Black Lives Matter Organizer Charles Wade Blames Sex Trafficking Arrest On ‘Conservative Trolls’

Black Lives Matter organizer Charles Wade was arrested last month under suspicion of the human trafficking and prostitution of a 17-year-old girl in College Park, Maryland. Wade claims that he thought the girl was 20 and blames the accusations of sex trafficking on conservative trolls.

According to a police report that was circulated via social media and published in full by Love B. Scott, Wade was arrested on April 25 during an undercover sting operation.

During the sting operation, vice officers answered a backpage ad that read, “Holla at me. Quick stay specials tonight and tomorrow. Independent. Fun and sexy. Text me to set up an appointment.” The poster’s age was listed as 23, which would turn out to be false.

‘Black Lives Matter’ Activist Charles Wade Charged with Multiple Counts of Felony Human Trafficking and Prostitution https://t.co/KolHQazLAz

— B. Scott (@lovebscott) May 19, 2016

Communications via text led the vice squad to room 412 of the Howard Johnson in College Park, Maryland, according to the Washington Times, where the undercover detective found a young, white female wearing nothing but a towel. Once in the room, the vice detective discussed a $100 fee for sexual services, and then identified himself as a Prince George’s County police officer. The 17-year-old victim then fled the room and was apprehended in the hallway.

The police report states that the vice squad observed a man later identified by the victim as “CJ” watching from inside the hotel as the undercover detective entered room 412.

The victim told police, “Oh, that’s my manager CJ… and I’m 17 years old.”

The victim was later able to positively identify the man she knew as CJ to be Charles Wade, a prominent Black Lives Matter organizer and founder of the Operation Help or Hush charity group. She claimed that Wade placed the backpage ad that listed her age as 23, communicated with the clients via text, and used Uber to move her between different hotels within Prince George’s County. After receiving payment from each client, she would turn the money over to Wade.

The victim also stated that Wade knew her actual age, claiming that he told her, “You only have five months until you’re 18, so I’m not worried.”

According to the documents published by Love B. Scott, Wade faces multiple charges of human trafficking and prostitution, several of which carry up to a 25-year jail sentence.

Wade has denied the charges and tells a different story of the events that led up to his arrest. According to Wade, he came into contact with the 17-year-old through his Operation Help or Hush charity. He also claimed that he thought she was 20-years-old and had no idea what she was doing in the hotel room that he procured for her.

In a long statement published to Twitter, Wade blamed conservative trolls for reporting on his arrest.

“For the past two to three days, ‘trolls’ have been actively baiting conservative news outlets to report on my arrest, amongst other vindictive things that they are actively working on,” Wade wrote. “This statement is really not in defense of me or my organization, however it is in defense of a movement that ‘trolls’ are actively trying to discredit by working to prove that people in the movement are not perfect.”

The entire statement is still available at this time via a Twitter attachment.

My statement. -CW pic.twitter.com/4sJocfmRvA

— He/Him/His (@akacharleswade) May 18, 2016

Wade also calls into question the idea that the vice squad saw him inside the hotel at the time that the undercover detective entered the room he had paid for. According to his statement, Wade was walking to a grocery store at the time those events took place, and he was arrested while walking to the store.

Do you believe Charles Wade when he says that he thought the 17-year-old girl was actually 20, that he was just trying to help her with temporary housing, and that the charges of sex trafficking are really just conservative trolls trying to discredit the Black Lives Matter movement?

[Mugshot via Miamiarrests.com]