| Advertisement |
A Minnesota high school cheerleader has been charged with sex trafficking and promoting prostitution for allegedly pimping out a 16-year-old teammate who receives special education services. Montia Marie Parker, an 18-year-old senior at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, was arrested May 22 after setting up Backpage.com advertisement for her teammate, then driving the girl to an apartment in Crystal, Minn., to have sex with a man and then taking the $60 she made.
Advertisement
The FBI and Minnetonka police were called in after the mother of a 16-year-old girl saw suspicious text messages between her daughter and Parker on her daughter's phone, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Parker allegedly sent the girl a message on Facebook asking if she'd be willing to have sex for money, and then asked for her to send photos that were "not too nasty but kind of cute," the criminal complaint alleges. The Backpage.com ad listed the girl's pictures but Parker's phone number.
They left school on March 5, driving to an apartment building, where the girl allegedly had oral sex with a man and then gave the $60 she made to Parker, who deposited it in her bank account.
On March 6, Parker called the school pretending to be the girl's mother, excusing her from school and taking her back to the apartment. When the girl refused to have intercourse with the man, he kicked her out and Parker drove her back to school.
That's when the girl's mother noticed a change in her daughter's behavior and heard about unexcused absences from school, and checked the girl's phone.
Police were able to trace the Backpage.com ad Parker, who admitted to setting it up.
"When we learned of [the charges], we acted immediately to ensure the safety of all Hopkins High School students,” said Jolene Goldade, spokeswoman for the school district, in a statement.
Parker will appear in court next week to face two two felony charges. She was expelled from Hopkins High School in March.
She faces 20 years in prison or a $50,000 fine if convicted.
