Five individuals were recently arrested and charged in St. Paul for purportedly being involved in a large-scale sex trafficking ring. The authorities in Minnesota have accused the individuals of each committing a sex crime for allegedly transporting women, some of whom were minors, over state lines to solicit sex. They each face multiple criminal charges.
It is not clear when and how the investigation started, but the authorities were led to suspect that the defendants used a social media website to solicit sex with numerous individuals in multiple states. After setting up the meeting, the authorities suspect that the defendants would send one of six victims to that state for the sexual encounter. The victims range in age from 16 to 24.
The victims were allegedly used in Minnesota as well as neighboring states such as Wisconsin and Iowa, but the defendants are also accused of sending victims to states as far as Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia. According to the St. Paul authorities, the ring was broken up in Sept. 2014. Now, the three men and two women who have been arrested — whose ages vary from 19 to 38 — each face seven counts of trafficking.
Whenever multiple people are arrested and accused of committing a sex crime that spanned multiple states, it is important for each defendant to scrutinize every aspect of their arrest in preparation for their own criminal defense. Each of the five individuals may face serious Minnesota crimes, but each presumed innocent until, and only if, guilt is established by an exacting measure of proof. They have the right to make decisions in their criminal defenses that they feel would be the most beneficial for their specific case.
Source: whbl.com, “5 people arrested in sex trafficking ring in Wisconsin, 6 other states“, Mar. 4, 2015