SAN ANTONIO – Two people were arrested on human trafficking charges after a teen made an outcry to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Salazar said the 15-year-old girl, who lives in Houston, communicated with 18-year-old Carolin Mitchell in San Antonio via social media apps. He said they brokered a deal to have Mitchell and the other suspect, 35-year-old Rondell Lee Peterson, go to Houston for a sex act.
The price agreed upon between the victim and the suspects for the sex act for $2,400, Salazar said.
"The suspects did go to Houston. The sex act was completed among the three. The victim was paid, but not all of the money agreed upon. It was about $1,400," he said.
Salazar said Mitchell and Peterson then went back to San Antonio. A few days later, they reestablished contact with the victim and agreed to go back to Houston and pay her the rest of the money.
The suspects then went to Houston and met up with the victim, but instead of paying her the rest of the money, they brought the teen to San Antonio against her will, Salazar said. He said the victim saw an AK-47 in the front of the vehicle the suspects were driving, which made her fear for her life.
Once they all got to San Antonio, Peterson sexually assaulted the victim twice. He then took her to Schertz and "dumped her out of the car before throwing her a small amount of cash and abandoning her there," Salazar said.
The victim then called 911, and the Bexar County Sheriff's Office took her into custody and began the investigation.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office then identified the suspects with the help of the Harris County Sheriff's Office and executed a search warrant at a location near Alamo Heights. Deputies took the two suspects under arrest and questioned them.
Peterson faces a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child and trafficking of a person. Mitchell is charged with trafficking of a person.
Salazar said a large amount of cocaine was found in the home in which the search warrant was executed. He said the suspects will probably face a charge of possession of a controlled substance 4-200 grams, dependent upon the weight of the drugs.
Salazar said the relationship between the suspects is unclear. He said they both have a criminal history,
This is BCSO's second human trafficking arrest within the past week. Both cases involved teenage victims.
