James Edward Capers Jr. of Hollywood, Florida has been arrested for allegedly holding a 13-year-old girl against her will for a week and selling her for sex.

Capers, 36, is charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery, human trafficking, and kidnapping. He is being held without bond until he goes before a trial judge. He was also ordered not to have any contact with the victim or her family. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to the court testimony, Capers allegedly trafficked the 13-year-old victim in an apartment he shared with two other men and a woman. The victim managed to escape and alert the police. She positively identified Capers after looking at a lineup of photographs.

“An independent witness saw her fleeing from the residence and positively identified Capers,” Hollywood Police Detective Debra Levy said during a court hearing on Friday, the Sun Sentinel reports. “I do have concern, your honor, for the victims safety because of the nature of the crime and the element involved in this situation.”

Another lewd and lascivious battery case involving an adult and minors was reported in Coral Springs last week. Leonardo Antonio Suarez-Alvarez of Tamarac, Florida was arrested after five girls aged 7 to 10 years old reported that he molested them at a gymnasium.

Suarez-Alvarez, 52, is charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim under 12. He is being jailed without bond and is not to have any contact with the victims or their families. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of an attorney.

According to the arrest report, the molestation incidents occurred at Twins Gymnastics in Coral Springs. Suarez-Alvarez is the sibling of the gym’s owners, Maria Elena Suarez and Maria del Carmen Suarez. He worked at the gym as a janitor and drove children to classes.

Each of the five victims allegedly told police the same thing about Suarez-Alvarez—that he touched them inappropriately several times and refused to stop even after the victims expressed their discomfort.

One of the victims told police that she alerted the gym’s owners about Suarez-Alavarez’s actions, but the behavior continued. The 10-year-old didn’t say which of the two Suarez sisters she talked to.

“When she told Ms. Maria, it was summer vacation and Ms. Maria said she would talk to Leonardo and tell him to stop. (The girl) said that Leonardo didn’t stop. (The girl) said this has happened once or twice per week since summer vacation,” the report said, according to the Miami Herald.

Investigators believe there may be other victims and encourage anyone with information to contact the Coral Springs police.

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Source: 10.1.18 Hollywood man accused of trafficking girl, 13, for sex.pdf