Five metro area men and women were arrested Wednesday for operating a criminal enterprise featuring, among other things, the human trafficking of a child. The arrests follow a lengthy investigation of a prostitution ring originally called “Detroit Pink.”
Arrested yesterday were Mustaffa Hassan Muhammad, his former wife Tara Muhammad, Brooklyn Marie Siebert, Rita Jean Jemison and Jason Michael Sherrill. The exact charges varied with each defendant, but all were indicted for operating a criminal enterprise.
According to a press release from the Attorney General’s office, that enterprise was founded in 2006 as “Detroit Pink,” an online escort service that employed about two dozen prostitutes. The network was based in Detroit, but operated for the most part from hotels in Southfield.
The website was closed in 2007, but the operation continued using other sites to post salacious photos of women with ads offering escort services at $150-300 per hour.
What separates this from a typical pandering case is that one of the escorts was allegedly recruited when she was 15. Mustaffa Muhammad, Siebert and Jemison are each charged with human trafficking involving a child for using the girl.
Other charges against the individuals include prostitution, pandering and accepting the earnings of a prostitute. All five were allegedly involved in the day-to-day operation of the escort service, hence the racketeering charge common to each.
Mustaffa Muhammad was also charged with trafficking in marijuana and ecstasy, and with forcing one of his prostitutes to act as a drug courier.
A joint task force featuring the Michigan State Police and the FBI led the investigation, working with local law enforcement agencies and the US Marshals.
The five defendants are scheduled to be arraigned today in the 46th district court in Southfield.
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