An Army private stationed at Fort Meade has been accused of running a sex trafficking business out of an off-base apartment that used Craigslist to entice at least one underage girl into prostitution.
Pfc. Craig Allen Corey II and three other men from Ohio allegedly brought from Ohio to Maryland the women they later sold for sex, according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday. Among those brought east from the Midwest was a 16-year-old girl, prosecutors said.
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The sex business run from the 23-year-old’s off-base apartment in Millersville “used Craigslist and other web-based services to persuade, encourage, entice and recruit females to serve as prostitutes and promote their prostitution business,” the indictment said. They’re also accused of using the prostitution proceeds to buy Ecstasy, which they then distributed to friends, prostitutes and customers.
In the past year, Craigslist has come under fire for the sex advertisements posted on its Web pages. In April, after a Boston medical student allegedly killed a prostitute he met through Craigslist, the free Internet classifieds company started requiring posters of sex advertisements to pay. The plan, the company said at the time, was for Craigslist to better identify the people behind the advertisements.
But according to the indictment, Corey and others used prepaid debit cards and aliases when posting on Craigslist to “conceal their unlawful activities.” Using that method between April 20 and April 23, Corey posted sexually explicit pictures of a 16-year-old Ohio girl on Craigslist and gave her the moniker “Vanilla.” The advertisements worked, the indictment said, and the girl was sold for sex.
Law enforcement officials described the sex business as human trafficking.
“Protecting our communities from the threats and vulnerabilities posed by criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking is a top priority for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Special Agent William Winter whose agency investigated and cracked the case.
Corey faces life in prison for sex trafficking by force, prosecutors said. Among the other charges he faces are distribution of child pornography and conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy.
