In a moment of stress, such as being confronted by a police officer, a person might blurt out something that is not necessarily true — such as incriminating evidence against another person. Partly because of this, there is a high burden of proof required to secure a guilty conviction in a Minnesota criminal court. In many cases, one person’s testimony may not be enough. However, two people were recently arrested after a woman accused them of forcing her into prostitution.
Police reports indicate that an employee of a hotel reported suspicious behavior in one of the hotel rooms. As a result, police began observing the room. One 34-year-old man was arrested after he was seen leaving the room. He now faces drug charges, although it is unclear why the man was initially stopped or if there were indicators of criminal activity other than one person’s report of the suspicious behavior.
Soon after, two other men were arrested after they walked out of the room, accused of hiring for sexual activity. Police discovered a 33-year-old woman in the hotel room who claimed that a 31-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman forced her into prostitution. Those two people were also arrested and now face charges related to pimping and human trafficking.
It seems that many arrests resulted from one’s person subjective interpretation of suspicious behavior. It is unclear what evidence the police may have to support the claims that these two people forced this woman into prostitution. Because Minnesota prosecutors are required to provide sufficient evidence to prove that those facing criminal charges are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the testimony of the woman accusing them may not be enough to meet the high burden of proof required.
Source: Argus Leader, “Man, woman arrested on human trafficking charges”, Mark Walker, Sept. 4, 2014