McHenry County Blog

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

THREE DEFENDANTS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY TRANSPORTING MINOR GIRLS FROM IOWA TO CHICAGO TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION

CHICAGO — Three defendants have been arrested in Iowa and Ohio on federal charges filed in Chicago for allegedly engaging in sex-trafficking of three minor girls they transported earlier this year from Iowa City to Chicago for prostitution, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

The defendants were each charged with one count of conspiracy to transport minors across state lines to engage in prostitution in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The charges allege that the defendants knew that coercion, force, and the threat of force would be used to cause the victims to engage in commercial sex acts.

Defendant MALIK McKEE, 19, and his sister, SHUNTINA McKEE, 23, both of Iowa City and formerly of suburban Country Club Hills, Ill., were arrested yesterday in Iowa City.

The third defendant, WILLIE WOODS, 41, of Toledo, Ohio, and formerly of Iowa City, was arrested Friday in Toledo.

The government is seeking to have all three defendants transferred to Chicago in custody to face the charges here.

The arrests and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The FBI and CPD conducted the investigation, in coordination with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement authorities in the Southern District of Iowa and the Northern District of Ohio also provided assistance.

According to the complaint, the investigation began on April 25, 2012, when one of the victims – Minor A, who was 14 at the time – snuck out of a room at a hotel in the 9100 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago after others were asleep and called her mother in Iowa.

The girl’s mother called the Chicago Police and officers responded to the hotel and contacted federal authorities.

The complaint states that

• online advertisements posted on various Internet sites in Chicago and elsewhere,
• hotel records,
• bus records, and
• other evidence

show that the defendants acted as pimps and posted online ads promoting prostitution of the three victims – Minors A, B, and C, all from Iowa and ages 14, 16 and 16, respectively, at the time.

In April this year, Malik McKee and Woods allegedly purchased bus tickets for the victims and transported them from Iowa City to Chicago to engage in prostitution.

All three defendants allegedly benefitted financially from the charged conspiracy.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Church and Bethany Biesenthal.

Sex-trafficking of minors carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Behind the Crystal Lake Motel sign you can see the Virginia Street Tax Increment Financing Distict boundary marker, a stone pillar costing $16,000.

Next to The Freeze is the Crystal Lake Motel.  The Crystal Lake Police send this report about action taken there Monday right after midnight:

On [Monday] March 5^th, 2012 at 12:09 pm, Police were dispatched to the Crystal Lake Motel located at 110 Virginia Street, CL for a report of a robbery.

Upon arrival a witness stated they observed numerous subjects, described as being in their late teens or early twenties, exit motel room #201 along with a male, described as being in his fifties.

The older male subject was escorted out to the parking lot, where he was allowed to enter the driver’s door of a yellow taxi minivan.

While the other subjects walked around the vehicle to gain entry, the older male subject started the vehicle and fled the scene.

The witness also advised that as the taxi cab fled the area it appeared to strike one of the subjects who had attempted to gain entry, knocking her to the ground.

Further, that as the taxi cab fled the motel parking lot; it was pursued by the remaining individuals who had entered a small, white colored vehicle.

As Police responded to the scene they located the Yellow Metro Cab parked across the street a short distance from the motel along Virginia Street.

Police subsequently identified the taxi driver/owner as William Reynolds (M/W/52 years old) of Woodstock.

Upon questioning, Reynolds explained that earlier in the day he had been contacted by a female subject over the phone who offered to have sexual intercourse with Reynolds along with another female subject in exchange for money.

Reynolds stated that he drove to the motel, was invited in expecting to have a sexual encounter, and upon entering Room #201 he was attacked by numerous individuals who were hiding inside.

Reynolds stated that he was kicked and punched about the head and body by several male subjects who demanded money.

Those arrested in the cab driver robbery attempt are, from left to right on the top row, James Zavorski, Austin Busse, William Zavorski, and, on the bottom row, Brandon Stevens and Patricia Stoneburner.

He also stated that two of his assailants displayed knives demanding more money and threatened him with further bodily harm.

Reynolds offered them additional money but stated that he would need to take them to his bank.

