Two men are behind bars after being charged in a brutal human trafficking ring that exploited six women across four Pennsylvania counties and southern New Jersey. Kenneth Crowell, 34, and Barry “Bear” Schiff, 50, allegedly used violence, drugs, and intimidation to force women into prostitution from 2014 until October 2017, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Crowell was apprehended outside Chicago during the holiday weekend, while Schiff, already serving time in York County, was formally arrested on new charges. Both face counts of trafficking in individuals, corrupt organizations, involuntary servitude, conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver, and multiple prostitution-related offenses. The case was built through a statewide investigating grand jury and extensive law enforcement collaboration.
The operation began unraveling in April 2017 when undercover Pennsylvania State Troopers responded to a prostitution ad posted on Backpage. The ad led them to a hotel in Lancaster, where they met a woman who immediately identified herself as a victim. She said she had been recruited by Crowell and Schiff while working at a gentlemen’s club in York and wanted out — but feared for her life.
She told investigators Schiff supplied heroin and opioid pills to the women he controlled, using addiction as a leash. When she objected to drugs being sold from her hotel room, Schiff pulled a knife on her, threatening her into silence. Another victim testified before the grand jury that she was coerced into the ring when she was desperate for cash, only to be trapped by escalating threats and dependency.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro condemned the pair’s actions as a “horrible case” of exploitation, emphasizing that the promise of easy money was a lie used to lure vulnerable women. “When the victims tried to leave, these criminals used violence and threats of violence to keep them working as prostitutes against their will,” Shapiro said. “We will use every tool at our disposal to prosecute these kinds of human trafficking cases.”
The investigation was a joint effort between the Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Northern York County Regional Police, Dallas TX police, Millville NJ police, the North Star Initiative of Lancaster, and the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia Anti-Human Trafficking Program. This marks the second major trafficking bust by state authorities in recent weeks — another case in Montgomery County was cracked open after an alert Uber driver contacted police.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: Pennsylvania AG
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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