St. Pete man accused of luring underage girls using drugs, alcohol

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two men in St. Petersburg are accused of luring underage girls who had run away from home to their apartment using drugs and alcohol. 

The St. Pete Police Department said they’d then have sex with the girls, who are between 12 and 16 years old. Detectives were tipped off about the apartment on 31st Street South in St. Pete while trying to find runaway juveniles, Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson for SPPD, said.  

"Through our investigation, what we were able to discover is that they were luring and it was passing through word of mouth to girls who were runaways to come to their home," Fernandez said. "They could get drugs. They could have pot and alcohol, and then they would have sex with men."

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Police said texts, social media videos and witness statements show that 34-year-old Calvin Baker and 20-year-old Ricardo Anderson helped several young girls coordinate running away from home, and offered for them to stay at their apartment.

Booking photo for Calvin Baker. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail. 

"They find somebody who's going to give them a place to stay, give them alcohol and party and promise that security, and they're kind of on the street, they're going to take that. It passed through word of mouth … So, we had girls from as far as Palmetto and Bradenton coming to this house and staying there, so this was clearly something ongoing," Fernandez said.

Arrest reports for the two men said they "harbored" several runaways from April 16-27. 

"We don't believe that he was holding them against, you know, or they were holding them against their will, but because they're too young, they have no ability to consent," Fernandez said. "Obviously, this was something that was very sad, and also, we're very glad that we were able to make this arrest and to stop this vicious cycle."

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Both men were arrested on June 21, but Anderson has since bonded out of jail. 

Baker is charged with sexual battery. He’s accused of raping one girl who he’d helped run away from her group home. She told police she remembered being heavily intoxicated, but not what else happened that night. Witnesses said she was heavily intoxicated when Baker had sex with her.

Booking photo for Ricardo Anderson. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail. 

Baker is also charged with one count of lewd or lascivious battery. Police said he encouraged, forced or enticed another girl to have sex with him. He later admitted to police the victim was "too young" for him, the arrest report said.

Anderson is charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery. He also admitted it to police. Both men are also charged with four counts each of interference with custody.

"They encouraged to the girls to stay there at their home for days, sometimes weeks, and of course, these girls were minors. They were 14, 15 years old, and they had people looking for them," Fernandez said.

Neighbors said off camera they saw young girls frequently coming and going from the apartment. Police said they think it could’ve been going on before April, but would need victims to come forward and confirm that.

Fernandez said detectives think there are several other victims. They said if you are a victim, please come forward and talk with them. 

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