Two Maryland men are charged with human trafficking and sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Police announced Thursday that they arrested 22-year-old Saivon Sharpe and 36-year-old Raleigh McClam on Feb. 26 after an investigation into sex trafficking acts involving the teen.
The girl told police Sharpe approached her and asked if she wanted to to work for him. Sharpe told her she would earn $750 per night for having sex with men, the girl told police.
She told police Sharpe would receive phone calls from men who wanted to have sex with her, gave her instructions on how to accept money and gave her a phone to communicate with him, according to charging documents. Sharpe had a handgun and showed it on several occasions, the girl told police.
Sharpe took her to five hotels in the area, the victim told police.
In late December, Sharpe took her to a hotel in Rockville where he was with a man she knew only as "Lee" or "Leigh," charging documents said. She said the man, later identified as McClam, was Sharpe's manager. McClam was there with another girl who was working for him.
Before she saw any other men at that hotel, McClam went to her room and had sex with her, which she described as a test, charging documents said.
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The girl called police from that hotel after a man threatened her with a knife when he demanded sex but was told by her that his time was up, according to charging documents.
A responding officer found her locked in a room, but she denied calling police and denied telling police over the phone that she was a prostitute, charging documents said. She identified Sharpe as her boyfriend but did not know his name.
Detectives traced two ads in the escort section of a classified ads website to McClam via his email address, police said. They also learned two rooms at the Rockville hotel were rented in the names of Sharpe and McClam the night the girl called police.
McClam told court officials he works for Prince George’s County Schools as a school bus driver, News4’s Mark Segraves reported.
“That's part of the investigation, but at this time there is no known connection between the victim and either of the suspects’ occupations,” Montgomery County Police Cpl. Rebecca Innocenti said.
A spokesperson for D.C. Jail said McClam was a guard until he resigned in 2012.
Sharpe, of Oxon Hill, and McClam, of Upper Marlboro, are charged with human trafficking and sexual abuse of a minor. Sharpe is also charged with the use of a firearm in the use of a felony or crime of violence.
Sharpe is being held without bond. McClam was released on a $100,000 bond.
