2nd Man Charged With Prostituting Disabled Woman; Chicago : June 24, 2011

Chicago Sun-Times : June 24, 2011

CHICAGO (STMW) — A second man is in jail Friday after being charged with kidnapping a mentally disabled woman and forcing her to perform acts of prostitution while holding her against her will for four days.

Chester Nelson, 36, of the 1700 block West Albion Street was arrested June 10 and charged with involuntary servitude.

And on Thursday, Carlos Mitchell, 34, of 1925 S. 21st Street in Maywood was also charged with involuntary servitude, a Class X felony, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Andy Conklin said.

Mitchell was ordered held on $250,000 bond Friday, Conklin said. Nelson is also being held on $250,000 bond, and both will appear for a preliminary hearing on July 1.

The crime happened over a four-day period from June 6-10, prosecutors allege. The 20-year-old Crystal Lake woman was in Chicago visiting a friend when Mitchell picked her up, according to prosecutors, who said she is mentally handicapped with the mind of a 12-year-old.

Mitchell allegedly took her to a hotel and demanded the victim strip, but she refused. She wanted to go home, but Mitchell told her she couldn’t leave until she made him some money, prosecutors claim.

He then took her to another hotel at 92nd and Stony Island Avenue, where his girlfriend, allegedly a prostitute, had her to set up a party line message. But no one came to the hotel room for sex that night, prosecutors said.

The next morning, Mitchell ordered her to stand naked in the hotel room for two hours. Nelson later arrived at the hotel to pimp out girls, and arranged for the victim to have sex with two men.

At some point, the woman told someone she was being held against her will. That person tried to give her a bus pass, but Nelson took it away, court records said.

Nelson was arrested June 10 after the victim was able to call her father and tell him what happened. The woman then jumped out of Mitchell’s car when she saw police and flagged them down.

Police located Mitchell on June 22 and he was tackled and subdued after a brief chase. A police officer suffered a shoulder injury during the struggle, court records indicate.

Mitchell was identified by the victim and three other witnesses, including his co-defendant Nelson, prosecutors said.

# More on report at: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/06/24/2nd-man-charged-with-prostituting-disabled-woman/