Two men have been indicted on child sex abuse and trafficking charges after police say they tried to force two teenage girls into prostitution at a Tyler hotel.
James Ellis, 21, of Addison, and Quintus Blaylock, 24, of Tyler, were arrested and booked into the Smith County Jail in December.
Ellis was indicted on charges of trafficking of persons under the age of 18, sexual assault of a child and fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. His bonds total $355,000.
Blaylock was indicted on charges of trafficking of persons under the age of 18, indecency with a child and fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. His bonds total $450,000.
These men were arrested after what began as an investigation into a credit card abuse case in December 2016.
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In the case, Tyler police said a stolen credit card was used to rent a room at a hotel in the 3200 block of Gentry Parkway.
When officers served a search warrant on Dec. 13, detectives contacted suspects Ellis and Blaylock in their hotel room and found two girls, one 15 and the other 14, hiding in the bathroom.
The arrest warrant affidavit reveals the girls, both identified as chronic runaways, were taken in by officers, during which time one of them made an outcry to an officer that Ellis had sex with her. Both girls also indicated they were being trafficked for sexual purposes.
One of the girls reported Ellis traveled to Dallas to pick her up so she could come to Tyler to be an exotic dancer and engage in private dancing for money, according to the affidavit. She contacted her best friend, who agreed to come with her.
When they arrived in Tyler, the affidavit states that they all went to Blaylock’s residence. One of the girls said she and Ellis had sexual relations at the location. The other said at one point Blaylock touched her inappropriately.
One of the girls advised Ellis obtained photos of them in their undergarments, created pages on Backpage.com and listed them as 18-year-olds. The affidavit states the girls were then told they were going to have sex with people for money and the girls’ personal cell phone numbers were listed in the ad.
In the affidavit, a Tyler Police Department detective said he observed text messages consistent with the girls’ story. Unidentified subjects responded to the ad, with one offering $1,000.
In December 2016, the two female juveniles were taken back to the Dallas area on a directive to apprehend by juvenile courts.
