Accused pair in Henrietta kidnapping case indicted on sex trafficking charges
The pair accused of kidnapping a woman from a hotel lobby in Henrietta in early July have been indicted on sex trafficking charges, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.A man and woman − both 27-year-old Rochester residents − are accused of dragging a woman from the lobby of the Microtel Inn, 905 Lehigh Station Road, Henrietta, to a vehicle in the hotel's parking lot around 5:45 a.m. on July 5, said Deputy Brendan Hurley of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. All three people were located about nine hours later in a vehicle in Rochester.Cordell L. Brooks and Shuntiayana Sims − are each facing charges of sex trafficking, second-degree promoting prostitution, second-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, all felonies, in connection with the incident. A Monroe County grand jury on Friday indicted the pair and they will be arraigned at a later date in Monroe County or state Supreme Court.Brooks and Sims are each being held in the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $10
The pair accused of kidnapping a woman from a hotel lobby in Henrietta in early July have been indicted on sex trafficking charges, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.
A man and woman − both 27-year-old Rochester residents − are accused of dragging a woman from the lobby of the Microtel Inn, 905 Lehigh Station Road, Henrietta, to a vehicle in the hotel's parking lot around 5:45 a.m. on July 5, said Deputy Brendan Hurley of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. All three people were located about nine hours later in a vehicle in Rochester.
Cordell L. Brooks and Shuntiayana Sims − are each facing charges of sex trafficking, second-degree promoting prostitution, second-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, all felonies, in connection with the incident. A Monroe County grand jury on Friday indicted the pair and they will be arraigned at a later date in Monroe County or state Supreme Court.
Brooks and Sims are each being held in the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond.
Investigator Sgt. Dave Bolton of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office earlier this month said that the woman dragged from the hotel lobby was being trafficked or prostituted by Brooks and Sims and that the victim, whose name was not released, recently came to the Rochester area and had been working with the pair for several months.
In a surveillance video, one woman is seen dragging another from the lobby of the hotel. Bolton said that the victim was in the lobby to get away from the others, which led to a physical altercation. The video shows the victim grasping for the counter, door frames and handles in an attempt to remain inside the hotel, but is dragged outside. Once in the vestibule, a man takes over and carries the victim out of the frame to the waiting vehicle.
After police located the trio, the victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Cordell Brooks, Shuntiayana Sims indicted on sex trafficking charges
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