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Two Men Plead Guilty to Prostitution Operation
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Two Columbia, Mo., men pleaded guilty in federal court today to their roles in a prostitution operation.
Barry Paul Manthe, 65, and Ronald James Clark, 67, each waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty in separate appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps to a federal information that charges them with using the internet to promote a racketeering enterprise, a prostitution business that operated out of a Columbia residence.
According to court documents, Manthe paid for escort advertisements on the website Backpage for the prostitutes utilizing the brothel. Clark collected the door fee from the prostitutes, which ranged from $10 to $30. The remaining profit was split between Manthe and Clark.
Manthe and Clark operated a brothel at a residence in Columbia where a 17-year-old runaway from Wisconsin was being held against her will and forced into prostitution by Kenneth Ronald Jones, 26, of Columbia. Jones pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, 2018, to one count of the sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity by coercion and enticement.
Another victim, identified as “FV2,” told police that she worked at the brothel every day and was advertised through Backpage. Jones physically abused her in the days prior to her running away in late May or early June 2016. She reported Jones pointed a 9mm handgun in her face and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
Under federal statutes, Manthe and Clark are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. They were investigated by the FBI, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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