Barry Paul Manthe, Prostitution Enterprise, Missouri 2017

Prostitution Enterprise Exposed in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – In a shocking turn of events, two men have been charged in federal court in relation to a prostitution operation in Columbia, Missouri.

Barry Paul Manthe, 63, and Ronald James Clark, 63, both of Columbia, were charged in separate but related cases in connection with a prostitution business that operated out of a Columbia residence.

According to a federal complaint, Manthe and Clark used the internet to promote a racketeering enterprise, a prostitution business that operated out of a Columbia residence.

The investigation that led to these charges resulted in a federal indictment that was returned on March 22, 2017. In a separate but related case, Kenneth Ronald Jones, 25, of Columbia, was charged in an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City.

Jones is charged with three counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity by coercion and enticement. The indictment alleges that Jones induced three victims to travel across state lines to engage in prostitution and illicit sexual activity between May 1 and June 1, 2016.

One of the victims, a 17-year-old runaway from Wisconsin, was allegedly held against her will and forced into prostitution by Jones. She was located at a residence in Columbia on June 29, 2016, and removed by law enforcement agents.

The investigation revealed that Manthe paid for escort advertisements on the website Backpage for the prostitutes utilizing the brothel, while Clark collected the door fee from the prostitutes and divided the remaining profit with Manthe.

Jones allegedly threatened to kick one of the victims to the streets if she did not engage in prostitution, and even pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her when she refused.

The case is just the latest in a string of prostitution-related charges in Missouri, highlighting the need for increased awareness and action to combat this crime.

Manthe and Clark remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing, and Jones is also being held without bond.

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