Sex Trafficker Nabbed In Undercover Sting At Bridgeview Motel: Sheriff

BRIDGEVIEW, IL — A Joliet man who set up a “date” for a woman he employed as a sex worker was arrested when an undercover vice investigator showed up instead of a john at a Bridgeview hotel, Cook County Sheriff’s Police said. .

James Hardeman, 38, appeared Sunday for a pre-trial hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building on felony charges of trafficking for labor/recruits, trafficking for labor/benefits, involuntary solitude causing financial harm, and promoting prostitution.

Investigators from the sheriff’s vice unit responded to an ad on a website known for hosting commercial sex solicitations. An undercover investigator met with the woman at a motel last Wednesday, where police said she agreed to have sex with him in exchange for cash.

Other investigators entered the room and learned the woman was being trafficked by Hardeman, who was waiting outside near the room, sheriff’s police said. Hardeman was taken into custody without incident.

Further investigation at sheriff’s police headquarters revealed that Hardeman recruited the woman into commercial sex work last November. Hardeman is alleged to have kept the proceeds, maintained possession of room keys, and provided security while the woman was inside of hotel rooms with johns.

The woman was connected with the sheriff’s victim support services team led by sex trafficking survivors who provide resources and support to victims so they can move forward with their lives.

Hardeman was ordered detained in Cook County Jail while his case is pending. He is due back in court April 1 in Bridgeview.