A man from Cincinnati has been given a prison sentence of 13.5 years for his involvement in trafficking two minors from Indiana.
In February 2023, Payton Brown was arrested and charged with two felony counts of sex trafficking of minors. The investigation into this matter began in October 2022.
Authorities later found two 16-year-olds in Brown’s home after they were reported missing from Indiana.
Brown allegedly met the victim through the online dating app 3Fun, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Authorities revealed that they discovered evidence indicating that the victim engaged in paid sexual encounters with several individuals, and Brown allegedly kept all the earnings.
According to reports, Brown allegedly uploaded images of the minor to an undisclosed website between June and October 2022, promoting “sexual encounters.”
Brown picked up another individual in Indianapolis and drove them to his residence in Cincinnati.
In addition to the plea deal, Brown is required to make a restitution payment of $57,974.90 to the minor victim. Furthermore, his home will be forfeited as part of the agreement. The victim will receive any proceeds from the sale of the home as restitution.
As part of the plea agreement, Brown is not allowed to have a firearm or ammunition. If he is found to have a controlled substance, he would be in violation of the terms of the deal. As a result, he will need to undergo one drug test within 15 days after being placed on supervised release, followed by two more drug tests at random intervals.
Brown is required to meet all the necessary conditions to ensure compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
