$250K bail for Broadview man charged in sex-trafficking of teen girl

Bail was set at $250,000 Sunday for a west suburban Broadview man charged with trafficking a 16-year-old girl for sex.

James R. Taylor, 26, was charged Saturday with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, promoting prostitution of a minor and trafficking for benefits, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

He was arrested Friday during an undercover operation conducted by the Cook County sheriff’s Vice Unit. Investigators responded to a female escort advertisement on Backpage.com and arranged a date with the girl at a hotel on West Roosevelt Road in Broadview.

When an officer arrived at the hotel room, the girl offered sex acts for money, and the undercover vice officer took her into custody, according to the sheriff’s office. While the officers were questioning the girl, Taylor began knocking on the door and tried to get into the room, police said.

The girl had been reported missing months earlier. Taylor had been trafficking the girl and keeping the money, police said.

The girl was handed over to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, where she was receiving therapeutic treatment and counseling.

Taylor is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office.