BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – It’s been almost 8-months since David Kemp responded to a Craiglist ad that read, “Young mama bear in town for a get away with the little cubs.”
The ad goes on but the rest is disturbing — authorities sum it up, saying the woman was selling her children, ages 11 and 14, for sex.
“The advertiser said that, essentially, it would be $400 for one of them,” said Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Hatfield. “Or $250 for one.”
Kemp initially agreed to meet the family at The Tamarack in Beckley to complete the sale. But instead Kemp moved the meeting to the Lion’s Den parking lot in Raleigh County. She wanted to meet inside, he wanted her to come to his semi. Police then followed Kemp into Mercer County where he was stopped and arrested.
“He gave a mirandized confession that he was in fact the one communicating with the poster on Craigslist,” Hatfield said.
In Raleigh County court, Kemp pleaded guilty to a charge of Patronizing a Victim of Sex Trafficking.
“David Michael Green Kemp, how do you plead the charge of Patronizing a Victim of Sexual Servitude?” asked Raleigh County Judge Andrew Dimlich. “How do you plead to that charge sir?”
“Guilty, your honor,” Kemp replied.
Hatfield says this case is a win because even though a crime was committed, it was stopped short of completion.
