Charles Wade, a Black Lives Matter activist, was reportedly charged in connection with alleged sex trafficking after being arrested in Maryland in April,
according to an article posted by The Daily Caller on Thursday.
Wade, who created the nonprofit Help or Hush during the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, was reportedly arrested on charges that he hired out a 17-year-old girl for prostitution in College Park, Maryland, St. Louis'
KTVI-TV reported, citing court records.
Wade, 33, was arrested in April during a sting operation in Maryland's Prince George's County, police
told the New York Daily News.
Citing an arrest report, The Daily Caller reported that he was freed after posting $25,000 in bail on April 27. He could spend up to 25 years in prison and be fined up to $15,000 if convicted, wrote the news website.
According to The Daily Caller, a police report stated that undercover detectives questioned a female after responding to a website ad on Backpage.com. That led them to a Howard Johnson motel, and, during the interview, the female told authorities she was 17, and also identified Wade as her "manager."
The female charged, according to The Daily Caller's citation of the police report, that Wade knew she was a minor and that she gave him all of the money she was paid.
As Fox News noted, Wade posted a defense on Twitter, saying that he merely provided the girl a place to stay and claimed that he was duped to thinking that she was older.
"Hindsight is 20/20, and in my desire to help her as she was displaced, I did not protect myself," Wade wrote in the Twitter statement. "As I did not know her or her prior behavior other than substance abuse that I was told she had 'kicked.'"
Wade charged that "trolls" were contacting conservative media outlets to do a story on his arrest, forcing him to make a public statement. He said he believed that he will be cleared of all charges.
In 2014, Wade, a former fashion stylist, was
highlighted by The Washington Post as one of the Ferguson protest organizers who raised $5,000 to support those rallying against the police department.
Citing Maryland court records, The New York Daily News wrote that Wade's trial is scheduled for June 3.
Related Stories: