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SALT LAKE CITY — A man staying in a Utah vacation rental property is accused of arranging to have a 17-year-old girl perform sex acts for money in several states.
Christopher James Williams, 29, whose home address is listed as unknown in court documents, was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court in Davis County with human trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor, both second-degree felonies.
On Jan. 15, police received a call of a distraught girl. As officers investigated the situation, they learned that Williams had purchased a bus ticket for a 17-year-old girl to travel from Tennessee to Utah, according to charging documents.
The girl, who had just arrived in Utah, got into an argument with Williams and tried to harm herself, according to a police affidavit.
“The victim made statements that Christopher left Tennessee to avoid an investigation or charges of sex offenses and human trafficking with the victim. The victim also made statements that Christopher has images on his phone that he would ‘get in trouble for.’ Christopher made statements to law enforcement that he knew he was in trouble for his sexual relationship with the victim,” the affidavit states.
As detectives continued to question the couple, they learned that Williams “sets up appointments for her to engage in sexual acts in exchange for money. (He) then keeps the majority of the money,” the charges state. “Police were able to locate 46 ads in different cities on websites commonly used for prostitution. The ads contained pictures of (the girl).”
When police examined the girl’s phone, “there was a conversation between her and Christopher where she told Christopher that she was going to meet with a detective and tell him everything. The victim texted Christopher stating, ‘You sex trafficked me,’” according to the affidavit.
Police searched the Airbnb rental where Williams was staying at in Utah and found more bus tickets for other girls and women in several states, the affidavit states. It was also discovered that another female was sent back to Tennessee on Jan. 14 by train, according to the affidavit.
“Christopher has been renting an Airbnb since the beginning of December and witnesses state they have seen several females come and go that come from Christopher’s room,” the affidavit states. ”Christopher Williams is considered a substantial danger to the community as during this investigation we have two unknown females associated with him that we are unable to locate. One female was presumably given a train and/or a bus ticket back to Tennessee. ...during the investigation it shows that the female might have been trafficked in five other states.”
