Baltimore Woman Faces 135 Charges Tied To MD Sex Trafficking Ring

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore woman has been charged with 135 criminal counts tied to a sex trafficking ring authorities said she operated that trapped drug addicts in sex work. Kenika Danielle Leach, 33, of Baltimore, has been indicted by a Washington County grand jury.

Authorities said at least 11 women from Hagerstown were trafficked by Leach and her organization to hotels and motels throughout Maryland to perform commercial sex acts. Charges in the indictment include managing a criminal organization and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, threat, coercion, or fraud.

“Sex trafficking is a horrific crime that often preys on people struggling with the disease of drug addiction, exploiting their dependency to coerce and control them,” said Attorney General Brown in a news release. “The lasting harm to survivors is profound — it’s physically and psychologically traumatic and shatters their sense of security and self-worth.”

In December 2021, the Baltimore Police Department was notified by local hospital staff that a patient had told them Leach had taken her from Hagerstown to the Baltimore area to commit commercial sex acts. Leach received money for the victim's sex work and “compensated” the victim by giving her drugs, the attorney general's office said.

Detectives contacted the Attorney General’s Office’s Organized Crime Unit, which launched what became a two-year investigation into Leach and her criminal organization, which sometimes advertised itself as the “Pussy Kat Klub.”

By working with Homeland Security Investigations and Maryland State Police, and by reviewing cell phone, social media, and financial records, investigators identified 10 additional sex workers who had been trafficked by Leach from Hagerstown to hotels in the Baltimore and Anne Arundel County areas for sex work.

The indictment said each of the women was actively experiencing drug addiction, which Leach exploited by providing drugs to them and then controlling and restricting their access to drugs, in order to coerce them into performing commercial sex acts. The money victims earned from sex acts would often be paid directly to Leach through the phone application “Cash App.”

Authorities said Leach used physical violence to coerce and control the women.

Leach’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 24 in Washington County Circuit Court.

“In this case … we were able to catch a criminal who preyed on vulnerable populations. I hope this indictment brings some peace to all those affected by Kenika Leach’s illicit actions," said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley.