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A Desert Hot Springs man accused of trafficking a 17-year-old girl in cities across Riverside and Los Angeles counties must stand trial on human trafficking of a minor and prostitution charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Cerious Mark Anthony Griffin, 24, was arrested last November by members of the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force after investigators found evidence that the victim, whose name will not be released, prostituted herself at Griffin’s direction last summer.

The arrest warrant was the culmination of a nearly three-month investigation that concluded that the teen was sexually trafficked via online advertisements in the areas of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Compton, Palmdale and Lancaster, according to sheriff’s Sgt. John Sawyer. Prosecutors say text messages between Griffin and the girl show he was supervising her prostitution activities.

Sheriff’s deputies found the girl inside Griffin’s home, according to a declaration filed in support of the arrest warrant. She has since been reunited with her family, Sawyer said.

Investigators said they believe Griffin may have used social media in an attempt to recruit additional victims, alleging Griffin used Facebook under the screen name “Ceejay Forever-foreign.”

Griffin, who’s being held on $500,000 bail, will return to court July 21 for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment.

— City News Service

Trafficking trial ordered: Teen girl sold for sex in 2 counties was last modified: by

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