Twin Cities Prostitution Ring

Summary:

On July 14, 1999, 15 people were indicted in St. Louis, MO, capping a two-year probe of a juvenile prostitution ring operating in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. Eleven of those 15 people were residents of the Twin Cities. Officials say girls as young as 14 were taken on road trips, set up in motels and placed with escort services by the "Evans brothers". The members of the ring are accused of using beatings, torture and rape to control prostitutes.

Here are summaries of articles about the prostitution ring and where to learn more about it:

Minneapolis Star Tribune

15 indicted in prostitution ring

August 13, 1999 -- David Chanen

The girls and women who worked for the multimillion-dollar ring were recruited mostly in Minnesota, occasionally turned tricks in the Twin Cities but were most often taken to 23 other states and Canada.

Neighbors say they were suspicious of activities at Evans brothers' homes

August 13, 1999 -- Terry Collins and Andrew Tellijohn

Reports from neighbors regarding activities in the neighborhood. "They'd have these real pretty-looking young ladies mowing the lawn in their high heels."

Suspects in pimping case had dozens of charges

August 14, 1999 -- James Walsh

The collective police records of the Evans family show dozens of local jail bookings, hundreds of previous criminal charges and a bevy of convictions.

Turning girls into prostitutes is an easy task, experts say

August 15, 1999 -- Rosalind Bentley and Richard Meryhew

A former pimp, police officials and women's advocates say recruitment involves a predictable interplay of a young girl's vulnerability, a pimp's smooth talking and then, physical and emotional abuse.

Prostitution ring - A victimless crime that isn't

August 24, 1999 -- Minneapolis Star Tribune Editorial

Luring girls into sexual slavery isn't novel at all. Teen prostitution thrives in middle America as well as on the "Minnesota Strip", the street in New York's Times Square. Pimps everywhere are confident that the supply of lonely girls they need will continue to be available.

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Alleged sex ring raided

August 13, 1999 -- David Hawley and Ruben Rosario

The arrests and seizures capped a two-year, multiagency investigation of a suspected prostitution ring known as "The Family" that had been operating for nearly two decades.

Minnesota vice: Many victims local

August 13, 1999 -- Ruben Rosario

The sex industry is alive and well. Prostitution pipelines run from the Twin Cities into Chicago; Memphis; St. Louis; Austin, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and Phoenix, to name a few. Much of the action now, cops across the country say, is no longer on the streets and back alleys, but thrives in highly mobile call services, dance clubs, strip bars, private parties, and escort services that advertise in the Yellow Pages.

St. Louis Post Dispatch

Arrests shed light on scourge of teen-age prostitution

August 15, 1999 -- Valerie Schremp

Thousands of girls each year are tricked into a life that leads to disease and brutality.

Prostitution ring suspects are family men, innocent of charges, relative says

August 14, 1999 -- Paul Hampel

Daughter of one of the alleged ring members denies the family's involvement in prostitution and describes family in conventional terms.

Authorities arrest 11th suspect in multistate prostitution case

August 15, 1999 -- Associated Press

A recap of information from Twin Cities papers and mentions of three Minnesota women who were murdered in the 1990s (connected with prostitution).