Couple jailed on suspicion of sex trafficking Las Vegas girl, 16

A man and his girlfriend are being held in the Clark County Detention Center and face charges of sex trafficking a 16-year-old Las Vegas girl in January, jail records show.

Maurice Fitzgerald, 36, and Saundra Brown, 37, were arrested Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

According to an arrest report the Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained Friday, a 16-year-old girl was missing from Jan. 17 to Jan. 19. In early December, the girl met and befriended Fitzgerald and Brown. After spending time at Fitzgerald’s apartment, she later realized she’d left personal items there, the arrest report showed.

On Jan.17, Fitzgerald told the girl that he would bring her belongings to her house. When he arrived, he didn’t have her property with him but offered to give her a ride back to his house to pick up her belongings. After they arrived at his house, Fitzgerald refused to take the girl back from the apartment and she was forced to stay with Brown for two days.

The girl told officers Fitzgerald was violent; he spat on her, yelled at her and threatened her with a black handgun. Fitzgerald made the girl sell drugs and try to offer sex for money by walking near Stewart Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.

Fitzgerald posted four prostitution-related advertisements on Craigslist.org and Backpage.com from Dec. 7 to Jan. 19, using pictures he and Brown had taken of the girl, according to the arrest report. Fitzgerald reportedly told the girl she was “not the first 16-year-old girl” they’ve had.

On Jan. 18, Fitzgerald ordered the girl to perform sex acts on him and Brown and have sex with him, according to the arrest report.

On Jan. 19, the girl’s mother found her at Fitzgerald’s apartment through a friend’s help and took her to University Medical Center for evaluation.

On Tuesday, Metro’s SWAT teams entered Fitzgerald’s apartment after a search warrant had been issued. Officers found Brown, Fitzgerald and the black handgun the girl had described.

Brown denied having sexual contact with the girl, posting the pictures for the purpose of prostitution, working as a prostitute and knowing whether she was involved in prostitution. Before Fitzgerald could be questioned, he requested an attorney, the arrest report said.

Fitzgerald has a history of sexual assault, burglary convictions, arrests and parole violations.

Fitzgerald and Brown were booked on first-degree kidnapping, trafficking of a child younger than 18, child abuse or neglect, sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon and ownership or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.

Contact Jessica Terrones at jterrones@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @JessATerrones on Twitter.