SEATTLE -- A man accused of forcing a 12-year-old girl into prostitution faced a judge on Friday afternoon.

Steven Leonard is being held on $250,000 bail at the King County Jail. He is accused of raping a child and promoting prostitution.

Police say the 23-year-old man met the girl through a mutual friend more than a week ago. They say he convinced her to run away with him and had unprotected sex with her. Then he coerced her to work as a prostitute in South King County and make him money.

Court documents say Leonard provided the alleged victim with information on how to work as a prostitute, including how much money to charge. The two took a bus to Federal Way, where a man paid the 12-year-old for sex.

Leonard gave the alleged victim enough money to eat and told her "they shouldn't be having sex, but he didn't care," according to court documents..

The young girl's family has been searching for her ever since she didn't return home. An uncle found the alleged victim in downtown Seattle. Police say the girl did not want to go home with him and threatened to run away again.

Leonard was arrested in West Seattle on Wednesday.

Leonard has a long criminal history, which includes seven felony convictions.

But his fiancee Amanda Pederson said she was stunned by the charges filed against Leonard.

"He just makes me laugh, he tries to help other people if he can," she said.

Pederson was arrested along with Leonard, but has since been released.

Pederson said Leonard brought the 12-year-old girl to Pederson's West Seattle apartment and said the girl needed a safe place to stay.

"I knew her and she didn't want to go back home because she said her uncle had beaten her. I said she could stay here," she said.

According to court documents, Leonard and the girl stayed at the apartment for two nights. On the third night, Leonard and the girl stayed in the shed.

Pederson said she could not believe the charges, but said she still loves Leonard and her plans to marry him have not changed.

Veteran members of the police force said they could not believe that a girl so young was coerced into prostitution. Police say a 12-year-old prostitute is rare, but teenage prostitutes are not.

"That's pretty unusual. I've never run across a juvenile prostitute quite that young," said King County Sgt. John Urquhart.

The sergeant said his vice detectives regularly find 15 to 17-year-old girls working the street.

"Most of the time they are coerced into it. And it's something that when we do come across it, it's very disturbing," Urquhart said.