Five people were indicted in federal court on human trafficking charges related to 14- and 16-year-old girls allegedly forced into commercial sex acts in Ohio and Indiana, according to the Northern Ohio U.S. Attorney's Office.
Two other people face charges related to obstructing the investigation.
Lorenzo Young, 30, Randy Thompson, 26, and Aundre Davis, 34, all from Lima, Ohio and Megan Hitt, 28, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, took sexually explicit photos of 14- and 16-year-old girls and posted them on backpage.com, according to the indictment. They allegedly also transported the girls to hotel rooms in Lima and Fort Wayne that they rented for them, and negotiated prices.
Thompson and Precious Russell, 19, of Lima allegedly caused a 14-year-old girl to perform commercial sex acts in Lima. Thompson would get 50 percent of the money customers' paid, while Russell and the girl got 25 percent each, according to the indictment.
Shemeric Cook, 29, and Jacqueline Young, 53, face charges related to obstructing the investigation, according to Ohio's U.S. Attorney's office.
The FBI's Toledo office and the Lima police investigated this case. U.S. Attorney's Alissa M. Sterling and Daniel R. Hurley are prosecuting it.
The charges include conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution among others.
An indictment is a charge and is not evidence of guilt.
