has a history of mental illness and had not been taking her medication.

Busco was charged earlier this month with human trafficking of a child, aggravated exploitation of prostitution involving a child, sexual exploitation of a minor, and two counts of drug distribution, all first-degree felonies; and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.

A third man — Abdoulie Jallow, 34, of Murray — was charged in 3rd District Court as part of the same investigation with rape and drug possession, first-degree felonies and unlawful sexual conduct with a 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.

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Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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