FBI Seeks Suspect in Kidnap, Forced Prostitution of Teens

The FBI is seeking a man suspected of abducting two teenage girls earlier this year in Washington and forcing them into prostitution in Orange County and elsewhere in Southern California, the agency announced Wednesday.

According to a search warrant affidavit, William Earl Flavors, 26, is suspected of kidnapping a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old. He brought them to Orange County, where they were forced to prostitute themselves, the affidavit alleges.

Flavors was indicted by a federal grand jury last month on one count of interstate transportation of an individual for prostitution, a federal offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, Assistant U.S. Atty. Marc Greenberg said.

According to the affidavit, the 15-year-old Seattle girl told investigators Flavors befriended her last December in Kent, Wash., but soon turned abusive and beat her.

She said Flavors persuaded her to prostitute herself this year in Seattle, but she was quickly picked up by police. When she was released, she met Flavors again, she told an FBI agent, and they drove to Orange County in March, against her will.

They checked into a hotel near Disneyland in Anaheim, where Flavors allegedly beat her “into submission,” according to the affidavit.

Flavors took her to a place on Harbor Boulevard and dropped her off, the affidavit stated, and she “prostituted herself for the next three hours and earned approximately $800. She gave the $800 to Flavors.”

Over nearly two weeks, Flavors took her to various locations in Orange County and Hollywood, where he forced her to turn tricks, the girl told an FBI agent. She was picked up by Garden Grove police March 24 and placed in a shelter.

The mother of another Seattle teenager told the FBI she believes her 17-year-old daughter was abducted and forced into prostitution by a man known as “Mister E.”

Authorities said they believe Flavors is the man in both cases.

“He is still out there, and he’s armed and dangerous,” Greenberg said.

He said Flavors, who also goes by the name “E Flave” and who wears a hat embroidered with the initials “PTID” (“Pimp Till I Die”) may be traveling with a woman.

Authorities described Flavors as African American, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds. He has distinctive tattoos on his body, including “Marcus” on his chest and “Shawna” on an arm. He may be driving a champagne-colored 1987 Mercedes with California license plate 4FMD666, the investigators said.