At that time, he was escorted out of the motel and led to his vehicle, where his attackers allowed him to get into the vehicle.

At this time he started his taxi and immediately fled the scene.

Reynolds stated that the individuals pursued him westbound on Virginia Street in another vehicle, but stopped following and turned onto North Shore Drive at which time he called police.

Within minutes of the initial call, Officers located the suspects and a vehicle matching the description provided by the witnesses.

Seven of the alleged offenders were taken into custody and the subsequent investigation resulted in all seven being charged with the following offenses.

• James E. Zavorski (M/W D.O.B. 08-08-1993) of 325 Van Buren, Crystal Lake,
• William J. Zavorski (M/W D.O.B. 10-17-1990) of 110 N. Virginia Street, Crystal Lake and
• Brandon M. Stevens (M/W D.O.B. 11-08-1990) of 2204 Edgewood Drive, Woodstock

were charged with one count of Aggravated Battery, one count of Mob Action and one count of Robbery.
Patricia E. Stoneburner (F/W D.O.B. 10-25-1990) of 14411 Kishwaukee Valley Road, Woodstock was charged with one count of Conspiracy to commit Robbery and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Austin M. Busse (M/W D.O.B. 04-12-1983) of 110 N. Virginia Street, Crystal Lake was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery.

One seventeen year old female juvenile of Woodstock was charged as an adult for Robbery.

One seventeen year old male juvenile of Crystal Lake was charged as an adult for one count of Aggravated Battery, one count of Mob Action and one count of Robbery.

Missing my attention until a re-write of it was posted by the Northwest Herald and discovered by a Friend of McHenry County Blog was the January 13th press release below from the Aurora Police Department.

In the sting a State Policeman dressed as a woman assisted. The McHenry County angle is the prostitution arrest of Li Xia Sun, 47, of the 0-99 block of Deer Creek Ct., Lake in the Hills.

11 CHARGED IN PROSTITUTION STING

The Aurora Police Department’s Special Operations Group charged seven men and four women with sex-related crimes after a two day sting on January 4 and 5.

Six of the men were arrested after they answered a phony adult oriented advertisement posted by Aurora Police on an internet website.

The men then allegedly came to a home in Aurora where they offered an undercover female police officer money in exchange for sex.

The women and one of the men, who dressed like a woman, were arrested after an undercover male officer answered their ads which were posted on several different websites.

They then came to the same home and allegedly offered the undercover officer money in exchange for sex.

Charged with solicitation of a sexual act were:

Latawn R. Coon, 31, of the 2400 block of Rocksberry Rd., Montgomery; Kenneth J. Olivo, 36, of the 700 block of Plainfield Rd., Joliet; Everardo Hernandez, 35, of the 900 block of Harriet Av., Aurora; Cal R. Thurlby, 55, of the 1200 block of Townes Cr., Aurora; Asim Basit, 36, of the 800 block of Oakridge Blvd., Elgin; and Arturo Robles, 38, of the 3200 block of 53rd Av., Cicero.

Charged with prostitution were:

• Jessica A. Collins, 21, of the 2200 block of Parkside, Chicago;
• Michelle J. Beley, 30, of the 1000 block of Emerald Dr., Schaumburg;
• Megan E. Pumphrey, 22, of the 2800 block of N. 56th St., Milwaukee, WI;
• Antonio Chavez, 24, of the 500 block of Pennsylvania Av., Aurora; and
• Li Xia Sun, 47, of the 0-99 block of Deer Creek Ct., Lake in the Hills.

Aurora Police also seized nine vehicles during the operation. In order to retrieve them, the arrestees had to pay $500 plus towing and storage.

Police are not disclosing the location of the home used in the sting in order to protect the integrity of future operations.

A press release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney Office:

KARI KNOX AND ANTWANETTE ATKINS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR THE CRIME OF INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE OF A MINOR

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Kari Knox, 38, of Lake in the Hills and Antwanette Atkins, 44, of Lake in the Hills were each sentenced today to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the class X felony offense of Involuntary Servitude of a Minor following an August 2011 jury trial.

