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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Steven Lorenzo J. Leonard, 23, befriended and coerced a 12-year-old girl into prostitution. The girl told police that a mutual friend introduced her to Leonard on Jan. 9 and he invited her to hang out, then had unprotected sex with her that night and several times in the ensuing days. The two stayed at the homes of several women who described themselves as his fiancees. Leonard also made the girl walk the street in downtown Seattle, performing tricks (sexual acts) for "johns," then made her turn over the money to Leonard, her new pimp. Steven Leonard has an extensive record; he has been convicted of escape, possessing stolen property, theft, obstructing a public officer and animal cruelty.
Response and intervention
After her rescue, the victim's family filed a police report. The victim was interviewed by police on Wednesday January 16, and officers located Leonard in West Seattle later that night. One of the many self-described "fiancees" of Leonard became angry and dialed a number she found in the binder of the victim (the home telephone number), reached the victim's sister and told her how to find the girl in downtown Seattle. When relatives found the girl and Leonard later that evening, they just ran up and took her (the relative who found her was much bigger than Leonard). They went to the hospital than to the police station. The girl was taken to Harborview for a rape examination immediately after her rescue on Sunday night (Jan. 13). Any further aftercare is unknown.