A harrowing chase through the heart of Miami late Thursday night ended with the capture of a man accused of grooming a 15-year-old girl for sex trafficking. Sterling Henderson, 39, of Decatur, Georgia, was arrested following a car chase, crash, and subsequent foot pursuit, as reported by Local10. The teenager was found severely injured in the car after Henderson crashed it in the city's Edgewater neighborhood.
While rescuing the teen from the wreck, Miami police unearthed a troubling narrative. Having enticed the girl from her home state to South Florida, Henderson became the focus of an extended investigation launched by Georgia's DeKalb County Police Department, who, according to a TopicNews report, notified Miami detectives that the girl was likely being maneuvered into a trafficking ring.
The situation escalated when a Miami-Dade detective spotted Henderson's vehicle and attempted to intercept. In a frenetic attempt to escape, Henderson threw the vehicle into reverse, prompting a high-speed chase. During the pursuit, several traffic lights and light poles were struck, causing one pole to hit another driver, detailed by Local10. The chase ended with Henderson crashing and trying to flee on foot.
Miami police stated that after being apprehended, Henderson invoked his Fifth Amendment right when questioned about any sexual relationship with the minor. He was hit with a number of felony charges, including leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury and child neglect causing great bodily harm. "He plea(d)s the Fifth," Henderson reportedly told detectives when asked about the nature of his interactions with the girl, according to the police report obtained by TopicNews. He is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The distressed teen was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. In a wrenching testament to the ordeal, police relayed that following the crash, she managed to drag herself out of the sunroof, despite her injuries. Additional charges Henderson faces include misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and resisting arrest, as well as traffic violations for driving without a license and reckless driving.
