Local

Man accused of forcing girl into prostitution at Pineville hotel

PINEVILLE, N.C. — The FBI arrested a man accused of driving a girl from Florida to the Charlotte area and forcing her into prostitution.

Pineville police got a call from a woman in Georgia Wednesday saying her daughter was held against her will at the Comfort Suites, according to court documents.

Police found the girl in the room with Thomas Stinnette.

(Thomas Stinnette)

Stinnette posted ads on BackPage and admitted to the FBI that he drove the girl from Florida to Charlotte and knew she was going to be prostituting.

He added that he bought her food, gave her condoms and got her a hotel room.

Eyewitness News talked to managers at the hotel where this happened. They said they were stunned and did their best to accommodate and cooperate with authorities.

"Our biggest concern was the safety of the young girl," said Jayul Gandhi, vice president of operations.

The complaint said the victim agreed to prostitution because she needed money. Kimberly Perkins, executive director of Lily Pad Haven, a nonprofit dedicated to helping victims, said that's typical in sex trafficking cases.

"There's a lot of fear. She is scared for her life," she said.

After Eyewitness News talked to Perkins and hotel management, they met and agreed that staff at Lily Pad Haven will provide training for two of their properties so they can identify signs and help fight against human trafficking.

"People need to understand it's happening here," Perkins said.

Eyewitness News requested the log of police reports for the last three years at the hotel and did not find any other reports of prostitution arrests.