Sex trafficking operation worked out of abandoned apartment in metro Atlanta

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Neighbors are shaken after learning about a sex trafficking investigation at their Marietta apartment complex.

“Honestly, I just think it’s scary … it’s like a lot of little girls in my building,” one neighbor said.

Marietta police said girls were being trafficked from an abandoned unit on Franklin Gateway, according to an arrest warrant.

According to the warrant, investigators said Damian Downing admitted the victims were told to collect money in order to earn their place to stay. They were required to give the money to the men in the apartment.

Downing faces sex trafficking and other charges. Police said the suspect was on probation and had removed his ankle monitoring device.

Police would not disclose how many victims there were, because the investigation is still active.

The neighbor, who asked to not be identified, said he noticed girls who seemed out of place.

“You see like girls walking around here, I just assume they are walking around, but some of them look displaced a little bit,” he said.

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