A New Orleans schoolteacher has been arrested after reportedly coercing a 16-year-old Mississippi girl to travel from her home to Louisiana to engage in commercial sex.

Aaron Johnson, 36, of New Orleans, is accused of coercing the girl to travel from Vicksburg to New Orleans. Johnson is charged with sex trafficking of a child, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution or criminal sexual activity, and coercion and enticement of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution or criminal sexual activity.

According to court documents, Johnson and the girl exchanged messages via Facebook where he allegedly told her he would pick her up near a hotel in Vicksburg.

The messages were reportedly sent on March 14. Soon after, cameras along Interstate 55 at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line spotted Johnson’s vehicle after midnight on March 15. His vehicle was also videoed parked outside his New Orleans apartment shortly after 5 a.m. on March 15.

The victim reportedly told a U.S. Marshal deputy that she told Johnson that she was a runaway. Johnson reportedly sent $200 to the victim.

According to the department, Johnson has been a teacher in New Orleans since 2023. The name of the school has not been released. However, court documents indicate that his car was seen outside of a high school in New Orleans East during the course of the investigation.

Investigators are trying to identify other victims that Johnson may have exploited.