Elyria man charged with juvenile sex trafficking

CLEVELAND - An Elyria man has been charged with forcing a teen to participate in commercial sex acts.

A four-count indictment was filed against Timothy Davis, 41, related to juvenile sex trafficking on Thursday.

"Human trafficking, particularly in the commercial sex industry, is a devastating crime," United States Attorney Steven Dettelbach said in a news release. "Our office, working with the FBI and other partners, have made stopping it a priority."

Records indicate between September 2010 and February 2011, Davis knowingly recruited, enticed, transported, provided and maintained a juvenile identified as "H.M." for commercial sex acts.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said in December 2010, Davis took "H.M." from Cleveland to Jacksonville, Florida and forced "H.M." to engage in prostitution.

Human trafficking is one of the United States' fastest growing illegal industries.

According to Freetheslaves.net , there are more slaves in the world today, 10-30 million, than at any other point in human history. $32 billion are generated annually in profit off the business. The average price of a modern day slave in 2009 was only $90.

The U.S. Department of State has reported between 14,500-17,500 human beings are trafficked into the U.S. annually. Around 600,000-800,000 are people are trafficked across the international borders every year.