Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 1-28-20

Crime Child, Man Injured In East
Human Trafficking Investigation Lands 5 In Jail
Tampa Shootout
SILVER DOLLAR CONVENIENCE STORE
PAIGE ASHLEY FRIED
Detectives have arrested five people during a human trafficking investigation. All five were charged with either selling or buying a person for sex in Hillsborough County.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation took place throughout the month of De- cember. The arrests were an- nounced during a press conference Thursday.
The investigation began after an 18-year-old human trafficking victim came in contact with detectives on De- cember 4th. While conducting an operation at a nearby hotel, detectives observed a man walking to and from a room that the victim and 28- year-old Paige Ashley Fried were leaving.
Police initiated a traffic stop and arrested Ms. Fried for drug possession. The vic- tim also had an outstanding warrant for grand theft, so she was arrested as well.
Once the victim was in custody, she told police that she was being held against her will by Ms. Fried, beginning on October 20th through De-
ANDRES DARIO BETANCUR
TIMOTHY MATTHEWS
cember 4th.
The victim told police that
Ms. Fried held her by use of force, fraud, and coercion. She also forced her to perform sexual acts at various loca- tions in the county.
Ms. Fried would organ- ize the encounters by posting advertisements about the vic- tim on adult escort websites. She managed the postings and communicated with buy- ers to arrange the meetings. The victim told police Ms. Fried kept all of the money.
Police said although Ms. Fried knew the victim had contracted a sexually trans- mitted disease, she continued to force her to perform. She
RUDY SIAM
CARL FRANKLIN BERGMAN
also said she gave her nar- cotics to stay awake longer in order to work more.
The victim was released from custody and connected with resources through Selah Freedom.
Four additional people were arrested during a sepa- rate investigati9on that took place December 17th and 18th. The four men, identified as Andres Dario Betancur, 36, Rudy Siam, 40, Timo- thy John Matthews, 56, and Carl Franklin Bergman, 58, thought they were chatting with a 14-year- old male. They traveled to meet him for sex near High- way 301 and Interstate 4.
A child and an adult male are recovering from gunshot wounds. The shooting took place at the intersection of N. 40th Street and E. Chelsea, shortly before 11 a.m., Satur- day.
According to the Tampa Police Department, officers were dispatched to the area in reference to a hold-up alarm. When they arrived, they discovered that an 8- year-old boy had been struck in the finger by a bullet. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for his injury.
Police said two Black men were at the location and shot at each other. The child was hit during the gunfire ex- change. One of the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle, possibly gray in color.
Within minutes of arriv- ing at the scene, the officers learned that an adult man in a silver car had crashed in the 4800 block of N. 35th Street.
The unidentified man was transported to a local hospi- tal with serious injuries. The case is active and no addi- tional information has been released, police said.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19