Police Investigate Child Trafficking Ring

Atlanta CEO Accused Of Having Sex With A 12-Year-Old
By Renee Starzyk, CBS Atlanta Reporter
POSTED: 5:25 pm EST November 11, 2010

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Gwinnett County police arrested a 56-year-old executive and charged him with having sex with a 12-year-old girl, who may be part of a child prostitution ring.

Peter Privateer, the president and CEO of Reflex Systems in Atlanta, was recently charged with child molestation and booked into the Gwinnett County jail.

Police say Privateer paid a pimp $600 for the night with the girl at the Days Inn in Duluth in 2008. The girl received $200 of that money.

"It’s very troubling," said Cpl. Brian Kelly. "Any exploitation of anybody and particularly a child is very disturbing.”

Gwinnett County police have issued arrest warrants for Marcelo DeSautu, 38, who they said operated as the girl's pimp and may be running a child prostitution ring in metro Atlanta.

Cobb County police are also looking to arrest DeSautu, who they said was involved in similar activities in their area.

Both police agencies said that it is not unusual for child victims to wait years to come forward.

“In many of these cases the children are very intimidated and very threatened and scared of the consequences," said Kelly. "They believe they have done something wrong when they haven’t. They've been exploited."

Privateer lives in Sugar Loaf Country Club, a prestigious gated community in Duluth. No one answered the door at his office in Atlanta on Thursday.

“There’s no profile to who’s involved and who exploits and who gets wrapped up in these type of things," Kelly told CBS Atlanta. "As we’ve seen throughout history, and throughout the country and the world, criminals can be ministers to priests to your common thugs.”

Privateer remains jailed in Gwinnett County. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

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