HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 03-03 Five from St. Paul charged in sex trafficking ring PIONEER PRESS Five from St. Paul charged in sex trafficking ring
Updated:03/03/2015 02:06:38 PM CST TwinCities.com
The Ramsey County attorney's office Tuesday charged five St. Paul adults for their alleged
roles in a multi-state sex trafficking ring involving some minor girls.
Prosecutors allege that the prostitution ring was operated by Suwan Dominique Cross, 19;
Doris Marie Keller,38;Yolanda Katrice Foster,28;Thomas William Evans,25;and Ishmael
Jamaine Williams, 19.
The defendants were charged with seven felonies each, including sex trafficking a minor, I
sex trafficking an individual and conspiracy to commit felony sex trafficking.
According to the charges,St. Paul police began an investigation in September by contacting
girls and women who appeared in ads on Backpage.com,a website commonly used to
advertise prostitution services.An undercover officer set up a meeting with a female called
"Ms.Juicy,"who turned out to be 17 years old.
When the undercover officer arrived for the meeting, Keller,Williams and Evans were in the
immediate vicinity and visible to officers. Evans fled in a vehicle when back-up officers
arrived,according to the criminal complaints. Foster and Cross were also later located
nearby.
Investigators call Evans, Keller,Foster,Williams and Cross"co-conspirators in a sex
trafficking ring,"saying they played various roles in posting online ads,coordinating
appointments with johns,providing transportation for the females and collecting payments,
according to the charges.
Six females are listed in complaints as the alleged victims of the trafficking,some dating to
October 2013,including the 17-year-old"Ms.Juicy"and a 16-year-old girl the defendants
met in St. Paul;a now 20-year-old woman they met in St.Paul;a now 20-year-old woman
they met in Dallas/Fort Worth,Texas;a now 24-year-old woman they met in St. Paul;and a
21-year-old woman whose interactions are not detailed in the complaints.
The trafficking took place in St. Paul, Brooklyn Park and Maplewood; Racine and Milwaukee,
Wis.;Chicago,and Memphis,Tenn.,and included walking the streets and meeting johns at
home or hotels,the complaints said.
One of the underage girls told investigators she'd been"trafficked out of more than 10 hotels
in the Twin Cities area between July and the end of August,"the complaints said.
The defendants provided clothing,food and housing for the females.The males are accused
of being violent and verbally abusive toward the females,the complaints said.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Keller and Cross.
Five from St. Paul charged in sex trafficking ring - TwinCities.com Page 2 of 2
Williams recently was caught in the Ramsey County courthouse in downtown St. Paul with a
knife in his pocket, prompting a review of security procedures.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement, "Today's charges are a glaring
reminder that men in our community still think it is OK to purchase human beings for sex and
that traffickers are all too eager to oblige."
Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr.