MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has been arrested in Florida, accused of forcing a woman he met at a South Florida mall into prostitution in three states.
Brandon Williams, 43, was arrested at a pawnshop in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Oct. 24, 2023, and charged with human trafficking, deriving proceeds from the support of prostitution, felon in possession of a firearm, interference with custody, false imprisonment, and battery.
According to the Miami police affidavit, officers there found the victim Oct. 10 after responding to reports of a woman screaming at a Miami Springs hotel. They found the victim with a bloody nose, carrying her 1-year-old daughter.
The victim told investigators Williams had punched her in the nose “because she didn’t want to keep prostituting herself.” Police said a second woman identified as a witness was in the hotel room with the victim but did not see anything because she was in the shower, according to the affidavit.
The victim told investigators she had met Williams, who she said went by ‘GM’ – short for ‘Gold Mouth,’ while visiting her sister in South Florida. She told investigators they met at a mall and he approached as someone interested in dating her, and they exchanged numbers.
According to the affidavit, the victim said they began to hang out, then one time after picking up the victim and her daughter, Williams asked if she ever prostituted herself. When she said no, the victim said Williams responded, “Look, I am a pimp, and I can put you down on some game.” She said he then drove her to an area known for prostitution and told her she had to work for him and would have to “pay my fee of $5,000” if she wanted out. The victim told police she feared for her and her daughter’s safety and complied. She told investigators Williams would keep her daughter in his vehicle while making her work.
The victim told police Williams would beat her whenever she repeatedly told him she didn’t want to prostitute herself, that he kept her identification and would not return it, and would track her through a phone app, according to the affidavit.
The victim said Williams brought her to Memphis and New Orleans and forced her to prostitute herself, charging $100 for any sex acts, and Williams would keep the money. She said they would travel back and forth between the two cities.
According to the affidavit, the victim said once at a Memphis hotel, Williams beat her and threatened to keep her daughter when she said she wanted to leave. Police said text messages between the victim and her mother corroborated the incident.
The victim told investigators they went back to Florida, stopping in Orlando where they met the witness. The victim said Williams took pictures of the two, posting ads online for prostitution, but got no responses, so they drove back to Miami.
The victim told police Williams had a handgun and tried to get her to buy another one for him, but she refused. She told them Williams would often keep a gun in the witnesses’ bag, and according to the affidavit, a gun was found in one of those bags. Investigators said the witness admitted the gun belonged to Williams.
Investigators said license plate readers caught William’s vehicle in Orlando on Oct. 11, then in Memphis on Oct. 14, and while a warrant was being prepared, they found Williams had been arrested Oct. 24 at a pawnshop in Miami on a warrant out of Texas for a gun charge.
According to Miami-Dade County inmate records, Williams is being held there on a bond of $51,500.
