Minnesota prosecutors charge 4 in alleged sex-trafficking

Prosecutors in Minnesota have charged four suspects in an alleged sex-trafficking ring that targeted women who are Chinese nationals and kept them isolated.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said Wednesday the ring operated out of Irvine, California, but involved criminal activity in North Dakota and Minnesota, mainly in the eastern Twin Cities area.

Charges include sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and concealing criminal proceeds.

The only Minnesotan charged in the case is 28-year-old Dongzhou Jiang of Blaine. Orput says he acted as a “regional boss,” taking the women to various sites around the Twin Cities where they were forced to have sex with men.

Prosecutors say the women were forced to work 12 to 14 hours a day.

The Star Tribune reports the three California defendants – all women – await extradition to Minnesota.