Man found guilty of sex trafficking 2 teen runaways from Dayton group home
May 2—A federal jury convicted a Cincinnati man of sex trafficking and sexually exploiting two teens who reportedly had run away from a Dayton group home.
Kelly "Scorpio" Richards, 43, was also found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Ohio.
On Feb. 28, 2023, the two teens had plans to smoke marijuana with Richards, according to federal court records. When he pickd them up, he drove them to a Cincinnati apartment were he reportedly gave them cocaine and sexually assaulted them.
Richards also convinced the teens to have sex with other men for money, which was paid to Richards, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He allegedly created online prostitution advertisements that included explicit photos of the girls and was physically abusive to them.
"Court documents detail that one victim was prostituted up to four times per day in hotels and homes," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Richards was arrested on May 16, 2023.
Sexually exploiting children carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years and sex trafficking minors has a sentence of 10 year to life in prison. Richards is facing up to 15 years in prison for the illegal possession of a firearm conviction.
A date has not been set for his sentencing.
