Deschutes DA: No human trafficking charges in Bend arrests

(Update: Comment from DA Hummel; statement from In Our Backyard)

Police make traffic stop of stolen car, seize drugs, forged IDs

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A missing 15-year-old Portland girl who Bend police say apparently was being groomed for the sex trade was rescued and two Portland-area residents were arrested in a southeast Bend traffic stop of a stolen car on Christmas Eve, police said Wednesday.

Police began a human trafficking investigation Tuesday morning in the area of Southeast Murphy Road, Sgt. Joe Pacheco said.

Around 1:20 p.m., police stopped a stolen silver 2009 Dodge Charger near the intersection of Southeast Murphy Road and Country Club Drive, Pacheco said.

Inside the car were driver Jennifer Johnson, 40, of Portland, along with two passengers: Tyler Ford, 29, of Gresham and the Portland teen, who had been reported missing.

Police seized heroin and methamphetamine from the car, along with numerous stolen and forged ID documents, several linked to Portland-area thefts, Pacheco said. Among other crimes, Ford was found to be in violation of a court restraining order for being in contact with the girl in the car, he added.

“Throughout the course of the investigation, Bend police developed reason to believe that the 15-year-old female was being groomed for work in the commercial sex trade,” Pacheco said in a news release. ”No one was injured during this investigation, and the juvenile is now safe.”

Johnson and Ford remained held Thursday at the Deschutes County Jail and made initial court appearances.

Johnson was arrested on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, prostitution, methamphetamine possession and 10 counts each of identity theft, first-degree forgery and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Her initial bail totaled $320,000.

The DA's initial charging document filed Thursday for Johnson lists just three counts: One each of ID theft, prostitution and methamphetamine possession. Her bail was reduced to $35,000.

Ford was held on $20,000 bail, charged with felony heroin possession and violation of a restraining order (contempt of court). The initial charging document Thursday only listed the drug charge, as Hummel said authorities were verifying the order and the details involved.

Although Bend police said they believed it was a case of human trafficking, the arrest charges did not list that, only one of prostitution involving Johnson, and District Attorney John Hummel did not add such charges in Thursday's initial charging document.

"We're not filing any human trafficking charges, at this point, because we have insufficient evidence the child was being trafficked, but the investigation is ongoing," Hummel told NewsChannel 21.

Bend police thanked J Bar J Youth Services and the state Department of Human Services Child Welfare for their help in the investigation.

Asked by NewsChannel 21 for a statement, the following was provided by Nita Belles, founder and executive director of In Our Backyard, a Redmond-based nonprofit that fights human trafficking:

"It is a tragedy what has happened to this 15-year-old victim. I’m grateful for J Bar J and DHS stepping in to provide her the support and services she deserves.

"She and many other victims whose lives have been damaged by traffickers in our area deserve to be protected from this atrocity and the perpetrators that operate in our community. I am grateful for the wise police work of Bend Police and that they recognized this situation for what it really was and took appropriate action."

"In Our Backyard has been fighting this atrocity in Central Oregon by cooperating with law enforcement, creating awareness, training and prevention since 2009 and we are sorely aware that human trafficking is prevalent here.

"It is our hope that our law enforcement will be given the funding and tools needed to do their job and that traffickers and sex buyers will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We must send a strong message to this criminal element that we know they are here and we will not tolerate our children or adults being victimized with what is, in my opinion, the worst crime on planet Earth. 

"For more information about this crime, go to www.inourbackyard.org."