Juvenile Sex Trafficking Case Prompts Arrest Of Nottingham Man: Police

NOTTINGHAM, MD — A Nottingham man faces a sex trafficking charge after he was accused of paying a minor for sex, reports said.

The Baltimore County Police Department said Thursday that it arrested Miracle Elendu, 28.

Elendu met one of the victims, a 16-year-old girl, when he offered her a ride in his pickup truck while she was waiting for a bus, court documents said, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The Baltimore Sun reported that the documents said the two then had sex for $40 in cash and continued to text each other afterward. They also had sex at Elendu's Baltimore County home and at nearby hotels in exchange for money, court papers alleged, according to The Sun.

Citing the case file, The Sun said the parent of the girl reported that the teen had received electronic payments of $30 and $50, raising suspicion. The parent tracked the girl's phone and saw that she had been visiting hotels in the 1600 block of Whitehead Court in Baltimore and in the 8800 block of Loch Raven Boulevard in Towson, the court documents say, per The Sun.

"We did receive information from someone close to the juvenile, and that's where our investigation started," Baltimore County police spokesperson Detective Trae Corbin told WJZ.

WJZ reported that the court documents said that another female victim, 14, was asked to have sex with Elendu, but she refused.

Online court records allege that the offenses happened between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1.

Elendu's case file says he is up against eight charges. The file says three are felonies: sexual solicitation of a minor, attempted second-degree rape and sex trafficking-take/cause.

Elendu was arrested on Monday, and Judge Marsha L. Russell on Tuesday ordered him to be held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center until his trial, the records say.

"Due to the method in which Elendu initially contacted his victims, investigators believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward," the Baltimore County Police Department said in a press release. "Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Baltimore County Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720."

Elendu is represented by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which declined Patch's request for a comment.