GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two men accused of kidnapping and human sex trafficking in a Gainesville group home made their first court appearance Wednesday, according to court records. Police say they were able to arrest the suspects after the victim alerted staff at a local library branch to call for law enforcement.
Kevarius Nyrtell King, 20, of Gainesville, and Justin Terrel Hoyt, 25, of Newberry were arrested by Gainesville police Tuesday afternoon at the Gate gas station on 3001 NW 13th Street, according to arrest records.
The victim told police she met King and Hoyt on Sept. 19 when she first moved into the Safe Hands Group Home, a housing service that partners with local homeless shelters.
Florida Division of Corporations records show that King co-owns the Safe Hands Group Home LLC located at 1221 NW 31st Ave. The document establishing the company at the state level was filed just under a year ago, records show.
The victim said since she moved into Safe Hands Group Home, King and Hoyt have forced her into commercialized sexual activity with dozens of men in the group home, according to arrest records. In exchange for money, the victim would have to perform sexual acts for the men, sometimes without her consent.
The victim said King and Hoyt would arrange the meetings with the men at the group home and would take photos and videos with their smartphones.
It was “basically like they own me,” the victim told police.
On Sunday, the victim said one of the men in the group home forced her to take the party drug known as “molly,” a synthetic drug that alters mood and perception, and drink from a bottle of brandy given to her by King and Hoyt, according to arrest records. She said she then had a seizure and was unconscious for several hours on the floor of her room.
King and Hoyt then took the victim to the Tower Road Branch Library where she was able to tell the staff she was a victim of human trafficking and to call law enforcement officers, according to arrest records.
Evidence collected through a search warrant of the group home confirmed the identities of King and Hoyt. Police were then able to arrest the two men as they were driving by NW 31st Avenue in a dark blue Hyundai. They had in their possession the phones the victim described were used to take photos and videos of her as well as her phone that King and Hoyt had taken from her.
Not only did King and Hoyt hold the victim hostage in the group home and were profiting from her sex acts, police said, but they also controlled her funds by withholding her Supplemental Security Income check. The victim also told officers that the two men were trying to open a bank account under her name.
King and Hoyt were suspects in a previous incident of sexual human trafficking at this same address six months ago and admitted to prostitution occurring at the group home, according to arrest records.
In 2016, Hoyt was convicted of child neglect, driving under the influence and attempted sexual battery, according to court records.
Both King and Hoyt were booked into the Alachua County Jail on Tuesday night and are awaiting trial, according to county jail records. Each of their release bonds are currently set at $250,000.
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