HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Spring Hill man was arrested on human trafficking charges after tricking a minor into a sexual contract, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Al Nienhuis said James Peter Houllis, 56, had two separate victims, an adult and a minor with mental handicaps, that he assaulted through these alleged contracts.
“This particular individual really had some creative ways to abuse women,” Sheriff Al Nienhuis said.
According to the sheriff, the investigation began on July 10 after deputies were given a location for a potential runaway child on Pinehurst Drive in Spring Hill.
Niehuis said the suspect told deputies that he and the adult victim were under the impression that the minor victim was 18 and was kicked out of her home.
After deputies took the minor to a runaway shelter, the victim told deputies and shelter workers that she met Houllis through an online dating website while he posed as the adult victim. Investigators said Houllis would control the conversations and would bring the adult victim into them when he needed to conduct a phone conversation.
“It was not a common social media platform that we hear about every day,” Nienhuis said.
The sheriff said the Sunday before the minor left home, she thought she was going to have sexual contact with the adult victim, not Houllis.
According to Nienhuis, the suspect emailed the minor a “dominant-submissive” contract that had clauses that promised an oceanside home in exchange for sex, which included “sexual activities with the dominant that might be outside her comfort zone but not painful.”
“Hard to believe, but that’s what the document said,” Nienhuis said.
The sheriff said the victim did not read the contract but acknowledged it, and on July 9, Houllis sent an Uber to pick the minor up and bring her to his home.
Authorities said Houllis forced the adult victim to have sex with the minor, and he had sex with the minor, as well.
During her time with the suspect, the minor victim was taken to a department store to get clothing, and on July 10, the victim took multiple photos at the home — including a nude photo of Houllis, the sheriff said.
On July 11, deputies arrested Houllis on numerous sex crimes, but Nienhuis said the investigation didn’t stop there.
“As the investigation unfolded, it became apparent that [the adult victim] was also a victim of human trafficking by our suspect,” he said.
According to Nienhuis, the adult victim said she felt obligated by her own contract with Houllis, and when she tried to refuse to have sex with the minor, he physically forced her on the teenage victim.
“Young adult victim number 1 advised that our suspect physically strangled the juvenile during sexual activity, and because she knew how rough [Houllis] could be, she actually traded places with the victim to keep that juvenile victim safe,” he said.
Officials said before this incident, Houllis sold the adult victim for sex to multiple men in Colorado. Nienhuis said the suspect met her online while she was still a juvenile and groomed her into isolation from her family.
The sheriff said after being read his rights, Houllis confessed to the sexual activity, the existence of the sexual contract, and that the victim was “fortunate” because of how he provided for her. However, he still maintained that he thought the minor victim was 18 years old.
“Definitely a sick individual to say the least,” Nienhuis said.
According to the sheriff’s office, Houllis’ cell phone data showed that he tried to contact other potential victims through online dating sites.
As a result of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, a separate human trafficking investigation will also be opened by the Aurora Police Department in Colorado.