A recent bust of men recruiting foster-care girls in Homestead for prostitution wasn’t the first time such accusations came up in Florida.

BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER AND DIANA MOSKOVITZ

CMARBIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

For thousands of foster children, the search for a permanent family is framed by a display in the “heart gallery,” an annual showcase where heartwarming pictures of smiling, laughing and frolicking children beckon to prospective parents.

But A.B., a 16-year-old foster child from Jacksonville, was being sold with an entirely different set of photos. She wore high heels, a black skirt and a tight tank top that showed off her cleavage.

The caption for A.B.’s picture: “Experience me to know I will be your best!”

An ad in Backpage.com gushed that the girl’s “hands will be your best asset,” and added “$100 gift donation due upon arrival.”

The Backpage photos were a tawdry milestone in A.B.’s descent into prostitution — documented as part of the federal prosecution of her alleged pimp, Gregory Goellet Hodge Jr., who, authorities say, recruited the girl near the foster-care group home where she lived.

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