COLUMBUS – Authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding a Reynoldsburg man indicted on charges of trafficking two teenage girls for sex.
The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is looking for Michaiah Price, 26, accused of trafficking a Toledo-area teen and a Columbus teen.
Price was indicted last month by a Franklin County grand jury on charges that include trafficking in persons and compelling prostitution, according to a statement from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office says.
The task force, which is part of the Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, found that Price allegedly advertised two teenage girls, ages 15 and 17, for sex on the internet and then trafficked them out of a number of different central Ohio hotels between Oct. 22 and Dec. 6, 2016.
Members of the task force rescued both victims, according to the statement.
Following the task force’s investigation, Price was indicted on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in persons, compelling prostitution, promoting prostitution, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor, and pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor.
A co-defendant in the case, Teah Williams, 19, of Columbus, was arrested last month on similar charges and is being held in the Franklin County Jail without bond, according to the statement.
It is unknown if Price remains in central Ohio but anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to contact their local law enforcement agency or the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force via the Columbus Division of Police at 614-645-4545 or the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 614-525-3333.