SlaveryMap
Open the mapMap

Sex Trafficking in Ottumwa, Iowa (2024)

A sex trafficking case from 2024 in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. 1 source on file.

This page describes exploitation and abuse. Need to report something? How to report →

What happened

A Micronesian couple recruited two young men from Micronesia with promises of legal US work, then withheld their passports to coerce their labor at a meat processing plant. Accused: Micronesian couple (Federated States of Micronesia citizens) operating in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Response and intervention

Ottumwa Police Department investigation with Civil Rights Division support. Couple sentenced to 48 months in prison and nearly $70,000 restitution. Victims assisted through Southern District of Iowa victim services.

CSEC2012

Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States, 2012

United States US

Michael Malcom, age 55, from Humboldt, Iowa, Ashley Prince, age 21, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Nikki Fawcett, age 23, from Fort Dodge, Iowa charged with child sexual exploitation and other charges. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed December 19, 2011, in United States District Court in Sioux City. The Indictment alleges that, between 2007 and 2010, Malcom, Prince, and Fawcett employed, used, persuaded, induced, and enticed one or more minors under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of this conduct. The Indictment alleges that Malcom and Prince conspired to sexually exploit children, and it alleges that Malcom and Fawcett transported persons across a state line, including a person under 18, with the intent that these persons engage in prostitution. If convicted, Malcom faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life in prison, $1,250,000 in fines, $500 in special assessments, and at least 5 years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment. If convicted, Prince faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 60 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 in fines, $200 in special assessments, and at least 5 years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment. If convicted, Fawcett faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life in prison, $750,000 in fines, $300 in special assessments, and at least 5 years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment. Malcom, Prince, and Fawcett appeared December 19, 2011, in federal court in Sioux City and were released on bond. Their next appearance for trial is set for February 6, 2012.

1 sourceArchive 2008–2016
CSEC2010

Williamsburg, Iowa, United States, 2010

United States US

Demont Bowie of Wellman, IA was sentenced to 35 years in prison for kidnapping a 13-year-old Minneapolis girl and holding her in the basement of a house in Williamsburg, IA. He forced her to have sex with his friends and with other men as part of a prostitution ring that his father, Robert Sallis, operated. Bowie threatened that he would kill the girl and her family if she did not comply.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016
Sex Trafficking2008

Denison, Iowa, United States, 2008

United States US

Leonard Russell recruited two girls from Nebraska to engage in commercial sexual activity, including prostitution, and to perform at strip clubs. The two victims, ages 15 and 16, were runaways and were harbored by Russell. The victims testified that they met Russell in Omaha, Nebraska on August 20, 2007 after they ran away from a juvenile home located in Fremont, Nebraska. They were recruited to help at 19-year old prostitute, named Marcia Ryan. The victims were then transported to Davenport, Iowa, then Rockford, Illinois, and finally back to Denison, Iowa. They were forced to engage in prostitution and perform at strip clubs, one of which was Big Earl’s Key Club in Denison, Iowa. They were forced to give their earnings to Russell and Ryan to pay for their food, shelter, transportation, and clothes. One victim was with Russell for eight days, and the other for 10 days. Investigations showed that they had been advertised on the internet as prostitutes.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016