Woman accused of helping teen become prostitute gets a trial date
A woman accused of helping a teen girl leave Tennessee and engage in prostitution in Texarkana, Ark., was set for a January jury trial by a Miller County judge on Tuesday.
A sh ley Elizabeth Hatfield, 27, was in court for arraignment Tuesday before Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson. However, a member of the Public Defender’s Office asked for a continuance and a trial setting in the case. Johnson scheduled Hatfield to return to court for a pretrial hearing next month and scheduled jury selection for Jan. 25.
Members of Texarkana, Ark., Police Department were contacted Aug. 21 by an Memphis, Tenn., police investigator about a missing teen runaway, according to a probable-cause affidavit used to create the following account. The teen and Hatfield both had posts advertising prostitution on backpage.com.
“Hatfield was very influential in getting the (juvenile) out of Memphis,” the affidavit states.
The following day, members of TAPD determined Hatfield had rented a room at Quality Inn on North State Line Avenue and that she had a young friend staying with her. Officers watched as Hatfield and the girl left the Quality Inn with two men in a small car with Tennessee plates. Officers pulled the car over on State Line.
Hatfield was taken into police custody, and the girl was placed in state custody. Neither of the two men in the car was charged.
Hatfield is being held in the Miller County jail. Bail is set at $250,000. If convicted of transporting a minor for prohibited sexual conduct, Hatfield faces a fine up to $15,000 and six to 30 years in an Arkansas prison.