LAUREL, Md. -- A man is accused of forcing a 12-year-old girl from Washington, D.C., to work for him as a prostitute in New Jersey and Maryland.
Forty-two-year-old Derwin Smith of Glen Burnie has been charged with human trafficking of a minor and related offenses. He's being held on $3 million bond.
Anne Arundel County police say Smith was arrested Monday night at a Laurel hotel by a task force of local and federal law enforcement.
Police say Smith met the victim in the District of Columbia in an area known for prostitution. He paid her for sex, then began driving her back and forth from Washington to Atlantic City, N.J., where she worked as a prostitute.
The girl told police that Smith kept all the money she made and that he held her against her will.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 06-09-10 1116EDT
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