A 45-year-old Manchester woman accused of trafficking her 13 year old daughter has been charged.

The woman’s identity has not been released to protect the child.

Reports are that in September 2020, the woman went to a bar with her teen daughter to get alcoholic beverages, however, she was unable to pay.

In exchange for payment for the liquor she orchestrated the sexual assault of her child by multiple men at the bar.

Following the incident, the child fled her home and a report was made to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

The CPFSA brought the matter to the attention of police trafficking in persons unit in 2024 and an intense investigation was launched.

On Friday, February 21, the mother was arrested and following an interview, charged with child trafficking.

The incident remains under investigation as detectives work to identify and apprehend the other individuals involved in the crime.

Head of the TIP Unit Detective Inspector Kemisha Gordon said the arrest underscores the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s commitment to the protection of all citizens, especially children, against human trafficking.

She explained that a trafficker does not have a face, a particular way of dressing or a specific gender.

Inspector Gordon cautioned that traffickers are often people known to the victims and may even be someone they live with in the same house.

Noting that human trafficking is a violation of human rights that destroys lives and communities, Inspector Gordon reiterated the police’s commitment to relentlessly pursue individuals who prey on the vulnerable.

She stressed that no child should be subjected to exploitation and no perpetrator should go unpunished.

According to the trafficking in persons (prevention, suppression and punishment) act, the possible maximum sentence for trafficking a child is 30 years imprisonment.