Man accused of sex trafficking 15-year-old, woman
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A Minneapolis man is accused of sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl, as well as a woman.
Lerell Levell Smart, 27, was charged in Ramsey County Court with two counts of engaging in sex trafficking — one of the counts has been modified to say the victim was a minor.
According to a criminal complaint, authorities received a report of a missing 15-year-old in November of 2022. The girl’s mother said that right before her daughter went missing, she said she was being sex trafficked.
The victim told her mother that she was being forced to engage in sexual acts with men for money and that her trafficker posted sex advertisements of her online. She said that her trafficker used a Text Now account to speak with potential buyers.
The victim’s mother said that before her daughter went missing, she found messages on her Text Now account from potential sex buyers requesting sex acts for money, court documents state. The mother also showed police the Facebook page of the trafficker, who was later identified as Smart.
While investigating, police found sex advertisements of the 15-year-old, as well as advertisements for a woman.
Police interviewed the teen on Jan. 12, 2023, and she said she met a man on Facebook in October of 2022 who goes by “Hell Rell.” She said he lived near Golden Valley Road in Minneapolis near a Wally’s store. Smart’s address came up as being across from Wally’s, court documents state.
The 15-year-old said Smart asked her if she wanted to make money and then photographed her and posted sex ads of her online. According to court documents, she added that in one month, she had to meet around 40 men to perform sexual acts in exchange for money. She said all her money went to Smart.
Authorities found Facebook messages between the 15-year-old and Smart speaking about her selling sexual acts for money and coordinating meetups with buyers.
In April of 2023, authorities spoke to the second victim, an adult, who said Smart trafficked her for a few months around the same time as the 15-year-old. According to court documents, she said she would have to perform sex acts for money and would have to give 90% of the money to Smart.
Officers found messages between the woman and Smart discussing sex buyers and him requesting money from the meetups.
The woman also identified Smart in a photo line-up, stating she was “a million percent sure” he was her trafficker.