A Las Vegas couple have been arrested on sex-trafficking charges after a 16-year-old accused the pair of holding her captive, forcing her to sell drugs and walk the street to sell sex for money.
The girl was reported missing from Jan. 17 to 19. The girl met and befriended the couple in early December. During a visit to their home, she left some of her personal items there.
On Jan. 17, 36-year-old Maurice Fitgerald told the girl he would drop off her belongings. When he arrived, he told the girl that she would need to come back to his house to pick the stuff up.
After they arrived, Fitzgerald refused to let her leave.
On Jan. 18, Fitzgerald allegedly forced the girl to perform sex acts on him and 37-year-old Saundra Brown and have sex with him.
On Jan. 19, the girl's mother was able to track her daughter to the apartment. She then took her daughter to the hospital for evaluation.
The girl says that Fitzgerald yelled at her, spat on her, and threatened her with a gun if she didn't do what he wanted.
On Feb. 14, Las Vegas police searched the couple's apartment and found the gun that the girl described. The pair was arrested.
Fitzgerald and Brown have been charged with first-degree kidnapping, trafficking of a child under 18, child abuse or neglect, sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a gun by a prohibited person.
