BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue police arrested a Federal Way man this week suspected of sex trafficking two girls from Oregon.
According to the Bellevue Police Department, 25-year-old Ezra Wimana allegedly met the girls online, one of whom was 11 years old.
Police were first tipped off in early January, when BPD were alerted by an Eastern Oregon police department that a 15 and 11-year-old girl had gone missing. At the time, they were believed to be victims of human trafficking.
The girls had reportedly connected with Wimana on Instagram and Snapchat, who had allegedly transported them 300 miles from Oregon to Washington. After that, police say he forced them into prostitution along Seattle’s Aurora Avenue, before abandoning them on the side of the road “when he was dissatisfied with their performance.”
The two girls were eventually recovered by BPD detectives and officers at a Bellevue home and were returned to their parents.
Wimana now faces a list of charges, including second degree trafficking, promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, and third degree rape of a child. He currently sits in King County jail with bail set at $500,000.
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