Teenagers Tatiana Tye and Jazmine Finley arrested for recruiting and pimping other teenage girls

Two 16-years-old girls from Maricopa County, Arizona, are accused of recruiting and pimping other teenage girls.

Tatiana Tye and Jazmine Finley, who were indicted this week, were arrested last week after a five-month investigation by Phoenix police, are accused of recruiting at least five girls ranging in age from 14 to 17, on the campuses of their high schools.

Tye was charged with one count of child prostitution and three counts of pandering, and Finley, with nine counts of child prostitution, two counts of receiving earnings of a prostitute, and one count of pandering.

 According to Phoenix police, the teenagers were able to entice the other girls into prostitution by telling them about “all the money they would be making.  Additionally, they were told that it was better working for them as opposed to male pimps because they would not get beat up.”

Police also alleged that the teenagers rented an apartment, which was used solely for acts of prostitution.

In an interview from jail, Tye told a local TV news station that Finley was the one who introduced her to the world of prostitution, and said she was “a follower, not a leader, following whatever Jazmine does, and those were bad things.” However, she denied recruiting anyone or receiving any money.

Tye’s grandmother, who was with her during the jailhouse interview said, “I want people to know that my little granddaughter, she is a loving person.  She smiles all the time…she’s a little confused, but that’s no reason, and people shouldn’t sit and judge people…you don’t know the facts, you don’t know the truth…grandparents need to pay attention to their grandchildren, because you never know what they are up to, this is a big mess.”