FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 26-year-old North Lauderdale man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for conspiring to traffic minor girls for commercial sex. He will also was sentenced to an additional five years of supervised release.
Kerby Brown Jr., aka “Slime” was found guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking of a minor. He was found guilty on Aug. 11, 2022, following a four-day trial by a federal jury. The girls were ages 14, 15, and 17.
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According to Local 10 News archives, Brown was originally arrested by Hollywood Police in May of 2019 for coercing a 14-year-old runaway into prostitution.
Investigators say some of the minors were runaways and Brown would lure them for a free place to stay, then force them to sell themselves for sex to contribute to the costs of keeping them, he would say.
The details of the offenses were released by the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida.
In November 2018, he worked to recruit three minor girls for commercial sex work at a hotel party. Brown successfully posted a commercial sex advertisement online for at least one of those minors—minor victim 1—who was 14 years old. At the time, Minor Victim 1 was a runaway.
Between January and February 2019, Brown trafficked 15-year-old minor victim 2 for commercial sex. Like Minor Victim 1, she was a runaway when Brown recruited her. He lured minor victim 2 under the guise of offering her a free place to stay. However, Brown later caused her to sell herself for commercial sex in order to contribute to costs. He drove minor victim 2 from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando, Fla., where she engaged in commercial sex acts with strangers at his discretion. He then drove minor victim 2 back to Fort Lauderdale where she continued to engage in commercial sex acts.
Minor victim 2 testified at trial that she gave the money directly to Brown, who coordinated the encounters by using explicit photos of Minor Victim 2 to advertise the girl. During the trial, there was a voice recording where Brown had discussed Minor Victim 2 with an 18-year-old female co-conspirator.
Brown was arrested in May 2019 during a sex trafficking operation after he delivered his female co-conspirator for a commercial sex act with an undercover officer.
In the car that Brown was driving, law enforcement found a 17-year-old girl. The only items the girl had with her were a cell phone and a purse with condoms inside.
The case was investigated by FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with the Hollywood Police Department, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
It was brought about as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, call 888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.