Texas couple trafficked teen girl in South Florida as ‘Cuban Doll,’ police say
Police arrested a Texas couple Friday after being accused of traveling to Miami-Dade County with a 17-year-old girl to solicit sex from clients, authorities said.
Miami-Dade police detectives said that around two months ago, Jayle Welch, 21 and Xavier Latrell Smith, 32, were recruiting young girls for sex work in Dallas when they met a 17-year-old victim.
According to the arrest report, Smith facilitated and arranged meetings with potential customers for prostitution.
Detectives received a tip from the FBI that both suspects and the victim may be in Miami-Dade and engaged in sex trafficking, authorities said.
Investigators said that commercial sex advertisements were also made with photos of the victim, referring to her as “Cuban Doll.”
Police said after receiving photos and video surveillance of the trio at a Budget Inn motel room, they were able to later locate them at Northwest 27th Avenue, an area known for commercial sex trafficking.
According to police, during their one-week stay in South Florida, the victim claimed to have made upward of $10,000 on prostitution dates, which she shared with the couple.
Officers took both Smith and Welch to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Official charges are pending.
