A report of an assault Monday at a Rohnert Park motel led to an injured girl and an investigation into human trafficking involving two Alabama teens forced into prostitution, Rohnert Park police said.
Officers arrested Jeremy Tyron Mickens, 30, of Hoover, Ala., accusing him of several felonies, including human trafficking, pimping of a minor, cruelty to a child and battery, Sgt. Aaron Johnson said.
"This guy is bringing these girls across the country . . . to act as prostitutes," Johnson said.
Officers were called to the Good Night Inn at about 9 a.m. Monday, Johnson said.
"One of the girls called and said she'd been beaten up," he said.
Officers found a 17-year-old with facial and head injuries staying at the motel. She and an 18-year-old woman told officers they'd been traveling for months with Mickens.
Johnson said the man traveled for his job involving retail inventory control, and the teens told officers he brought them with him for prostitution.
"I have been to Kansas, Texas, Oregon and California," the 17-year-old told officers. "All the promises he made, and now I am stuck across the country with no money or way to get home."
Mickens posted photos of the girls on an website used by men looking for prostitutes, Johnson said. He said the teens were fearful when officers arrived, but they were relieved when told they were going to be helped home rather than prosecuted.
Mickens was arrested in the motel parking lot and was being held Monday in the Sonoma County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.
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