ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WSVN) — A father in Albuquerque, New Mexico is facing charges after he was accused of forcing his 7-year-old daughter into prostitution for drugs.
According to KRQE, police arrested James Stewart, charging him with human trafficking and promoting prostitution, among other charges.
School officials called police in November after they noticed several red flags with Stewart’s daughter.
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The child reportedly made strange comments like “Mom and I hustle” and “Mom made me hustle last night.”
However, KRQE reports the biggest concern arose after the girl showed up to school disheveled and smelling of urine. When a teacher took the child to the bathroom to change her clothes, they found dried blood on the girl’s underwear, leading them to believe she had been sexually assaulted.
Albuquerque Police and New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department conducted a welfare check at the girl’s home. However, they determined “there was nothing to cause concern of abuse.”
Soon after the welfare check, the girl got dropped off at school by a stranger and she was wearing “high-heels, press-on nails and had her makeup and hair professionally done,” KRQE reports.
The child was later taken out of the school by her mother in March, but a nurse called the Attorney General’s Office and reported her concerns, leading to officers arresting the girl’s father.
Now, the girl and her brother have been taken into protective custody.
In her interview with police, the girl reportedly told officers her father “forces her to touch men and women.” In exchange, he would get drugs, like “weed and pipes and other stuff.”
The child’s mother, Teri Sanchez, is also under investigation and has been charged with child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Child Services said they are now conducting an internal review and said the right people will be held accountable if something was done wrong.
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