Cocoa Man Charged With Sex Trafficking And Child Enticement

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Kennedy “KJ” Harris, Jr. (22, Cocoa) with sex trafficking of a minor and child enticement.  If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. 

According to court documents, in January 2016, Harris took in a 16-year old girl, after she ran away from home.  He promised to keep her safe, and to clothe and feed her.  Instead, Harris took sexually suggestive photographs of the girl and posted ads online advertising her for sex. He also enticed the teen to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of photographing her.  Over the course of approximately two weeks, the victim had sex with four to five men per day, and gave the money she received to Harris.  On February 10, 2016, the victim was recovered by the Cocoa Police Department.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless,  and until, proven guilty.     

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cocoa Police Department.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany L. Cummins.