A Kansas City man is behind bars after allegedly having sex with an underage girl who ran away from home.
Jason H. Williams is charged with second-degree statutory rape after police said he had sex with a 16-year-old girl in his home.
According to court documents, Williams met the teen outside of a Burger King. He asked her if she needed help and if she wanted to come over to his home.
Both Williams and the victim told police she stayed at Williams’s home for about a month. During that time, the two had sex and the teenager became pregnant.
“Runaways are extremely vulnerable. When a person runs away they still need shelter, they still need food. They need clothing, they need protection,” said September Trible, the executive director of Restoration House of Greater Kansas City.
Every day Trible works with victims who have been exploited, many of whom were forced into sex trafficking. She agreed to sit down with 41 Action News and speak about exploitation.
"It’s very disturbing. We see all of the red flags,” she said.
According to court documents, the victim told police Williams took nude photographs of her and uploaded them to a website in order to make money. She also told police Williams “has girls working for him out of California and out the Kansas City area” and the girls would “sell their bodies and give him the money.”
Williams has not been charged with child pornography or sex trafficking. The Greater Kansas City Human Trafficking Task Force would not confirm or deny to 41 Action News if an investigation was taking place.
"This is a low-risk, high-yield crime,” said Trible. "His is lucrative. This is big dollars, we’re talking $99 billion globally.”
According to Restoration House of Greater Kansas City, possible signs of sex trafficking include:
- Injuries or Bruises
- Tattoos, especially ones that include ‘daddy’ or ‘$’
- Change in behavior or attitude
- Dressing differently
- Expensive gifts one normally could not afford
- Skipping classes
- Older boyfriends, especially runways
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at Ariel.Rothfield@KSHB.com.
