A woman from Mississippi is accused of driving her teenage relative to Texas to sell her for sex with a man, according to reports.
“Federal court documents report that Madison Murphy of Starkville drove her 16-year-old relative from Mississippi to North Texas after making contact with an alleged pimp,” according to a magnoliastatelive.com article posted Thursday.
“Murphy reportedly sold the teen for sex with a man in Fort Worth, Texas, for $300,” the outlet continued.
Before traveling to Texas, the woman allegedly posted ads online using Instagram photos of the girl.
“When responses came in rapidly, officials say Murphy then drove the teen to Fort Worth in June 2020, giving the teen the impression that she was going to Texas for a modeling job,” the site read.
The teenager reportedly called 911 for help after being left alone in a motel room and was rescued by police officers.
“When officers arrived, Murphy was still at the motel. Armed with a search warrant, police found condoms and lubricant in Murphy’s car after she was taken into custody,” a transcript of her preliminary detention hearing published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram read:
During the investigation, authorities determined that the ads with photos of the teen had been placed on a sexually-oriented website, and the phone number for those ads were linked back to the suspected Fort Worth pimp. The teen told authorities that she never took photos for the ads, and that the photos came from her Instagram account.
“Murphy is awaiting indictment in the federal case, accusing her of child sex trafficking,” the Star-Telegram article read.
Human trafficking is a “serious violation of human rights,” according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ (DFPS) website.
“Its victims are controlled and exploited for profit. Forced labor and sexual exploitation are the most common types of human trafficking,” the site continued.
There are 25 million people enslaved worldwide and 79,000 victims of youth and minor sex trafficking in the state of Texas at any given time, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s website.