3 Charged In Child Sex Trafficking Bust In South Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN -- Three people face a slew of charges from a child sex trafficking bust at a South Nashville hotel connected to a teen who went missing from Dekalb County in 2017.

Charles Denton, 35, Shelendia Pugh, 25, and Briane Ball, 20, all face multiple human trafficking charges, according to Davidson County court records.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

When the 15-year-old girl went missing from Dekalb County in 2017, a detective searched her Facebook page and allegedly found numerous messages between her and Denton.

Detectives allege Denton picked up the girl in August 2017 and then officers pinged his cell phone, which they located near the Interstate 24 interchange with Harding Place in the Wallace Road area. The TBI said the hotels in that area have been a hotbed of human trafficking arrests in recent years.

Officers say once they arrived at the Rodeway Inn, Denton began following them. Concurrently, an undercover detective responded to a Backpage ad, purporting to be a customer looking for sex.

The officer said he found two teenage girls on a bed in a hotel room when arrived and Pugh came out of the bathroom saying all three were there selling sex, according to the arrest report.

Officers then took the girls and Pugh into custody. Pugh allegedly said she was "helping the girls" by creating their Backpage ads and "managing" their monty. She also said she thought the girls were 19.

Ball reportedly admitted to "helping" Pugh with the girls, who were both taken into Department of Children's Services custody.

Image via Shutterstock