ATLANTA — A Conyers man wanted on child human trafficking charges has been arrested, according to authorities.
Terry Florence has been booked into the DeKalb County Jail, records show. The 37-year-old is accused of being part of a human trafficking ring that included at least nine men.
Authorities said Florence trafficked two women and a teenager and will face corresponding charges.
Previously, 11Alive's Cody Alcorn was able to connect through warrants and reports a missing 17-year-old out of Missouri, who was labeled a runaway, was rescued during Operation Not Forgotten. It's an annual operation in Georgia conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit with a mission of rescuing endangered missing children.
The teenager was found in the Travelodge off Interstate 75 in College Park. The Attorney General's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit immediately started working on the case in 2020 trying to find the individuals who were selling and buying this girl.
Since she was rescued, nine men have been convicted. Florence was one of the remaining defendants who had yet to go to trial or enter a plea.
On July 25, the Attorney General's Office announced a new indictment against Florence. He's now charged with seven counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and one count of sexual exploitation of children. His charges involve three different victims including the 17-year-old from Missouri.
Often times these victims are bought and sold for sex out of local motels. The 17-year-old was rescued in one in College Park. Warrants say she was sold and bought for sex out of multiple motels in DeKalb County including a Motel 6 in Tucker.
Susan Coppedge, a former federal prosecutor and currently a board member for the Polaris Project, which runs the Human Trafficking Hotline wants those impacted to know that they can seek justice.
While law enforcement can go after chains that profit off the sex trade happening at their properties, victims also have an avenue to go after the motels.
"There are increasingly lawsuits under the Federal Trafficking Victim Protection Act, where individuals who have been victims of this crime can sue the hotel chains," she said. "So there's reputational harm, there's legal risk, there's financial risk."
The national human trafficking hotline is available 24 hours 7 days a week. People can call 888-373-7888 for guidance or text INFO to 233733.