Crime & Safety
Mount Prospect Woman Called 'House Boss' of Chicago Arm of U.S. Sex Ring: Feds
The operation has been recruiting Thai women to come to the country and forcing them to work as prostitutes since 2009, prosecutors claim.
Federal authorities are accusing a Mount Prospect woman of being the "house boss" for the Chicago-area operations of a U.S. sex-trafficking ring that brought Thai women into the country and forced them to work as prostitutes, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Pantilla Rodpholka, 31, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, along with other federal charges, including conspiracy to commit forced labor, the report stated. The charges come after an anonymous tip to the Cook County Sheriff's Office led to a joint investigation between that agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the report added.
Including Rodpholka, 17 people throughout the country — 12 Thai nationals and five U.S. citizens — were charged in connection with the prostitution operation, the report stated. Authorities announced the charges after an indictment was unsealed Tuesday in Minnesota, and arrests have been made in that state, Illinois, California, Georgia and Hawaii, the report added.
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Prosecutors claim the sex ring recruited hundreds of Thai women to come to the United States since 2009, the Sun-Times reports. House bosses — who kept the women's passports so they couldn't return home — then forced them into prostitution to pay off the debts associated with traveling to and living in their new country, the report stated. For an opportunity to live in the States, the women would pay house bosses anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 to come to the country, the report added.
As house boss, Rodpholka is accused of running brothels on Chicago's North Side and throughout the Northwest suburbs, according to the report. Prosecutors also claim she advertised online the services of her prostitutes and met with potential customers, the report stated.
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Despite the arrests, the sheriff's office is still continuing its investigation into the prostitution ring, the report added.
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