NC teen rescued during human trafficking sting in Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE — A 16-year-old from North Carolina who had been missing for more than two months was found during a human trafficking sting operation in Knox County, officials said.

(Left to right: Timothy King, Jesse McMinn, Tabitha Banks)

Timothy King, 27, Jesse McMinn, 20, both of Hickory and Tabitha Banks, 20, of Asheville, were arrested during the operation at a Holiday Inn in Knoxville.

Investigators found an advertisement on Backpage.com.

During the arrest, investigators found the missing teen inside King’s car, which was running in the parking lot.

The teen was missing from Asheville and was reunited with her family, officials said.

The FBI helped conduct the investigation, which also uncovered $2,708 in cash on King.

King faces charges for two counts of human trafficking, which is a felony. McMinn and Banks face charges for prostitution, a misdemeanor. Authorities say both McMinn and Banks were pregnant.

Kyra Fultz, 20, of Hickory, was charged with simple possession.

In addition, Rian O’Quinn, 25, of Knoxville was charged with prostitution and simple possession, Kayla Inmate, 25, of Rockwood, Tenn., was charged with prostitution. Anthony Vaughan, of Acworth, Georgia, was charged with criminal impersonation and will be extradited to Georgia for being a fugitive from justice on a probation violation.

Samantha Stransky, of Knoxville and Amanda Kosis, 29, of Detroit, were arrested on prostitution charges. Kosis is also wanted on a vehicular homicide charge in Detroit.

Cox Media Group