Three out of the four people arrested on human trafficking charges after they forced a 13-year-old runaway girl into prostitution and nude dancing at Club Madonna have accepted plea deals, according to the Miami Herald.
Marlene San Vincente, Vilbert Jean, and DeWayne Ward accepted plea deals and will cooperate against the fourth person involved, Audelin Pierre, the Herald reported. All of them had faced charges of human trafficking, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct on a person less than 16-years-old and delivering a controlled substance to a person under 18.
The State Attorney’s Office said the girl ran away from home on December 10 and was found by her mother on January 6 in North Miami. The SAO said the girl had been forced into prostitution for the benefit of Jean, San Vincente, and Ward, and then forced to dance nude after she refused to engage in more prostitution.
San Vincente supervised and tutored the girl on how to work the nude club scene and how to maximize tips and earnings, according to the SAO. Authorities said the girl was forced to dance at Club Madonna where she made more than $1,000 and then forced to hand over the earnings to the others.
According to the Herald, San Vicente accepted a deal for five years on probation while the other two defendants agreed to jail terms of less than a year.
An attorney for Jean, Zeljka Bozanic, said he pleaded guilty to one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor.
Bozanic said the victim lied about being held captive and was free to leave. She also said Jean wasn't involved in human trafficking or prostitution.
