LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Jan. 18.
The first man arrested by the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force (HTTF) pleaded guilty last month to trafficking and related charges, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced today.
Louis Fountain, 34, of Brookhaven, Delaware County allegedly created an online ad for an 18-year-old woman performing sex acts in exchange for money in the Lancaster area. In March 2022, undercover detectives say they began a text exchange with the number provided in the advertisement and made a plan to meet up with the victim.
An undercover detective met with the victim at a Lancaster hotel and exchanged money and discussed the acts that would take place before an arrest team entered the room. After an ensuing investigation, Fountain was arrested on April 21, 2022, when he checked into a different Lancaster Hotel with the victim.
“Human trafficking is occurring right here in Lancaster County," District attorney Heather Adams said at the time of Fountain's arrest. "It is a profitable crime and can occur in any hotel in Lancaster County. Every hotel is vulnerable.
“I want to thank both hotels involved in this case for their vigilance and for their full and complete cooperation with law enforcement and I would urge the public to also remain vigilant because awareness and vigilance will go a long way toward helping law enforcement fight this plague.”
Brookhaven allegedly claimed to police upon his arrest that he was helping the victim become a model.
On March 29, he pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking individuals, four counts of promoting prostitution and one count of living off prostitutes. The judge sentenced Fountain to one year, 11 months and eight days in prison plus five years of probation.