4 Women Recovered By Police In Lombard Human Trafficking Ring: ISP

LOMBARD, IL — Four women have been recovered from a Lombard hotel where they were being used as part of a sex trafficking ring that was being run by a Chicago man who was arrested and charged last week, the Illinois State Police announced on Monday.

The women, who are between the ages of 18 and 32, were found at the Sonesta Suites SE in Lombard, state police said, after Heggie Carr, 55, was taken into custody following an investigation by state police.

Carr was denied pre-trial release on Friday after he was charged with two counts of involuntary servitude and two counts of trafficking in persons for labor, the DuPage County State’s Attorney said in a news release on Friday.

On Monday, the Illinois State Police released further details about the two-month investigation that led to Carr’s arrest last week. The investigation began in September when authorities in Peoria County were contacted about human trafficking allegations by an 18-year-old woman who claimed to have been part of the ring.

The woman said she had escaped servitude and was staying at an alternative housing center in Peoria County. However, when police went to make contact with the woman, they were told that she had been picked up by a man who was not a relative. Further investigation led police to DuPage County, where they were directed to online ads that prosecutors said were placed by Carr, advertising sexual services in ads depicting a number of women, including the woman who had previously contacted police.

On Nov. 29, police obtained a search warrant and saw Carr walking from the Lombard hotel, where he was taken into custody. Investigators executed the search warrant of the hotel and discovered the four women along with further evidence supporting the human trafficking claims.

In charging Carr last week, prosecutors said that in addition to running the trafficking ring, Carr is alleged to have beaten the women on a daily basis.

“We have a responsibility to protect those vulnerable to human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual servitude,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly said in a news release. “Our officers persistent work and exceptional investigative efforts paid off. At least four women can begin the healing process and potentially several more have been saved from a future of human trafficking.”