The evidence at trial revealed that on December 31, 2009, Kari Knox and Antwanette Atkins actively participated in arranging for a 14 year old girl from Kansas to engage in prostitution.

Knox photographed the minor in various poses and then uploaded the photographs to the internet.

Knox also provided clothing for the victim to wear and drove the victim to two separate suburban locations where the minor engaged in sexual acts.

Atkins posed with the minor in some of the photos, talked with the minor about how to detect if the men were police officers, told her how to interact with the men, and took phone calls to obtain addresses for the males responding to the internet posting.

This case was investigated by the Lake in the Hills Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein.

First it was prostitution arrests in Hampshire and Crystal Lake.

The Illinois State Police were called in.  Turns out it was the Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force.

The name plate outside the Crystal Lake prostitution arrest office read "The Healing Touch." Note that "East West Healing Touch" is not the name outside the door, although that was the apparent corporate entity.

When I asked for details, I got very few about the illegal activities at East West Healing Touch, 900 Pyott Road in the Crystal Lake office.

Ongoing investigation was the refusal reason.

Both women arrested were oriental.

Perhaps Chinese.

If so, this story about how Chinese illegals get

• to American without visas,
• arrested at O’Hare and
• detained at the McHenry County Jail

might be of interest.

The women, I was told by McHenry County’s chief jailer, have to work off the cost of the trip as prostitutes, while the men work in Chinese restaurants (not all such restaurants, of course).  I haven’t learned how they get out from behind the jail’s bars.

Sunday, I saw this article in the Northwest Herald about a prostitution arrest in McHenry.  Asian Massage Therapy, 323 N. Front St, the article, based on a police press release, said.

Last night I found out about a prostitution arrest in Algonquin in the Daily Herald. World Health Spa, 1445 W. Algonquin Road, a police official is quoted.

The Woodstock Massage Parlor (Photo Gus Philpott).

Also last night, the Northwest Herald noted another prostitution arrest, in Woodstock this time. Marigold Massage, 355 S. Eastwood Drive, the paper says.

When I asked for details about the Crystal Lake and Hampshire arrests, here’s the answer I got:

“The case is still being actively investigated and is an open investigation. The requested information is withheld per the freedom act’s provisions regarding

• interference with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(i),
• obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(vii),
• private information (5ILCS 140/7(1)(b), and
• create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trail or an impartial hearing (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iii).”

“Pursuant to ISP media guidelines, the following information is provided:

“The Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force arrested Lan Rue He, female, age 31, 5801 Darlington Lake, Crystal Lake for Prostitution (11-14a Class A) on July 29, 2010 at 1:30 at 900 Pyott Road, Crystal Lake. Bond is $1,000 ($100 cash – 10%).”

Think this is going to end up going after those who invested in the enterprises?

Might the owners have some connection?

The Leyden Township billboard tells "Johns" they could pay $2,150, if arrested for solicitation.

Going after the family vote, I suppose, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is conducting a highly publicized campaign against “Johns,” the customers of prostitutes.

It must be a bigger problem than in McHenry County.

The sign outside Suite 101 says, "The Healing Touch."

And, anyway the Illinois State Police raid on the massage parlor in the old Northwest Herald building next to Nick’s Pizza on Pyott Road was within the boundaries of Crystal Lake.

So, Sheriff Keith Nygren probably won’t follow Sheriff Dart’s billboard example.

But, State Police Colonel Rob Haley denied my Freedom of Information request for the police report on the arrest of Lan Rui He, age 31, who lived in an apartment on Darlington Lane, writing,

“The case is still being actively investigated and is an open investigation.  The requested information is withheld per the freedom act’s provisions regarding

• interference with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(i),
• obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(vii),
• private information (5ILCS 140/7(1)(b), and
• create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trail or an impartial hearing (5ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iii).

He continues,

900 Pyott Road, Crystal Lake, where the prostitution arrest was made.

“Pursuant to ISP media guidelines, the following information is provided:

“The Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force arrested Lan Rue He, female, age 31, 5801 Darlington Lake,  Crystal Lake for Prostitution (11-14a Class A) on July 29, 2010 at 1:30 at 900 Pyott Road, Crystal Lake.  Bond is $1,000 ($100 cash – 10%).”

