In a sordid story of venality and inhumanity, a veteran detective of the New York Police Department (NYPD) has been charged with forcing a 13-year-old runaway into prostitution.

Wayne Taylor, 35, of NYPD had intimidated the runaway into working as a prostitute at parties around the city, telling her that if she tried to escape, she would simply be sold on streets, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Taylor and his collaborator, Zelika Brown, 29, were arrested on charges of kidnapping, promoting prostitution, assault and endangering the welfare of a child, the Queens district attorney's office said.

Taylor, a 14-year New York Police Department member assigned to the housing bureau, was suspended without pay, the department said. Both he and Brown pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Taylor's attorney, Peter Brill, told reporters his client "has the right to have the case proven against him beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Taylor and Brown each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. They were each being held on $250,000 bail, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the teenage girl ran away from her Brooklyn home on Jan. 10 and met someone who offered to get her a job dancing for money at parties. That person then introduced her to Brown, who told the girl that she had bought her for $500 and that she had to work off the debt, prosecutors said.

Taylor instructed the girl to tell people that she was 19 years old and that she charged $40 to $80 for sexual acts, prosecutors said.