Woman Accused of Sex Trafficking

(Cleveland, Ohio) A local woman, Pearline Richardson, has been arrested to face federal sex trafficking charges.

A 40-year-old Cleveland woman planned to take a Cleveland teen, along with several other women, to Florida so she could offer them as prostitutes near military bases, according to federal court records.

Pearline Richardson was arrested Thursday and charged with sex trafficking of a minor after a 16-year-old contacted the Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes Cleveland Police, Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department and the Cleveland Office of the FBI.

Reportedly, Richardson is alleged to have prostituted women out of her home and had taken nude photos of the 16-year-old and posted them on an internet site, offering her and another woman for sex.

Richardson is in custody and scheduled to appear before a magistrate in federal court on Thursday.