New federal charges have been filed against 10 people from Maryland who are being held in a sex-trafficking case that allegedly was centered in Baltimore and Western Texas, said prosecutors, who are calling the case a "forced prostitution" scheme.
The superseding indictment made public Thursday alleges that five of the defendants "used their ties to the music industry to recruit young women, then force them to work as strippers and prostitutes," according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Texas. A federal grand jury in El Paso returned the new indictment.
The other group leaders, prosecutors said, include DeAngelo Perry Smith, 20, Deyonta Thompson, 23, Marc Corey Williams, 18, Martes Milton Jackson, 28, Shelby Nicole Smith, 25, Roxanne Michelle Mitchell, 30, Amanda Gayle Darbonne, 26, Holly N. Reemer, 24, and Brandi L. Minnich, 22.
The male defendants called themselves concert promoters to lure women into their group and then force them to dance at strip clubs and to work as prostitutes, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Chez Joey on East Baltimore Street is one of the bars mentioned in the indictment, which also alleges that prostitution took place in El Paso and cities between Maryland and Texas.
The group confiscated the women's cellphones and identification, prosecutors said. They also set the prostitution rates and took all of the money paid to their victims, they said.
Strict rules enforced by the female defendants, prosecutors said, "prohibited any communication by the victims and personal interaction with anyone outside the group without the defendants' permission."
Several women escaped the trafficking ring and then helped others to get out, according to one of the victims who spoke to The Baltimore Sun. The escapees then helped the FBI.
All 10 suspects were arrested at a single-family house off Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore.
If convicted, the defendants could receive a minimum of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and each of the three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, prosecutors said, in addition to potential sentences for each of the other counts.
"This indictment represents the culmination of hard work done by federal, state and local agents in El Paso, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland. Human traffickers often target innocent victims seeking a better lifestyle for themselves or their families," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan. "The FBI is committed to rigorously investigating these types of criminal violations."
In 2007, Baltimore's federal prosecutors formed the Human Trafficking Task Force to reduce the number of women who were being transported across state lines for prostitution. More than two dozen cases have been prosecuted since the task force was formed.
The Baltimore Police Department assisted in making the arrests in this case.
steve.kilar@baltsun.com
peter.hermann@baltsun.com
I lived with this bunch for a little while in texas because at 1st I
ReplyDeletethought the singing and rapping deal was legit,I found out quickly that
it was NOT, and I have to say I did sneak numerous times to call to get
help for the other women and children but they would pick up and move
either to aother location or to another state and start all over
again,"alarcon tha don"aka alarcon allen wiggins is a slimy individual
who had his own daughter stripping/prostituting for a short period of
time on a brief stay to nc,even more so had the father(deyonta thompson
aka “wezz fresh”)of his granddaugther as one of the ten pimps in this
prostution ring,all having sex with & pimping out the women,several of
the "women" and I'm using this phrase very loosely, in this prostitution
ring, "cherish" aka roxanne mitchell,"bebe" aka shelby smith( smith who
has a child with alarcon AND his cousin "tuesday" aka martes jackson)
and"natasha" aka brandi minnich are all known prostitutes/strippers who
all have at least one kid by allen wiggins,two were pregnant(smith &
minnich) when arrested in Oct,wiggins is a real piece of work & major
menace, who along with the rest of his posse need to be held accountable
for their behavior both criminal & immoral. I trusted bebe the most
because she is the one that befrieded me & baited me in.These "people" are beyond disgusting or warranting any type of sympathy. At the end of the day they ALL knew what they were doing,besides,these females,especially shelby nicole smith aka bebe,who in fact have four children by her johns,her pimps,tom,dick,harry,alarcon and martes or any other man thats from the md,nc,pa,co,la,tn,and tx area,she's been a hoe from beginning to end,not much of a leap from stripper to prostitute now is it? Not having an extensive criminal record only means its the first time being caught,hopefully THEY all will get the book thrown at them,so it will be 10 less problems society has to worry about.
WHEW! NOW THATS DEEP!(LOL@4 KIDS BY TOM,DICK,HARRY & ALARCON)THATS NASTY!
ReplyDeleteOH God bless you and thank you very much for your comment and telling us more about what's really going on around us,
ReplyDelete