Indianapolis man charged with forcing kids to sell candy for profit
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WISH) — An Indianapolis man faces 13 criminal charges after he allegedly brought 12 Indiana children younger than 14 to Kentucky to sell candy for him for profit, Kentucky authorities said Tuesday.
The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office charged Shawn Floyd, 54, with 13 misdemeanors: 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and a count of controlled substance prescription not in original container.
Bowling Green, Kentucky, police began questioning Floyd during a traffic stop Friday. Floyd was detained, and 12 children were placed in protective custody.
In addition to selling the candy, Floyd also forced the 12 children to sleep in one hotel room with three adults, the attorney general said in a news release. The children also were forced to buy their own meals and water.
The youngest child was 11, the release said. It did not mention the ages of the other children, but Kentucky labor law requires a person to be at least 14 years old to be employed.
On Friday, the attorney general’s office had been notified of about 25 solicitor permits issued in Bowling Green, mostly for minors. The office had also received information referencing Floyd for possible human trafficking of minors occurring in Anderson, Jessamine and Warren counties in Kentucky and Daviess and Fayette counties in Indiana over the past two years. The office said it had an open investigation involving Floyd prior to the filing of charges.
Floyd was arraigned Monday and has a pretrial conference set for 9 a.m. Sept. 4 in Warren County, Kentucky. He has bonded out of the Warren County, Kentucky, Regional Jail in Bowling Green, according to online records.
Anyone who have information on people being exploited for commercial sex or labor can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 (or text 233733) for immediate assistance. Interpreters are available.
