A Miami preacher is facing charges of human trafficking and sexual activity with a minor, among other charges, after allegedly luring a group of male teenagers into the sex trade on the false pretense that they could earn money by modeling.
According to news reports, Ron Maurice Cooper, also known in the trade as “Romeo”, initially met with the 16 to 18 year old aspiring models to get their photos taken. However, subsequent meetings would prove to be heinous. During a follow-up meeting, the boys purportedly believed they were at a hotel room for a photo shoot, but were rather informed that they were there to be forced to engage in commercial sex.
The 52-year-old preacher allegedly used websites including Backpage, Craigslist and Badoo to sell the boys as part of his sex-trafficking operation, and Cooper even sexually assaulted them himself. Reports also suggest he would use scare-tactics, drugs, and physical abuse to exploit his victims and earn a profit based on their sexual servitude.
Cooper was arrested and is currently being held in a Miami jail without bond.
This report is a cautionary tale. It is suspected that sex trafficking of men and boys is grossly underreported to the police despite being a prevalent problem. Though we often hear of women and girls being prostituted in high numbers, men and boys are victims of rape and trafficking as well. Thus, it is important to use inclusive terms when referring to victims of these horrific crimes. Men and boys need to be aware of and feel welcome to all victim services available to them. Until then, reporting rates of sex trafficking and rape of men and boys will remain incredibly and unfairly low.