Missing Miami teen leads to bust of North Georgia prostitution ring, prosecutors say

ATLANTA — Five people are facing prison time for their involvement in a sex trafficking scheme that unfolded in Georgia, according to prosecutors.

The investigation started after a minor was reported missing in Miami, Florida when her parents realized she didn't board a flight to Honduras. Prosecutors said she was taken by two people to Georgia and "forced to commit commercial sex acts and participate in 'sex parties.'"

U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a news release that the group of men forced at least six girls between 16 and 17 years old into prostitution starting around November 2015 through December 2016. Nilageo Alvarez-Acosta, Jaime Adam Riano, Anthony Joseph Lawhon and Brandi Rice Stumpe were co-defendants in the case; Brian Hernandez Acosta is the accused ringleader.

A news release from the Department of Justice North District of Georgia outlines that Hernandez Acosta pursued some of the girls on Facebook and Snapchat, and posted provocative photographs of them in the adult entertainment section of a classified advertisement website that was seized by the DOJ.