Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – A Silver Spring man has been charged with human trafficking after police say he forced two women into prostitution and pocketed the money.
A tip about a suspicious ad for sex on the website Backpage led Howard County Police to a Laurel hotel where they say 36-year-old Keven Oswald was prostituting a 20-year-old woman from Pennsylvania and a 27-year-old from California.
Howard County Police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn said they don’t know how the woman met Oswald.
“We don’t have any information indicating that this particular suspect brought them here, although we do know the suspect was transporting them to both Philadelphia and New York for the purposes of engaging in prostitution,” said Llewellyn.
The interstate travel allowed police to charge Oswald with human trafficking.
Police aren’t sure if Oswald may have victimized other women.
The two women found at the hotel were taken to safe locations and are being offered support services.
Llewellyn said in the last two years the county has increased the resources devoted to stopping human trafficking.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Howard County Police Department)
