Prostitution has been around for many decades now, and its prevalence has made many people ignorant and accustomed to the practice as being part of today's culture.
However, teenage pimps running prostitution rings aren't something you hear or come across with normally. In fact, an unidentified 15-year-old boy - although reports refer to him as "D.H." - did just that, and even ran the operation out of his mom's house.
D.H. is currently facing a number of charges in Spokane, Washington "for his role in a lucrative prostitution ring after recorded phone conversations with his older brother ("T.H."), currently locked up in a juvenile detention center, revealed the complex inner workings of their makeshift business," as reported by Complex.
According to local news publication KHQ, the investigation began in February, after T.H. was arrested on a shooting charge after being involved in a shooting on January 26, near the Hillyard Safeway. Police claim that they overheard the arrested suspects threatening witness not to talk.
Keeping tabs on those threats, police decided to tap the phone lines in Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center - which prompted police to eventually find the prostitution case. KHQ reports:
"They say on recorded phone calls they heard T.H. telling D.H. how to run a prostitution ring, using, among others, the brothers' girlfriends as prostitutes. One of those girls, who was underage, has a child with T.H.
"Police say D.H. was using Backpage.com to advertise the girls, then would send them out to calls. According to court documents the brothers talked in code, saying things like "Make them think they're going to be reimbursed, even if they're not," and "Treat them right, that way they stay around, and make sure they do the calls."
Of course, the local authorities found the underage prostitutes on the website, and set up meetings with them. Apparently, the girls told them the "entire story" after finding out that the clients were police officers.
It was found that "a quarter of the money they made" went to D.H.'s mom, saving part of the money to bail out T.H., who had a bail set at $175,000. The mother would have needed to make $17,500 to make the bail.
D.H. is currently being held in Spokane County Jail with a $175,000 bond. Among the charges he is facing include exploiting a minor for sexual purposes, possession of depictions of minors, dealing sexually explicit material, promoting travel for the purpose of sex with minors, promoting sex with minors, conspiracy to promote travel for the purpose of sex with minors, and first degree robbery.
Meanwhile, T.H. is facing six counts of first degree assault with a firearm, promoting sex with a minor, promoting commercial sex abuse of a minor, leading organized crime, promoting prostitution, and conspiracy to promote commercial sex abuse of a minor.