Cincinnati man sentenced to 13.5 years after pleading guilty to trafficking Indiana minors

INDIANAPOLIS — A Cincinnati man has been sentenced to 13.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking two minors from Indiana.

According to previous reports , Payton Brown was arrested in February 2023 and charged with two felony counts of sex trafficking of minors following an investigation that launched in October 2022.

Authorities later discovered two 16-year-olds in Brown’s home after they were reported to be missing from Indiana.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio previously reported that Brown met the victim on the online dating app 3Fun. Authorities went on to state that they uncovered evidence showing that the victim had sexual encounters with multiple men in exchange for money, with Brown pocketing all of the proceeds.

All of this was reportedly done after Brown uploaded images of the minor to an unspecified website between June and October 2022 advertising for “sexual encounters.”

A second victim was then picked up by Brown in Indianapolis and transported to his home in Cincinnati.

The plea deal also stipulates that Brown must pay $57,974.90 in restitution to the minor victim and his home must be forfeited. Any proceeds following the sale of the home will be distributed to the victim as restitution.

Under the terms of the plea deal, Brown is also prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. He would be violating the terms of the deal if he is found to have a controlled substance and will be required to complete one drug test within 15 days after being placed on supervised release and two additional drug tests at random intervals afterward.

The terms also mandate that Brown must satisfy all of the requirements to remain compliant with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

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