Authorities say man ran prostitution operation
Women lured to area ended up in what some call modern-day slavery.
Robert Atlee Miner V, 27, lured women to Florida for work as dancers, authorities say; he’s charged with human trafficking.
Robert Atlee Miner V’s online advertisements promised women the lure of relocating to “beautiful, sunny” South Florida and the opportunity to earn up to a $1,000 a day working as dancers and escorts. He promised them cars and places to live.
But instead, the 27-year-old man used fear and intimidation to force the women to work as prostitutes in various motels — some of them in Palm Beach County — and keep all of the money for himself, authorities alleged in arresting him Sunday on charges of human trafficking, a crime some have called modern-day slavery.
Miner was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges that include human trafficking, armed sexual battery and money laundering, as well as multiple charges related to running a prostitution business. Judge Caroline Shepherd on Monday delayed Miner’s first-appearance hearing on the charges until today so he can have an attorney present.
Miner’s arrest was announced as a joint effort of the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Broward County Sheriff ’s Office and the FBI.
“The facts of this case are appalling — that anyone is charged with forcing another human being into the sex trade,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a prepared statement.
Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute the case with the assistance of the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.
Palm Beach County records do not show a prior criminal history for Miner. Bondi’s office says Miner lives in Coral Springs but jail records list a Miami Beach address. If convicted, he would face up to life in prison.
Miner is the 11th man in Palm Beach County to be charged this year with human trafficking. The county task force was formed in January to help local law-enforcement agencies focus on the crime.
Investigators say that since January 2015, Miner has operated several businesses claiming to be escort services, using names such as Exotic Talent Team, Candy Girls of Miami and Red Rose Companions. Despite there being no record of Miner having a legitimate source of income, he consistently made large cash deposits, totaling more than $225,000, into Chase and Wells Fargo bank accounts, authorities said.
Authorities say Miner used the website Backpage to recruit women from several states, typically those in their late teens or early 20s, and he also used the site to advertise them for sexual services. Over the course of several months, investigators interviewed several women who described acts of deception and intimidation by Miner, according to an arrest affidavit provided by the Attorney General’s Office. He would take their IDs to make it difficult for them to leave.
One woman told investigators that Miner raped her at knifepoint and subsequently forced her to prostitute herself, according the affidavit. One told investigators Miner flew her to Las Vegas to be prostituted and directed her to get a tattoo of his name branded onto her arm. According to the arrest affidavit, Miner is accused of the offense of branding.
On at least one occasion, Miner told a woman that he had a gun and would “make sure something bad” would happen to her if she disobeyed him, authorities said.
He offered a “program” in which he would help the women obtain a car and a condominium after they earned $20,000 in a month, investigators said. But his victims were forced instead to live in hotels, investigators said.
According to the affidavit, in May 2015 Miner paid for a homeless 18-year-old woman to fly from Rochester, N.Y., to Fort Lauderdale after she applied for work as a dancer. The woman told investigators Miner picked her up from the airport and drove her to a DoubleTree Hotel in Palm Beach County, where she conducted prostitution appointments over two days.
In July 2016, a 19-year-old woman told West Palm Beach police that Miner recruited and duped her into prostitution in both Palm Beach and Broward counties, including a La Quinta Inn in Palm Beach County.