Two Athens County residents were charged Monday in Athens Municipal Court with prostitution and human trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.
Caseworkers from Athens County Children Services had received a tip that the girl was being used for prostitution in exchange for money and drugs. Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly’s Office investigated.
Aileen Mays, 27, was charged with trafficking persons and promoting prostitution, felonies of the first and third degrees, respectively.
“Mays confessed to detectives she set meetings between 69-year-old Fred Kittle Sr. and a 16-year-old girl for the purposes of prostitution,” Kelly said in a news release. “Mays told deputies she had received drugs in exchange for the girl performing sex acts with Kittle.”
The release also stated the victim is safe and in the care of Children Services.
Kittle was charged with compelling prostitution and importuning, felonies of the third and fifth degrees, respectively. He has previously been convicted of rape and is a registered sex offender, according to court documents.
On Sept. 27, deputies searched Kittle’s residence at Rocky Point Road in Athens with a warrant.
The sheriff’s office collected evidence, but the release did not specify what was collected. Detectives were to resume collecting more information Monday.
Kelly was not available for comment by press time.
Mays and Kittle are due back in court for a preliminary hearing scheduled before Judge William Grim on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. After the hearing, the case will move to the Athens County Common Pleas Court.
In the meantime, Mays’ bond is set at $50,000. Court documents did not specify Kittle’s bond.
They are both incarcerated in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.
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