ATLANTA — A three-year investigation sparked by the recovery of a missing teenager from the Kansas City, Missouri, area has cast a large net that has led to the arrest of 13 suspects and the identification of four additional sex trafficking survivors.
The 17-year-old was found inside a room at the Travelodge along Old National Highway in College Park. She was recovered during "Operation Not Forgotten."
Hannah Palmquist, who leads the Human Trafficking Prosecution unit, was on the scene back in 2020 when this missing Missouri teenager was found in the motel room.
"This is a case that started small, and it first appeared to be small," Palmquist explained.
However, as she and her team continued to talk to the victim and started uncovering digital forensics, they quickly realized they had a lot of work ahead of them.
RELATED: Girl rescued from metro Atlanta motel where she was bought and sold for sex, 9 men convicted
'This is a victim who had been trafficked over and over and over again," she said. "It's also a case where we as a team learned to go after buyers as well as sellers, so we were able to greatly expand our approach in this case by looking into anyone who had purchased the victim for sex in addition to anyone who had sold her."
The first seller the team was able to identify was 31-year-old Steven Stone, of Lithonia. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years, with 13 years to be served in prison.
Palmquist's team was able to identify eight men who they accused of buying the teenager for sex. Seven of them have been convicted, including:
- 27-year-old Tony Turner: Sentenced to 10 years, with three years to be served in prison.
- 27-year-old Kerry Barnett: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 29-year-old Mintaka Bay: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 30-year-old Undra Henderson: Sentenced to 10 years with three years to be served in prison.
- 40-year-old Alif Morgan: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 41-year-old Daniel Callaway: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 31-year-old Warren Watts: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
During their investigation, Palmquist and her team identified a second alleged seller, Terry Florence, of Conyers. He was indicted the first time on this case involving the missing Missouri teenager. However, over the summer, he was indicted again after Palmquist said her team identified two additional victims. He was on the run for several months but was finally captured and booked in September.
Today, the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit announced two new arrests involving Denorris Hutchinson and his girlfriend Natasha Bridges. Both were arrested in Clayton County. Hutchinson was picked up on Oct. 11, and Bridges was just arrested on Oct. 26.
Of all the 13 suspects, Bridges is the only female charged in the case up to this point.
"There’s certain things that female traffickers can do, that men have a more difficult time doing, for example, approaching victims. A runaway teenage girl is far more likely to get in the car with a female than a male," Palmquist explained.
11Alive obtained both Hutchinson and Bridge's warrants.
Hutchinson is not only accused of having sex with the teenager in exchange for money but also accused of advertising her online and selling her to other men for sex. Bridges is accused of helping her boyfriend drive the teenager to different locations where she would have sex and collect the money.
Of the 13 suspects, Devin Smith, Terry Florence, Denorris Hutchinson and Natasha Bridges are the only cases that have not yet gone to trial.
Palmquist said she and her team believe there were more people involved in this human trafficking case, but as of now, these 13 suspects are the only individuals they can prove either bought or sold the teenager for sex.
"From one missing victim, we've so far sent nine traffickers to prison, four more are pending, so that gives people an idea if we look at the number of missing kids out there such a high number of them are approached by traffickers and are trafficked it gives you an idea of how much human trafficking is occurring in the state," Palmquist explained.
"Operation Not Forgotten" was led by the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit, in conjunction with the agency's Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Georgia state and local agencies, including Attorney General Chris Carr's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Contact the Human Trafficking Hotline
- If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at (888) 373-7888.
- To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the Statewide 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842.
- Call 911 or your local law enforcement agency to file a report if you believe a victim is in imminent danger.
- For more information on how to get help for both national and foreign-born victims of human trafficking, visit www.endhtga.org.