MEMPHIS - MAR 10, 2018: Teen who met stranger online was forced into Sex Trafficking in Memphis

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A missing girl from Mississippi was being sex trafficked in Memphis, according to a police report. The 18-year-old from Jackson, Miss. had been missing since January 29. More than a month later, police got a call that a girl was being held against her will outside a Memphis grocery store. Police went to the location and found the victim standing in front of the business. They confirmed she was the missing teen from Jackson.

The teen told police she was brought to Memphis by a man named Reginald Harris. She met the suspect online, and he said she would have a better life if she left with him, according to a police affidavit.

The victim said she left home on January 29 after getting into an argument with her parents. Once she and Harris arrived in Memphis, they stayed at several different hotels around the city.

The teen told police she never had sex with Harris, but he forced her to have sex with strangers more than a dozen times, according to the affidavit. The victim said she didn’t want to sleep with the men, but she was afraid the suspect would beat her – and he was her source of food and housing.

The teen also told officers Harris threatened to put a box over her head and drag her down the street if she didn’t follow his orders. He also tried to make her do drugs, according to the affidavit.

Reginald Harris is not in custody. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.