Cheerleader Accused of Sex Trafficking, Prostitution of 16-Year-Old Teammate
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Comstock/Thinkstock(MINNETONKA, Minn.) — A high school cheerleader has been arrested for allegedly pimping out a fellow member of her Minnesota pom-pom squad.
Montia Parker, 18, of Maple Grove, Minn., is due in Hennepin County District Court to face felony charges of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution on June 12.
Parker, a senior at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn., allegedly contacted a fellow cheerleader after she overheard her talking with girls on the team about trying to make money, the complaint stated.
Through text messages, Parker allegedly asked her sophomore teammate if she would be willing to have sex for money. The victim told Parker that she would be willing to perform specific sexual acts, according to the complaint.
Parker allegedly advised the teen to take photos of herself that were, “not too nasty but kinda cute” and to send them to her. Parker told the girl to wear “different outfits” and “show a little skin,” the complaint stated.
Parker also took the victim out of school on March 6, calling into the school and pretending to be her mother, the complaint stated. The victim’s mother eventually began to notice her daughter was acting differently, according to the document.
When she found out that she had an unexcused absence from school on March 5, she checked the teen’s cell phone, the complaint stated. When she saw text messages between Parker and her daughter revealing that Parker convinced the teen to prostitute herself, she contacted the police.
Authorities uncovered the Backpage.com ad featuring the teen in the pictures she had sent to Parker, as well as Parker’s contact information on the page, the complaint stated.
When Parker was interviewed by police on April 4, she admitted she knew the victim from cheerleading, created the Backpage.com ad for her, and drove her to perform sex acts on two separate occasions, for which she pocketed the payment, according to the affidavit.
“She really didn’t deny any of the allegations,” Minnetonka Police Chief Mark Raquet told ABC News.
Parker told police she had gotten “a lot of calls” from men who had seen the ad, and that she was still receiving phone calls from men, “requesting oral and vaginal sex without protection,” the complaint stated.
Parker was initially arrested and booked at Minnetonka Police Department on April 4, but released the same day because she had not been formally charged, Raquet said.
The Hennepin County Attorney charged Parker by warrant on May 21. Subsequently, she was arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail on May 22. She bonded out the next day, a jail spokesman told ABC News.
If convicted on sex trafficking charges, she faces up to 15 years in jail and/or a $40,000 fine. If convicted on prostitution charges, she faces up to 20 years in jail and/or a $50,000 fine, according to the criminal complaint.
Hopkins High School immediately expelled Parker when they learned of her prostitution scheme, district spokeswoman Jolene Goldade told ABC News in a prepared statement.
“Although the events did not occur on school grounds, the charges are very serious,” Goldade said in the statement. “Whether an incident occurs on our campus or not, student safety is always our top priority.”
Goldade was unable to disclose the date of Parker’s expulsion, but stated that the school took disciplinary action, “as soon as the report was made available to us.”
Goldade could not confirm whether or not the 16-year-old victim was still enrolled at Hopkins High School.
Racquet said that the details surrounding the case were “highly unusual.”
“We’ve had prostitution cases involving Backpage with non-students, but nothing at the high school level,” he said.
ABC News’ calls to the Hennepin County Attorney office, who is prosecuting the case, were not immediately returned. Calls to Parker’s attorney, Chela Guzman-Wiegert, were also not immediately returned.
Attempts to contact Parker’s family were not successful.
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