St. Pete Woman Gets Life In Prison For Child Sex Trafficking

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg woman was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on Jan. 24 of human trafficking. Katilia Seymour, 35, was convicted of prostituting a 14-year-old girl in exchange for money.

Seymour, of 53rd Avenue South in St. Petersburg, was arrested on Oct. 28, 2016, after Pinellas County Sheriff's Office detectives began investigating on Oct. 20 when the victim told authorities what happened.

According to authorities, the girl ran away from her home on Oct. 2, 2016, and met Seymour while looking for a place to stay. Seymour rented a motel room for the victim, who agreed to have sex with men for money in exchange for the room, the release says.

Men responded to the advertisements on backpage.com, a now deleted website which was known for advertising prostitution. The ad included photos of the girl in underwear and men paid $180 to have sex with her, detectives said, over half of which Seymour took.

Detectives used "various investigative techniques" to corroborate the victim's allegations, they say. Seymour was interviewed at the Sheriff's Office building in Largo, then arrested and taken to jail without incident.

The victim was placed into the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Photo credit: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office booking photo