NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk Police are investigating a human sex trafficking case possibly involving minors.
Troy Dawson, 26, and Trinell Bowen, 32, were both recently arrested for sex trafficking.
According to a search warrant, Norfolk Police were working a sex trafficking case at the Ramada Limited on Military Highway on April 25.
The search warrant says police were told girls were prostituting out of a room for four to five days. According to the search warrant, one of the girls was only 16-years-old and had a "date" with a hotel manager to secure a free room.
Records state a woman told police that Bowen recruited her to work for him at a shopping mall in Hampton several years ago and made $400 a day prostituting, which she would hand over to him.
Police were told he had at least five other female prostitutes, including a 17-year-old, according to a search warrant.
Bowen was arrested at the hotel.
Four days later, Dawson was arrested at a nearby restaurant for sex trafficking and other charges.
Managers at the Ramada Limited spoke to NewsChannel 3 and denied any inappropriate behavior with guests. The manager said if an employee engaged in inappropriate behavior, they would be fired immediately. The manager also said they were unaware of the police investigations.
When NewsChannel 3 asked them if they have an issue with prostitution at the hotel, one manager said they do not have a problem and can't control the actions of their guests.
Leaders of the group Virginia Beach Justice Initiative working to combat the problem.
Founder Patrick McKenna said, “It would be a miracle if it wasn't happening here. We have all the interstates, when you look at this issue it's a mobile problem, so it tends to be on the move all the time. We got one of the largest ports on the East Coast.”
McKenna said it’s a problem happening in our community that more people need to be aware of.
“People do you need to get themselves aware to raise their awareness and education levels related to this because it is going on in our neighborhoods,” said McKenna.
Bowen bonded out of jail and has a court hearing May 25.
Dawson remains locked up with court on June 2. He declined an interview with NewsChannel 3.
We reached out to Norfolk Police, who provided us with the following statement:
"The Bowen and Dawson cases are pending litigation, therefore, the Norfolk Police Department is unable to provide comment on the case specifics at this time.
However, like hundreds of agencies across the nation, the Norfolk Police Department has experienced an increased interest in human trafficking.
The Norfolk Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division handles all human trafficking incidents. Relying heavily on investigative leads and tips from the public to identify the individuals involved, Vice Unit Investigators encourage the public to keep their eyes and ears open to suspicious activity. Tips can be reported to the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or by calling the Norfolk Police Department at 757-441-5610."
More information can be found at http://www.vbji.org/.
