Chicago and Hammond police have busted a prostitution ring allegedly run by budding hip hop artists who advertised erotic services on Craigslist, reports the Northwest Indiana Times.  This story sounds like a rap video — hip hop artists were pimping women and runaway children to get money to expand their musical careers.

A November prostitution bust in Hammond helped Cook County bring charges Friday against four aspiring hip-hop artists and producers whom authorities say also ran a sophisticated prostitution ring through the Internet site Craigslist.

Three Chicago men and one from Evergreen park each face one count of involuntary servitude of a minor, a Class X felony that falls under a law enacted in January 2006 and is being applied in Cook County for the first time, sheriff’s police spokeswoman Penny Mateck said. The men are accused of pimping at least 11 women, four of whom ranged in age from 15 to 17, she said.

Authorities said the men apparently intended to use income from the prostitution to further their musical ambitions.

In addition, five Chicago women and a 20-year-old from southern Missouri face prostitution charges after their arrests during the investigation, Mateck said. He said a number of juvenile girls were questioned by police but released without charge.

Technorati Tags: craigslist, crime, hip hop, prostitution

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