Federal investigators on Monday indicted 29 suspected Somali gang members they say forced underage girls into prostitution here and in Minnesota in a large sex trafficking operation.
The indictment targets three groups that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has identified as Somali gangs: the Somali Outlaws, the Somali Mafia and the Lady Outlaws.
According to the indictment, members of those gangs traveled from the St. Paul area to Nashville, where they prostituted girls as young as 13 years old.
“Trafficking children for sex is, to put it mildly, intolerable,” said U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin at a Monday morning press conference.
According to the indictment, the sex trafficking began in Minnesota as far back as 2005, with the gang taking a 13-year-old from state to state to perform sex acts. One of their key points of operation was a Village Hills Drive apartment in South Nashville. Other locations included Seattle and Columbus, Ohio.
Prosecutors said that the gang members had family ties to Nashville, which boasts a significant Somali population, particularly in South Nashville.
Charges include conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, perjury, obstruction of justice and credit card fraud, Martin said. At least 24 of the 29 indicted have already been arrested, he said.
