WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- The Southeast D.C. couple who allegedly ran an underage prostitution ring out of their apartment are now facing more charges.
Police say the couple didn't just force a 14-year-old girl to have sex for money against her will, but a 15-year-old and 16-year-old too.
The sad fact is, if you take a look at the hundreds of ads selling young girls on websites like Backpage it might seem buyers are easy to find. But if something doesn't give soon, crucial services that could save these girls, could be much harder to find.
Andrea Powell of the non-profit advocacy group FAIR Girls is helping several of the up to 7 women police say were being pimped by 35-year-old Daraya Marshall and his 28-year-old girlfriend Jarnese Harris. But, due to funding shortages, the services her organization provides could disappear.
"The first step is to try and make sure that the girl or young woman is safe, that's getting her access to medical care, working with Children's Medical and other hospitals, offering her food, shelter, and a safe house, if she's over the age of 18," Powell said.
FAIR Girls has one of the only safe houses for victims to stay at in the country. But, like many non-profits, Fair Girls is facing a crisis. Powell says cash is tight, and donors are late. And their services have never been in higher demand.
"If we had to close our doors, we would really see a loss in this city for services for young women and girls who are trying to survive one of the most horrible human rights violations there is, which is sex trafficking," Powell said.
Powell says FAIR Girls helps more than 100 girls a year, ranging in age from 11 to 26.
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