ROCKVILLE, Md. — Editor's note: The video above was originally published in April 2019.
A Rockville man was arrested by police in Silver Spring on Jan. 27 — thwarting his plans, at the time, to pick up and sexually exploit a trafficking victim, police say.
Montgomery County Police Department identified the man as 32-year-old Ernest Wilkerson and they are urging anyone else who may have been victimized by him to come forward.
According to MCPD, detectives have been investigating Wilkerson since December after a victim told police "she was sex trafficked by [him] in October 2021." Police did not provide further detail about the victim's allegations.
MCPD says Wilkerson was arrested Jan. 27 in the area of Heartfields Drive. He was in the area — according to investigators — because he was planning to pick up another victim and drive her to a hotel where he would sexually exploit her with other individuals.
Police say Wilkerson was driving a 2008 red Cadillac DTS. After Wilkerson was arrested he was taken to the Central Processing Unit and he is being held without bond, police say.
Investigators believe more people have been victimized by Wilkerson who have not yet reached out to authorities. They ask anyone with information to call MCPD's Vice and Intelligence Unit at 240-773-5958.