Yesterday, I put up links to the Daily Herald’s and Courier News’ articles on the arrests in Crystal Lake at East West Healing Touch on Pyott Road.

An observant reader notes that I missed the article that was in the Chicago Sun-Times. So, just in case you want to read it, you can find it here.

There was an arrest in Hampshire at a place with the same name, but better advertised.

The articles indicate that assistance from the North Central Narcotics Task Force was requested by Crystal Lake and Hampshire police.

Here’s the paragraph about the Crystal Lake arrest:

“At about 12:30 p.m., police said, an undercover officer arrived for an appointment he had made by responding to a Craigslist post. More than 40 minutes into the massage, the woman rolled the officer over, removed his towel and, without asking, made a move to massage the officer’s privates. At that point, the officer made an excuse to leave, then called the rest of the task force to serve the warrant.”

There is at least one other Craiglist posting for similar services in Crystal Lake.

There is no mention of the Pyott Road location in Crystal Lake on the internet in this Google search. Click to enlarge.

The East West Healing Touch location in Crystal Lake cannot be found in this Google search, but the one in Hampshire pops up.

In June, I published this article about how I was told Chinese woman entering the United State illegally at O’Hare Airport end up in the ICE floor of the McHenry County Jail.

Further, that I was told they work off their airfare and the smuggler’s fee as prostitutes after they get out of jail.

There are reported Chinese connections to this story.

A Daily Herald article and an Elgin Courier News article are reporting an arrest at a Crystal Lake massage parlor.

900 Pyott Road is the address in the Courier-News article.

Read the details.

I like to work on the computer without background noise.

My brother-in-law, on the other hand, listens to Fox News.

Friday, the story of the day was how two employees of the community organizing group ACORN counseled a young woman and a man to get financing for a home out of which they were going to pimp 13-year old Central American girls.

Among other things, they were advised to claim the girls as “dependents.”

It was so ridiculous, I was laughing out loud.

You couldn’t write a situation comedy that funny.

Today, the top of the front page of the New York Post looks like this:

The non-media investigative reporters have done it again.

You’ve heard about the New York Post, right?

It loves scantily clan women and this story clings to that reputation.

“(James) O’Keefe and (Hannah) Giles were garishly dressed as a stereotypical pimp and prostitute. O’Keefe was decked out in excessively snazzy flesh-peddler couture, and Giles, going by the name ‘Eden,’ wore almost nothing.”

But to see how little, you’ll have the go to the original and/or watch the video.  (The video of the interview plus some introductory shots are embedded on the web site.)

ACORN is the community organizing group that was accused of vote fraud in more than one location last fall.

Among the advice on the video linked to the article:

“Say you’re freelancing.

“Day one you make a sale.

“Day two you make another sale.

“You’re self-employed. You’re free lancing.

“Honest is not going to get you the house.”

And, the advice about where to hide the illegally gotten gains sounds like it came from someone intimately involved in the business of prostitution. The video reveals the correct answer from the list below.

No wonder there were anti-ACORN signs at the Randall Road Liberty Trail demonstration on Saturday.

I wonder how many other cities, if any, these two young people have drawn into their web.

And, to think, the Barack Obama administration wanted this group to play a major role in taking the U.S. Census, which, of course, is a big determinant in how many congressional seats each party will get in 2012.

O’Keefe has read Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals.”

“He has been targeting and exposing the ‘absurdities of the enemy by employing their own rules and language,’”he told the New York Post, adding,

“This kind of undercover, guerrilla tactic is the ‘future of investigative journalism and political activism.’”

In 2008, he made a series of videos of Planned Parenthood visits, which have been featured on Illinois Review.

ACORN responded by accusing Fox News of trying to make them the Willie Horton of 2009.

“This recent scam, which was attempted in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia to name a few places, had failed for months before the results we’ve all recently seen,” a statement from Bertha Lewis, Chief ACORN Organizer, said.