A man has been arrested after being accused in a sex trafficking scheme.
Las Vegas police recently initiated an investigation into 63-year-old David Coil. He's suspected of luring teenagers on Craigslist to commit acts of prostitution.
Coli has been arrested and now faces the current charges:
- Sex trafficking of a child under 18
- Solicit/Engage in child prostitution (4 counts)
- Attempted sex trafficking of a child
The investigation also indicated the suspect had been involved in this type of activity since October 2015.
The co-founder of Vegas Youth Ambassadors, which works to fight human trafficking, isn't surprised the suspect met his alleged victims on the internet.
"It's actually one of the most common uses nowadays," said Shauntele Harless.
Harless tells 13 Action News pimps, johns and other sex traffickers, are turning to the internet more and more to lure their targets, young girls and boys.
"Online is very prominent. And it's social media, Instagram, Facebook and that's one of the biggest problems with human trafficking right now," Harless said, adding the people exploiting those kids don't necessarily fit a specific profile. "There's men, women, there are trafficking other youth. It's not the typical what people think a pimp looks like, all the jewelry and thuggish. It's not."
And she said it’s happening virtually in plain sight.
Harless tells 13 Action News pimps, johns and other sex traffickers, are turning to the internet more and more to lure their targets, young girls and boys.
"Online is very prominent. And it's social media, Instagram, Facebook and that's one of the biggest problems with human trafficking right now," Harless said, adding the people exploiting those kids don't necessarily fit a specific profile. "There's men, women, there are trafficking other youth. It's not the typical what people think a pimp looks like, all the jewelry and thuggish. It's not."
And she said it’s happening virtually in plain sight.
"It's probably in, I would say, almost every junior high or high school at some point. Almost everybody would be connected through somebody or know somebody who's been affected by human trafficking and just not know it," Harless said.
Anyone who believes their child may have been a victim or anyone who may have answered an ad from David Coil is urged to call 702-828-3455.
