Judge orders 6 men accused in suburban Chicago brothel ring to remain in jail
Judge orders six men accused in suburban brothel ring to remain in jail
Six men accused of running a prostitution ring in northern Illinois will not be released before trial. This comes as another brothel was just discovered in Hanover Park.
CHICAGO - A 15-month investigation into alleged prostitution operations at four suburban brothels has resulted in felony charges against six men, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.
Authorities from multiple local, state and federal agencies conducted coordinated arrests July 16 across Kane, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago and Cook counties.
On Thursday, officials revealed that another brothel had been discovered in Hanover Park. Later that day, a Kane County judge ordered all six defendants to remain in jail pending trial.
6 charged after alleged prostitution operation across Chicago-area
The backstory:
The defendants face charges that include promoting prostitution, promoting prostitution for profit, promoting prostitution near a school and forgery, prosecutors said.
According to the state's attorney's office, the men knowingly promoted and profited from prostitution by arranging clients and controlling apartments used as brothels at the following locations:
- 500 block of Ashland Avenue in Aurora
- 800 block of Village Quarter Road in West Dundee
- 800 block of Kishwaukee Street in Rockford
- 300 block of Ann Street in South Elgin
Prosecutors also allege some of the defendants used false names on apartment leases, resulting in forgery charges.
Suspects named:
The state's attorney's office named the suspects and their charges, shared below:
- Abisahit Del Angel Hernandez, 40, of Woodstock — Charged with promoting prostitution near a school and forgery.
- Gustavo A. Perez Cardoza, 35, of Aurora — Charged with promoting prostitution and promoting prostitution for profit.
- Hugo F. Jaimes-Ramirez, 43, of Aurora — Charged with multiple counts of promoting prostitution, promoting prostitution for profit near a school and forgery.
- Kenneth E. Figueroa Castro, 29, of Belvidere — Charged with multiple counts of promoting prostitution, promoting prostitution for profit near a school and forgery.
- Delfino Torres-Navarro, 59, of Hanover Park — Charged with multiple counts of promoting prostitution and promoting prostitution for profit near a school.
- Ricardo Hernandez Lux, 33, of Elgin — Charged with multiple counts of promoting prostitution and promoting prostitution for profit near a school.
Dig deeper:
On Thursday, the men appeared before Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler for detention hearings, wearing orange jumpsuits and shackles. Seated in the jury box, they were given headphones for audio translation.
Kane County prosecutors say the alleged prostitution ring dates back nearly 10 years, with one of the men being recruited as early as 2017.
They say some of the defendants started as customers, then later took jobs working for the operation.
They allegedly served in different roles, including cleaning the apartments, wiring money to Mexico, and picking up and dropping off women at the airport.
Prosecutors say the men exercised control over the victims by taking their luggage and cell phones and using Ring cameras in brothel locations.
Defense attorneys argued there isn’t enough evidence to show the men knew the apartments were being used as brothels and said they weren’t physically present when the alleged sex acts occurred.
Despite those arguments, Judge Tegeler called the claims against the men "abhorrent."
"These men should not be on the streets. This court finds that each individual on their own has shown this court that there are no conditions that will allow their release," Tegeler said.
The suspects were ordered held in jail until their next court dates.
What they're saying:
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said she believes there are additional brothel locations and victims, as well as others who played higher-level roles in the alleged prostitution ring.
"We were able to recover three different women. The problem with brothels like this is they don't keep the women at one location. They'll have them at a location and move them to another location. So while we've seen multiple victims throughout the 15-month time period, we haven't been able to identify every single one," Mosser said. "We believe that there are probably people more higher up than them. We think this is a part of a bigger syndicate than we've been able to discover. They are definitely up there in the terms that they were controlling what was happening at these brothels, what was going on with these women, so that they knew enough and were accountable enough for everything they were doing as a part of all of this."
"This investigation shows what can be accomplished when local, state and federal agencies work together to protect vulnerable people and hold accountable those who profit from their exploitation. The Aurora Police Department is proud to stand alongside the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners in this effort. Complex investigations of this magnitude require an incredible investment of time, resources, and investigative work, along with sustained coordination among agencies across multiple jurisdictions. This work does not end with a single investigation or operation. Together, we will continue pursuing those who exploit others, holding them accountable and ensuring victims of human trafficking are recognized, supported and connected with the resources they need to move forward," said Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas.
What's next:
All six suspects are scheduled to reappear in court over the coming weeks.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.