Warning: This story contains discussion of child sex trafficking, rape and drug use that some viewers may find disturbing.
LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) — Officials announced arrests in a “large-scale human trafficking case” in Pasco County on Wednesday.
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco held a news conference with Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Nocco said the victim was groomed by a man hired to clean her guardian’s pool beginning in Nov. 2021, when she was 15 years old. The man was identified as Steven Graham, 43.
The alleged grooming continued for months and June 2022, he allegedly took the girl into the woods and raped her.
The girl ran away from home on Nov. 21, 2022 after getting in a fight with her aunt, Nocco said. She was walking along the road in New Port Richey at around 2:00 a.m., intending to visit the pool cleaner, when she was picked up by, Mark Poore, 60, a convicted sexual predator.
“This guy shouldn’t have been on our streets,” Nocco said. “He buys her breakfast, and after that, he pays her $40 for sex. He pays a 16-year-old girl $40 for sex.”
As teenager continued walking toward the pool cleaner’s house, Nocco said John Malley, 57, allegedly invited her into his home to have sex at around 7:00 a.m. Malley also reportedly took the teenager to Wal-Mart, bought her clothing and makeup, and took her back to his house.
“After sex, he tells her, ‘hey, I have a young son who lives here, so you can’t stay here all day. I don’t want him to walk in and see you’,” Nocco said.
Later that afternoon, Graham and the victim allegedly had a sexual encounter at an abandoned Golden Corral. Nocco said the girl later “hooked up with” Deontre Poole, 37, who she met earlier that day at a 7-Eleven.
The fourth man allegedly gave the victim drugs and brought her along as he sold them. The pair ended up at the Roadway Inn, where the teenager was eventually left alone after midnight. Nocco said she met two men while walking around the motel – Branden Dunn, 29, and Alan Schiavo, 38 – who got her intoxicated and had sex with her.
Nocco said she also had a sexual encounter with a third man at the hotel – the seventh person she had sex with in just 24 hours. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office identified him as Timothy Colon, 38.
The sheriff said when the girl told Colon she was 16, he allegedly told her to say she’s 20 years old if anyone asks. The sheriff’s office said Colon and Candice Tekdogan, 41, met up with the victim the next day and filmed her having sex with him at his Spring Hill home.
The sheriff’s office said the teenager stayed with Tekdogan between Nov. 23 and Dec. 4, when she was recovered by law enforcement. During this period, Tekdogan allegedly connected the girl with adult entertainment businesses in Pasco and Pinellas counties, where she began working.
Jaimi Manning, 36, allegedly had sex with the girl in the VIP area of one of the businesses and solicited sex from her at Tekdogan’s home. Jeremy Francis, 27, also allegedly had sex with her at the home after meeting her at an adult establishment.
The sheriff’s office did not name any of the involved businesses.
Nocco said the girl met Jeremy Nanos-Sky, 30, at a bar after she reportedly overheard him saying he was a record producer. She told him she was a singer and they exchanged contact information. Nanos-Sky then allegedly took the teenager to his home in Port Richey and engaged in sexual activity with her.
Pierre Williams, 30, is accused of having sex with the victim at a party in Tekdogan’s home on Dec. 2.
The next day, someone reportedly approached Tekdogan while she was working as an exotic dancer and showed her the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office missing persons post about the teenager. She told Graham to take the girl out of her home, so he drove her to the La Vista Inn in Port Richey, and left her alone in a motel room.
Tekdogan called the sheriff’s office to report the girl’s location. She was taken into protective custody after deputies found she was highly intoxicated.
“This survivor was surrounded by many adults during the time she was missing, but all of them failed to look out for her safety and well-being. Instead, they took advantage of her for their own pleasure. The survivor told the suspects her age, but that didn’t matter to these people,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a release.
“They instead saw this person as something they could use, regardless of her age. They took her to other locations for these horrific acts; from adult establishments, to their homes, to homes of their friends and now co-defendants. The survivor stated that she did these things because she needed food or shelter. She wasn’t treated as a child or even a human during this time,” the sheriff’s office said.
Officials reiterated how important it is for residents to watch out for local kids and to report anything suspicious.
“Thanks to the hard work of Sheriff Nocco, Sheriff Nienhuis and their dedicated deputies, a minor has been rescued from human traffickers,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “Those who abused the victim are facing serious charges and my Statewide Prosecutors will make sure justice is served.”
The 12 people accused of contributing to trafficking the girl were arrested on the following charges:
Mark Poore:
Human Trafficking (Violent Sex Offender)
John Malley:
Human Trafficking
Timothy Colon:
Human Trafficking
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors (x3)
Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance
Steven Graham:
Human Trafficking
Unlawful Sex (x2)
Lewd and Lascivious Battery
Sheltering
Branden Dunn:
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
Alan Schiavo:
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
Deontre Poole:
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
Jaimi Manning:
Human Trafficking
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors (x2)
Jeremy Francis:
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
Candice Tekdogan:
Human Trafficking
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors (x2)
Possession of Child Pornography
Use of Child in Sexual Performance
Jeremy Nanos-Sky:
Human Trafficking
Traveling to Meet Minor
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
Pierre Williams:
Unlawful Sex with Certain Minors
