Human Trafficking Suspect Indicted For Holding Women Captive

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A Fulton County grand jury has indicted a man accused of holding several women against their will in a home worth nearly $1 million in Sandy Springs.

The grand jury returned the 15-count indictment on Friday, March 24 against Kenndric Roberts, 33.

Roberts has been indicted on six counts of felony trafficking a person for labor servitude, six counts of false imprisonment, two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of or attempt to commit certain crimes, and participation in criminal street gang activity, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said.

Roberts was arrested on March 8 after a woman called 9-1-1 from the Strauss Lane home, alleging she was being held against her will. According to the caller, Roberts threatened to kill her if she left the home.

Sandy Springs police executed a search warrant following the call, and found seven additional women, expensive cars and an AK-47 at the home located in the city's panhandle area. Detectives and FBI agents conducted interviews with the women, who revealed they were "forced to strip dance at local club," the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said.

"The money earned would be given to their boss, who police later identified as Roberts," the office added.

Sandy Springs police also learned Roberts was an alleged member of the Gangster Disciple's gang, and forced the women to receive gang-related tattoos "as a sign of their loyalty," the office charges.

Friday's indictment comes one day after a Magistrate Court judge initially dismissed 11 human trafficking charges filed against Roberts. However, with the grand jury's indictment, those charges have been thrown back into the ring for Roberts to face, said Dontaye Carter, public affairs director with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

Mike Maloof Sr, Roberts' attorney, contends his client had an entertainment business managing the careers of boxers, football players and musicians. He noted Roberts met the women residing at the home in various ways, including through a dating website where younger women can look for relationships with older men.

“He agreed to give them a piece of the action," he said. "They could buy a percentage of his company.”

Some of the women, he added, were working in strip clubs as dancers. In exchange, Roberts provided the women with clothes, housing and transportation. Many women, he added, were living at the home for seven months until the primary complainant called 9-1-1, the attorney added.

That woman, according to Maloof, met Roberts and she moved from Orlando to live in Sandy Springs. She stayed at the home for a few days before she decided to return to Orlando to retrieve her child. According to the attorney, the woman allegedly wanted to obtain plastic surgery, and Roberts agreed to fly her as well as another woman to the Dominican Republic for their procedures.

Both women, he added, got at least $16,000 worth of surgery. They returned to Sandy Springs, and lived inside the home before the woman called police to say she "felt threatened," Maloof stated.

The women living in the home were allowed to come and go as they please, Maloof told Patch. When they returned from work, they would place the money in a large pot. That money paid for rent, which was $8,000 per month, jewelry, clothing, massages, trips to the tanning salon, gym memberships and even a catered chef to cook meals, Maloof stated.

“So nobody was complaining until this one woman complained," he added. “It’s a really unusual story.”

After the presentation of evidence before the grand jury, a no bond warrant was issued -- meaning the Roberts' bond set by the Magistrate Court was overruled by the grand jury.

If convicted, Roberts could face up to 205 years in prison, the Fulton district attorney's office said.

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