MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 30-year-old man faces eight felony counts of prostituting young girls throughout Minnesota over the last few years.
Akmal Saleem Karon has been arrested and made his first court appearance on Wednesday.
According to the criminal complaint, Karon allegedly prostituted a girl in the St. Cloud area as well as in Richfield back in 2010. The girl was 16 at the time.
Investigators said Karon, who has no known address, advertised the girl’s services through notices placed on Backpage.com. When officers caught the girl, she admitted to being a prostitute.
Investigators found a number of calls made to Karon on her cell phone. The girl later said that she had been coerced, and that Karon had repeatedly beaten her and once burned her with a cigar.
In 2011, investigators in St. Paul were contacted about another case of underage prostitution. A 14-year-old girl told officers that Karon had beaten her and forced her into prostitution until she managed to escape.
Karon’s bail has been set at $200,000.
