MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 36-year-old Minneapolis man is accused of soliciting his girlfriend, a vulnerable female adult with mild retardation, for prostitution, according to charges filed Friday in Hennepin County Court.
Vonell Allen Ellis Sr. was charged with one felony count of solicitation, inducement and promotion of prostitution in connection with the case.
According to the charges, Minneapolis Police learned that on Jan. 30, they learned a vulnerable adult female had been engaging in prostitution at the direction of her boyfriend. She told her family that her boyfriend, later identified as Ellis, set up advertisements on Craigslist and the City Pages among several web sites.
Police spoke with the woman on Feb. 11, and she said she was living with Ellis and he was having her engage in prostitution for money. Police said she told her boyfriend she needed to do something to make money, so he posted advertisements of her on Backpage.com, SugarDaddy.com and the City Pages offering her services, the complaint states.
Ellis said in the advertisements the customer could do whatever they wanted to her, meaning having sexual intercourse with her, and he would provide condoms. The woman said Ellis would tell her how to talk to the men and what do with them, according to the complaint.
Ellis would hide in a bathroom while she would have sex with the men. She told police she engaged in prostitution with two men last November and one other man last December. Ellis would take the money and give her $50, according to the complaint.
The woman later told Ellis she didn’t want to be a prostitute anymore, so Ellis said he would find another girl. She then moved out of his home.
Minneapolis Police found Ellis on Wednesday and took him into custody. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
