Accused Child Predators 'Do Not Belong Back In Society': Sheriff Chris Nocco

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A 16-year-old New Port Richey girl is receiving counseling at a center for victims of human trafficking after a two-week ordeal in which at least 12 men and a woman had sex with her, plied her with drugs and arranged for her to perform at men's strip clubs in Hernando and Pasco counties, authorities said.

Joined by Florida State Attorney Ashley Moody and Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis, president of the Florida Sheriff's Association, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference Wednesday that the girl's story shows how quickly predators will jump at the opportunity to victimize a child.

During the two weeks the teen was at the mercy of a series of sexual predators, Moody said the girl encountered "dozens of people who could have reported this to our hotline at any time. It is your business and you do have a duty to report it."

Nocco said the girl's victimization began in June when a pool cleaner named Steven Graham, 43, who was hired in November 2021 to clean the pool at the New Port Richey home where the girl lived with an aunt, began grooming her for a sexual relationship when she was 15 years old.

In late November, Nocco said the girl fought with her aunt and ran away from home, and in the following days encountered a string of men and women who used her for sex, gave her illicit drugs and preyed on her.

"She was only missing for two weeks and all this happened to her," Nocco said. "This wasn't a movie. This was a sad reality for this girl, a living nightmare of sex, drugs and coercion."

When detectives interviewed the teen, she told them she went along with everything adults told her to do because she needed food and shelter.

While she was on the streets, the girl received meals and rides if she had sex with some of those charged; she was left at empty lots and convenience stores where men picked her up and trafficked her; dropped off in the parking lot of an abandoned Golden Corral restaurant on U.S. 19 where a suspect had sex with her and left her there; and taken to the Rodeway Inn at 6826 U.S. 19 in New Port Richey, where she was given ecstasy and other drugs, and used for sex, authorities said.

"This is a 16-year-old girl who's totally wasted, wandering around a hotel," said Nocco. "Instead of doing the right thing, (one of the men charged, Timothy Colon) has sex with her in his car. When she tells him she's 16 years old, he tells her, 'From now on, say you're 20 years old.' The evil pit she's in gets deeper and deeper and deeper."

The 11 men and one woman arrested in the case face charges including unlawful sex with a minor, use of a child in sexual performance, traveling to meet a minor for sex and possession of child pornography. Nocco said more charges and arrests are pending.

Nienhuis said that just because a victim isn't fighting or resisting those victimizing them, doesn't mean he or she is a willing participant.

"They may just be in survival mode and aren't sure who they can trust," he said.

Those charged in this case include:

• Steven Graham, 43
• Alan Schiavo, 38
• Branden Dunn, 29
• Timothy Colon, 38
• Mark Poore, 60
• John Malley, 57
• Deontre Poole, 37
• Candice Tekdogan, 41
• Jaimi Manning, 36
• Jeremy Francis, 27
• Jeremy Nanos-Sky, 30
• Pierre Williams, 30

Tekdogan, an acquaintance of Colon’s, met the victim and they took the girl to Colon’s secondary residence in the Seven Springs area of New Port Richey, where they videotaped the three of them having sex.

Next, Tekdogan took the girl to her house in the Spring Hill area of Hernando County. Between Nov. 23 and Dec. 4, Nocco said the teen largely lived at Tekdogan's home, where the woman gave her wigs, provocative clothing and the stage name, "Sassy," and then arranged for her to work at strip clubs in Pasco and Pinellas counties.

At the clubs, she had sex with men in the club's VIP area, and met men who had sex with her in their cars or at Tekdogan's home, police said.

At a bar, the teen overheard Jeremy Nanos-Sky, 30, claim to be a record producer and she told him she was a singer, investigators said. Nanos-Sky drove her to his house in Port Richey, where they had sex and she stayed the night, offiicals said.

On Dec. 2, Tekdogan held a party at her Spring Hill home attended by Williams, who had just been released from prison. He expressed an interest in the girl to Colon, who told the teen to have sex with Williams.

Nocco said the survivor's nightmare would have continued if an acquaintance hadn't approached Tekdogan while she was working as an exotic dancer and showed her the missing person poster of the teen the sheriff's office had posted on Facebook.

Tekdogan called Graham and told him to get the teen out of her house, the sheriff said. Graham, the man accused of originally victimizing the girl, took the teen to the La Vista Inn at 11736 U.S. 19 in Port Richey on Dec. 4 and Tekdogan contacted the sheriff's office to report where they could find the girl.

Moody said prosecutors are still piecing together the case against all those involved in victimizing the girl. The most recent arrest was made on Monday.

"There are a lot of independent threads that led to the victimization of this child," she said.

While the state commemorated January as National Human Trafficking Month, Moody noted that combating the crime "is a year-round effort."

"Today's case shows us that it takes one person noticing something out of place and reporting it to take dangerous predators off the streets," she said. "Many people came in contact with her and could have reported it. She's now receiving the services she has long needed. Cases don't always end this way. Many children and young adults live for long periods of time with sexual torture and abuse."

Moody said that's one of the reasons she and Gov. Ron DeSantis have proposed new legislation to increase penalties for sexual predators, sentencing them to up to life in prison.

"Florida has zero tolerance," she said. "We will catch you and you will be put behind bars for a very long time."

"These people are deviants. They do not belong back in society again," said Nocco. "They're evil."

He asked that residents be diligent about sharing flyers of runaways distributed by the sheriff's office and urged them to call 855-FLA-SAFE if they have the slightest indication that a child is being victimized.