BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Melbourne man will be thrown in jail as part of a human trafficking investigation this week, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
In a video posted to social media, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said that the man — identified as Antonio Granados, 26 — was responsible for trafficking a teenage girl.
“This guy... preyed upon a teenager,” Ivey explained. “He trafficked her. He prostituted her. And he emotionally and physically abused her for his own repulsive pleasure.”
Per the sheriff, the investigation kicked off on April 2 when a school resource deputy was approached by the victim’s mother, who said that her daughter claimed to have been sexually abused.
From there, detectives spoke with the victim, who pointed them toward Granados, Ivey stated.
“According to the victim, she actually met (Granados) through a mutual friend, and he immediately became extremely controlling and even set up a camera in her bedroom so that he could monitor her every move,” Ivey said.
Ivey further stated that the victim claimed to have been in a “forced and manipulated sexual relationship,” as well as that Granados forced her to commit sex acts well over 100 times across several locations throughout the county.
In addition, Granados had set up various meetings with other men to engage in sex acts with the victim, Ivey said. The victim was allegedly forced to have sexual activity with over 50 different men.
Sheriff Ivey added that investigators were able to identify one of Granados’ clients as Dashawn Edward, a corrections deputy who reportedly engaged in sex acts with the victim.
Edward was arrested on Saturday night and now faces a charge of unlawful sexual acts with certain minors.
Meanwhile, detectives said they spoke with Granados, who admitted to many of the accusations against him, Ivey said. That said, he denied knowing her age.
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But when detectives tried to arrest him on Tuesday, they discovered him in his bedroom trying to overdose on pills, Ivey reported.
Granados was later taken into custody at the hospital and now faces charges of human trafficking, promoting sexual performance by a child, four counts of possessing material depicting sexual conduct by a child, and 20 counts of unlawful sexual acts with certain minors.
“There’s only one place for someone who commits human trafficking, and that is the gates of Hell!” the sheriff’s office announced.