Bellevue police arrest sex trafficking suspect

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The Bellevue Police Department arrested a man connected to a sex trafficking incident involving a 21-year-old female victim in Bellevue’s Factoria neighborhood. (Bellevue Police Department)

BELLEVUE, Wash. - The Bellevue Police Department announced on Wednesday that a man in connection to a sex trafficking incident was arrested last week after a month-long investigation.

Investigators said the incident involved a 21-year-old woman in Factoria.

In early April, officers responded to a report of a domestic violence incident in Factoria.

Police said construction workers helped the woman get out of an apartment, and officers identified several indicators of sex trafficking, which the victim confirmed.

The department's human trafficking unit took over the case, and they learned the victim was exploited in Washington as well as other states.

Police obtained a search warrant for the suspect, who they identified as Cedric A. Dorsey. He has had several prior arrests, was deemed high-risk and believed to have weapons at his home.

On May 2, Bellevue police and a SWAT team responded to a home off 124th Avenue Southeast. When Dorsey didn't comply, the department's crisis response team negotiated with his mother to convince him to turn himself in.

After about an hour, Dorsey went outside his apartment and turned himself into custody.

He was arrested for trafficking persons in the second-degree, prostitution promotion in the first-degree and unlawful possession of a firearm.

"From the Bellevue PD Officers quickly spotting the red flags associated with sex trafficking to the work of the Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, this collaborative operation was truly a textbook example on how to hold an individual accountable for conducting a horrible sex crime on another person," said Andrew Popochock, Assistant Chief for the Bellevue Police Department. "Sex trafficking is a crime and unfortunately does happen in communities like Bellevue. That’s why we’re asking the public that if they believe someone may be a victim in a sex trafficking operation to immediately call law enforcement so that we can hold these criminals accountable and save lives in the process."

Anyone who is, knows or has information on someone who may be a victim of exploitation is asked to call the Bellevue Police Department's Trafficking Unit ViceHT@bellevuewa.gov.