Indiana Pair Arrested for Trafficking Teen Boys in Mexico: Arrested and Slapped with Several Charges
Fort Wayne, IN: A man and woman suspected of trafficking teen boys were apprehended in Mexico after being wanted in Fort Wayne.
Stephanie N. Followell, 41, and Kirk W. Depoister, 49, were apprehended and transported to the Gateway International Port of Entry. They were subsequently handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security investigators, as stated in a press release by the Fort Wayne Police Department.
According to a statement from the FWPD, the individuals in question were being sought for alleged sexual abuse and exploitation in 2022. After a search warrant was executed at their residence on Oliver Street, they fled Allen County.
Followell faces a slew of preliminary charges, including:
- Promotion of Human Sexual Trafficking, a Level 4 Felony
- Possession Of Child Pornography, a Level 6 Felony
- Sexual Misconduct With A Minor, a Level 4 Felony
- Incest, a Level 5 felony
- Sexual Misconduct With A Minor, a Level 5 Felony
Depoister faces preliminary charges of promotion of human sexual trafficking – a Level 4 felony – and child exploitation, a Level 5 felony.
Court documents in the case claim that the pair allegedly forced two teenage boys to engage in sexual activity on camera. According to a statement from the FWPD, Depoister allegedly used a baseball bat to threaten a teenager.
FWPD received assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Fort Wayne, HSI Harlingen, HSI Matamoros, and Fiscalía General De Justicia Del Estado de Tamaulipas in Mexico.
As of Thursday, the suspects were being held in a Texas jail as reported by Lubbock News.