Raul Brown, a/k/a “JB” Arrested For Child Exploitation

WELLINGTON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2023) — A young girl from Africa was exploited by a Wellington man who identifies himself as a “pimp”.

Detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office say that a two year investigation has led to the arrest of Raul Brown on several charges including Human Trafficking Of A Minor For Commercial Sexual Activity, Promoting A Sexual Performance By A Child, and Deriving Support From The Proceeds Of Prostitution.

The investigation started in June of 2021 when detectives first interviewed a victim who was just 17-year-old at the time. The girl moved to the United States, leaving her mother in Africa, in hopes of going to school.

The girl said that she first met Raul Brown, also known as J.B., only two weeks after arriving in the U.S. The victim says she was just sixteen years old at the time. She along with her aunt were walking in the Courtyard Shops strip mall when they were approached by J.B.

During the initial meeting, J.B. engaged in casual conversation with victim and her aunt. It should be noted that her aunt initially introduced the victim to J.B. as “my sixteen-year-old niece.” The three continued to converse ultimately leading to the exchange of phone numbers between the victim and J.B. The victim recalls thinking that J.B. was that he seemed a lot older than her, probably between the ages of late 30’s and early 40’s. The girl agreed to exchange numbers with J.B. because she was new in the country with no friends.

Eventually, the aunt, who the victim defines as an alcoholic, gets into legal trouble and is unable to care for the girl. The girl says she had no choice but to move in with J.B. The girl says that for 4 days nothing bad happened to her and that she was treated “real nice just like a guest.”

The girl’s mother was eventually able to move the girl to Washington state. While the 17-year-old girl was away, J.B. and her would stay in contact. J.B. eventually solicited the girl send him photographs of her “playing with herself.” J.B. told the girl that she will get paid hundreds of dollars for the video but admitted she doesn’t even know if she ever got paid for the images.

J.B. told her she could make more money working with his sister in the restaurant business. The girl agreed to come stay with J.B. in Florida so she can make more money. The girl moved back into J.B.’s house, located at 13752 Yarmouth Drive, in Wellington. The girl said there were already four or five other women living there. The girl remembered seeing what can be described as a “stripper pole” inside the home.

When she asked bout working in the restaurant business, J.B. told her “that job didn’t work out but I have another one for you.” The girl was upset and felt that J.B. had tricked her into traveling back to Florida for the job in the restaurant industry. She felt taken advantage of and stranded. By this point, the girl had no relationship with her aunt who she originally stayed with, no source of income or means to support herself, no place to live, and she didn’t have enough money to purchase a plane ticket back home.

Due to a clerical error made in her original country, her passport showed that she was 18-year-old. To spite knowing she was actually 17, J.B. took the girl to get her Adult Entertainment license. The girl recalls that he paid for it but did not actually go to the appointment with her.

JB started to teach her how to dance in a “sexy” manner. She auditioned at the Rose, Spearmint Rhino, and Ultra’s Cabernet. After her first night of being employed as an exotic dancer at just 17 years of age, the girl reported making approximately $300.00. Of the $300.00 she was instructed to have $150.00 ready for J.B. upon being picked up at the end of her shift.

“He forced me to strip/dance and then give him my money”, the girl tells investigators. J.B. would collect 50% of all earned income from the girl and the other women inside the home. The girl said that J.B. wanted her to work even when she was on her menstrual cycle, telling her to “just dance with bottoms on.”

Shortly after being introduced “into the life” of commercial sex trade, the girl said she, along with the other girls, had to participate in pre-arranged “plays.” According to investigators, a “play” is a pre-arranged date where a male would pay, in U.S. currency, for sexual services rendered. The “plays” had varying fees starting at $200.00 for 30 minutes. The average fee for a “play” was between $400.00-$600.00.

The girl says she participated in “around 5” plays while living with J.B who would “coach” her throughout the setting up of the “plays” in order to secure a paying customer while working at the strip clubs. The girl told investigators that she lost her virginity to a male who had paid to have sex with her in the Ultra Strip Club. The girl cried as she came to the
realization that her first time having sexual intercourse was a result of a business transaction.

J.B. transported the girl to and from her “plays” and strip clubs in Palm Beach and
Broward Counties, including but not limited to, Ultra Gentlemen’s Club located at 312
South Congress Avenue, The Rose Gentlemen’s Club located at 4458 Purdy Lane,
Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club located at 2154 Zip Code Place, and the Booby Trap
located at 2840 Hammondville Road, Pompano Beach, Florida.

The girl told investigators that she was scared of J.B. She recalled a time when another girl was kicked out of the home for stealing from him. The girl said J.B. pushed the other girl out forcefully, hit her, and threw her belongings in the yard.

The girl said she did not want to have sex or strip for money but J.B. has threatened her, saying if she doesn’t do it she will be homeless.

The girl reports that she felt trapped, saying “I had nothing and no one.” The girl was said to have formed a “trauma bond” with J.B. A Trauma Bond occurs when an abuser uses manipulation tactics and cycles of abuse to make the victim feel dependent on them for care and validation, causing a strong attachment or bond.

After around two or three months of being under J.B.’s control and direction, the girl decided she had enough and was able to convince herself to run away with a few of the women who lived in the home. Shortly thereafter, she encountered law enforcement as a result of an unrelated investigation.

After initially leaving J.B., the girl was placed in DCF custody. She ran away two times and eventually ended up in a toxic, romantic relationship with an uninvolved individual. She
became pregnant and again felt that she had no other option to support herself, so she returned back to J.B. The girl said she felt desperate and needed to make money. J.B. threatened to kick the pregnant girl out of his home if she did not make money.

Brown was arrested on Saturday, August 30th, 2023 and charged with the following:

• 787.06(3g) Human Trafficking Of A Minor For Commercial Sexual Activity
• 827.071(3) Promoting A Sexual Performance By A Child
• 796.05 Deriving Support From The Proceeds Of Prostitution