Police: Tennessee Man Allegedly ‘passed off’ 15-Year-Old Girl to Other Men in Kentucky for Sex

(The AEGIS Alliance) – OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY – A man from Tennessee was arrested on Monday evening in Owensboro, Kentucky, police said he was involved in sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl.

A woman called the Kentucky State Police and said she was following a vehicle that her 15-year-old was inside of who had been missing. The woman followed the vehicle into a gas station parking located near Owensboro at the KY-54. State Police arrived at the scene and removed Steven Hargrove, age 40, and the 15-year-old girl out of the vehicle, according to court filings obtained by WDRB.

The teenager had snuck out of her bedroom window earlier that day and ran away from home with Hargrove. She admitted to being in a sexual relationship with Hargrove for a period of time. Initially, she lied to Hargrove about how old she was, but he still had sexual relations with the teen after he discovered she was underage.

The pair were meeting up to have sex over time in different locations in Daviess County and Owensboro. Police allege that Hargrove would “pass off” the teenage girl to other men in Kentucky and nearby states to have sex with her. Police said the girl told them Hargrove was giving her gifts that included money, dogs, and some other items in exchange.

Steven Hargrove has been charged with promoting the human trafficking of a victim under 18 years old.

An official with the Kentucky State Police said additional charges could be yet to come and that more people could also face charges.

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.