Four men indicted for allegedly running & participating in Sex Trafficking Operation in Chatham County

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - New details are being released about an alleged sex trafficking ring in Chatham County that investigators say involved a 15-year-old girl rescued last fall.

Four men are now facing charges in connection with the case.

In October, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference announcing the rescue of the teen, who deputies said was being trafficked around Savannah.

At the time, the Sheriff’s Office also announced the arrest of the man they said trafficked her and said the investigation would continue.

Investigators say the trafficking allegedly happened in the I-95 and Highway 204 corridor at a hotel in the area.

Since the initial arrest, the Human Trafficking and Criminal Investigations Division has reviewed surveillance footage, cell phone records, burner phones, and texting apps as part of the ongoing investigation.

Thirty-year-old Iven Richardson, of Alabama, was arrested and identified by deputies as the teen’s trafficker.

Another man, Andrew Samuel Carter, has since been indicted for trafficking the girl and aggravated child molestation. Deputies say Carter also benefited financially from the teen being trafficked.

“Mr. Andrew Carter, who not only engaged in sexual activities with the minor in question, but also provided some benefits to the minor and took a little bit more of a role other than just someone who was a client, or we’ll refer to as a ‘john’ in this case, and so he was charged accordingly with that,” said Captain Gene Harley, Commander of the Criminal Investigations Division with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.

Franklin Thorpe and Malik Anderson have also been indicted. Investigators say both men paid to be customers and were charged with trafficking and the sex acts committed during that time.

Anderson was out on bond following an arrest in a dog-fighting case. Find that coverage here.

“When we looked at the essential clients-- or the ‘johns’, we identified a number of people, and currently we have arrested two of those, one being Mr. Malik Anderson and Mr. Franklin Thorpe. Again, the investigation to the johns remains ongoing, and we’re hopeful to make additional arrests in that case,” said Captain Harley.

He further clarified why in addition to the sex crimes charges, the two ‘johns’ were also being charged with human trafficking.

“I think when we talk about human trafficking, what’s very important for people to know is that even if you have a case where you have a minor child, and even if this person is, say, 15 years of age, and they may look to be older, like they’re 18 years of age, the law gives no leniency with that So to not know that they are a minor is irrelevant in the law. And so if you perform in this act, you are subject to a human trafficking charge, regardless if your intent was to have a sexual encounter with a minor,” explained Captain Harley.

Captain Harley said the law does not allow leniency in cases involving minors, regardless of whether someone claims they did not know the person was underage.

“This investigation is regarding the follow-up after the successful rescuing of the 15-year-old female who came here from another state. In that particular investigation, the 15-year-old female was trafficked from another state to the Savannah-Chatham County area, specifically I-95 and 204 corridor, where she was in exchange, forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for money. As we furthered that investigation, we were to quickly identify the main person responsible for the human trafficking, Iven Richardson, who’s also referred to as a pimp, because he was the person who was kind of overseeing everything, supplying her various needs. For example, shelter, food, and some money following the acts. So he essentially had control of her and controlled all of her movements, even when he was not physically present with her."

Captain Gene Harley, Commander Criminal Investigations

Investigators say the teen immediately received resources locally before being taken back to her home state.

Technological evidence will play a big role in this case.

“We were able to obtain surveillance video from the hotel, but not only that, but even surveillance video from the immediate area, as well as other law enforcement tools that are available to us to be able to track people’s movements and show that it was in fact the said person at the said location at said time. And I think that’s very important for people to know that despite how strongly they may try to mask their efforts, in more cases than not, we’re still going to find out who it was, what they were doing at what time, and where they were doing it at,” said Captain Harley.

The cases for these men will continue through the court system and we will follow them as they come to a conclusion.