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Human trafficking

Police & Fire
Man Ran Sex Trafficking, Armed Robbery Ring At Maryland Motel, Police Say Man Ran Sex Trafficking, Armed Robbery Ring At Maryland Motel, Police Say
Man Ran Sex Trafficking, Armed Robbery Ring At Maryland Motel, Police Say A Baltimore man known on the streets as “RoFo” is behind bars after allegedly trafficking women, robbing his victims—sometimes at gunpoint—and running a prostitution ring out of a Maryland motel, authorities announced. Robert Bennett Jr., 27, was charged with 47 total counts of sex trafficking, prostitution, armed robbery, theft, and weapons violations in connection to a two-month crime spree at the Terrace Motel in Elkridge, according to the Howard County Police Department. He is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center. Detectives launched an investigation into Benne…

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by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time A 36-year-old Maryland man who used women's' drug dependency to compel them to participate in commercial sex work for him up and down the East Coast will spend nearly two decades in prison, federal authorities announced. William O’Neil Murray III pleaded guilty in August 2024 to sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion over the course of several months in several states. On Monday, Jan. 13, Murray was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and also ordered to pay his victims nearly $95,000 in restitution. “This sentencing is a powerful reminder that the FBI Richmond team will tir…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Long Island Man Charged In Montgomery County's First $2.3M Gold Bar Scam, Police Say Long Island Man Charged In Montgomery County's First $2.3M Gold Bar Scam, Police Say
Long Island Man Charged In Montgomery County's First $2.3M Gold Bar Scam, Police Say A Long Island man is accused of orchestrating a $2.3 million gold bar scam that targeted an elderly Montgomery County mother and her daughter, police say.  Montgomery County police have charged 26-year-old Yash Shah of Baldwin, New York, in a government-imposter scam that defrauded an 88-year-old woman and her 61-year-old daughter out of millions worth of gold bars. Authorities said this is the first reported scam of its kind in the county. According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, the scheme began in February 2023, when the victims were contacted by someone claiming to…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Men Soliciting Sex From Minors Busted During Undercover Operation: Washington County Sheriff Men Soliciting Sex From Minors Busted During Undercover Operation: Washington County Sheriff
Men Soliciting Sex From Minors Busted During Undercover Operation: Washington County Sheriff Three human trafficking suspects have been taken off the streets following an investigation by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. This week, the agency's Digital Investigations & Forensics Unit arrested three men during an operation focused on Internet-based chats targeting adults who sought out minors for sex, officials say. Investigators used different social media platforms via covert chats and undercover law enforcement officers to chat with and meet up with those adults who solicit sex from children. During the operation, multiple Internet-based contacts and in-pers…

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by Zak Failla
News
Woman Charged For Running Sex, Human Trafficking Ring Across Maryland: AG Woman Charged For Running Sex, Human Trafficking Ring Across Maryland: AG
Woman Charged For Running Sex, Human Trafficking Ring Across Maryland: AG A Baltimore woman has been indicted by a Washington County grand jury in a 135-count indictment stemming from a years-long investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's Office into a human and sex trafficking ring, authorities announced. Kenika Danielle Leach, 33, has been charged following a two-year multi-agency investigation, which helped the AG's Organized Crime Unit to identify nearly a dozen women from Hagerstown who were allegedly trafficked by her and her organization at hotels and motels throughout Maryland. According to the AG, in December 2021, the Baltimore Police Department …

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by Zak Failla