Man accused of raping runaway teen, making her work as prostitute

A 27-year-old Fort Worth man is in jail, accused of sexually assaulting and sex trafficking a teenage runaway from Houston.

Marquist Fulcher was arrested Dec. 7 after allegedly trying to flee from a Fort Worth officer while driving a stolen truck.

He was charged last week with evading arrest and theft of property in connection with the pursuit in the stolen truck, but also faces charges of compelling prostitution of person under 18, trafficking of a person under age 18 and sexual assault of a child.

Fulcher was in the Tarrant County Jail Monday with total bail set at more than $700,000, including $500,000 on a probation violation warrant out of Dallas County.

Sgt. John Phillips, supervisor of the major case unit, said Fort Worth police began investigating the case in October after the Houston runaway was found in Fort Worth and admitted to being a prostitute.

Phillips said investigators believe the teen initially began working for another “pimp” but left him because he was violent and abusive, and began working for Fulcher. She was 14 when the sex trafficking began, he said.

Phillips said the teen was not allowed to keep any of the money she made, something that is common in many sex trafficking cases.

“Food, a place to stay and clothes and that’s about all they get,” Phillips said.

Clients were obtained through advertisements listed on Backpage.com and other websites with meetings occurring at various locations in Fort Worth and elsewhere, he said.

Phillips said investigators are continuing efforts to identify additional victims and suspects in the case.

Phillips said Homeland Security and the FBI assisted Fort Worth Detective Brian Johnson in the case. Federal charges are possible, he said.

Fulcher had been sentenced to three years deferred adjudication probation in July in Dallas County for the attempted theft of an ATM machine from a CVS Pharmacy. He had reached the plea with prosecutors not long after testifying in the trial of a co-defendant in the case.

Last month, Dallas County prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Fulcher’s probation after he allegedly missed appointments with his probation officers and failed to pay probation fees.

Fulcher has had previous convictions in Tarrant County for burglary, criminal trespassing, evading arrest and failure to identify.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Man accused of raping runaway teen, making her work as prostitute."