FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — An 18-year-old Flowery Branch man has been charged in connection with the disappearance of one of the girls seen in the S.O.A.P. sex trafficking poster at hotels around metro Atlanta.
According to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, Jesse Brian Quintanilla has been arrested for unlawful interference with child custody after he left with a 16-year-old girl seen in the posters.
The sheriff's office says the victim in this case, who is now 17, was reported to be at home with her mother on Sunday.
Hall County investigators obtained a warrant last September. He surrendered to authorities on Monday, Jan. 29 and booked into the Hall County Jail on this warrant as well as on an outstanding warrant on an unrelated case.
There is no indication, at this point, that she was involved in any form of human trafficking, according to police.
"The victim and Mr. Quintanilla were acquainted and she left with him willingly on September 11, 2018," said Lt. Scott Ware of the Hall County Sheriff's Office. "Sheriff's Investigators are still working on the case specifically where the couple has been for the past several months, so yes, there is the potential for further charges."
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S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) is still working to bring attention to child sex trafficking in Georgia to light. It is a disturbing national trend that often thrives in secret alongside major national events like the Super Bowl.
S.O.A.P. National holds outreach programs across the nation and provides resources to high-risk areas and motels.
The group's efforts have already been successful.
Along with the list of teens on the poster is a number to call -- the Human Trafficking Hotline Number -- 1-888-3737-888 or 1-800-THE-LOST.
This particular case remains under investigation by the Hall County Sheriff's Office.