PA Human Traffickers Forced 6 Women Into Prostitution: AG

Two men forced six women into prostitution across southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey over the past three years, according to authorities.

Kenneth Crowell, 34, and Barry "Bear" Schiff, 50, are accused of running a human trafficking ring from 2014 until October of this year, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced. In Pennsylvania, the ring operated in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, in addition to Lancaster and York counties.

An investigation began when Pennsylvania state troopers found an advertisement for a prostitute on the website Backpage, according to authorities. Two undercover troopers arranged to meet the prostitute at the Cork Factory Hotel in Lancaster.

When police identified themselves to the victim, the woman told them she didn't feel safe, Shapiro said.

She went on to explain that Crowell and Schiff had recruited her while she was working at a gentleman's club in York. Schiff bragged about selling opioid pills and heroin to the women working for him in order to control them, she told investigators. He threatened her with a knife when she said she didn't like him buying and supplying heroin in the hotel room where she worked, the woman claimed.

"This is a horrible case where women were lured into prostitution by the false promise of easy money," Shapiro said. "When the victims tried to leave, these criminals used violence and threats of violence to keep them working as prostitutes against their will. Law enforcement collaboration and the use of a statewide investigating grand jury built this case. We will use every tool at our disposal to prosecute these kinds of human trafficking cases."

Two of the victims worked Crowell and Schiff out of the Residence Inn in Cherry Hill, according to the Grand Jury presentment. Another was based chiefly out of Valley Forge and Philadelphia, while three more worked in York and Lancaster counties.

Two women believed they were going to be working for an escort service, with one saying Schiff claimed to be a mobster that went by the name "Frank Luchese." They both were trying to pay for their drug addictions.

One woman said that when she tried to leave, he threatened to "chop her up into little pieces and throw her in the river" and that he knew where her and her child slept at night. The other said she rarely slept and was sent in an Uber to locations in Philadelphia to buy large amounts of heroin for Schiff more than once.

One victim said Schiff slammed her head into a bucket of dirty water that contained shards of broken glass after she refused his request for sex, Shapiro said. As a result, she said she was cut severely, and has scars on her knees and legs. She told her story to an undercover officer she had a "date" with, and gave a full statement to police before being hospitalized, Shapiro said.

One victim, who worked for Crowell and Schiff at various times between 2014 and 2016 to support her addiction, claimed Crowell tried to strangle her several times. In one instance, she was strangled into unconsciousness, she told authorities.

Crowell was arrested just outside Chicago over the weekend. Schiff, who was imprisoned in York County, was also arrested. Both were charged with trafficking in individuals, corrupt organizations, involuntary servitude, conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver, prostitution and related offenses.

Watch Now: Human Traffickers Forced 6 Women Into Prostitution

Images of Kenneth Crowell and Barry Schiff courtesy Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office