PORTLAND, Maine — Two Chinese nationals, a husband and wife, who are accused of operating a prostitution and sex trafficking ring across multiple New England states, including Maine, are expected to be in federal court in Portland on Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors said the operation was run by 37-year-old Shou Chao Li, and his wife, 37-year-old Derong Miao, both Chinese nationals living in Concord, New Hampshire.
The couple allegedly targeted Chinese women, recruiting them to travel to Maine and work in prostitution, then depriving them of necessities like food, clothes and documents so they couldn’t leave on their own, according to prosecutors.
According to court documents, the couple used social media to find Chinese women who were in the United States on tourism visas and promised them hundreds of dollars a day in exchange for sex.
The indictment states the women were advertised on Backpage.com, which has since been seized by authorities, and then taken to meet clients at a variety of hotels and motels across New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. The list includes three motels in South Portland.
A rental property on Brighton Avenue in Portland was identified as another site allegedly used for sex.
[Husband and wife kept Chinese tourists as sex slaves in Portland homes, prosecutors say]
A rental home on Verrill Street in Portland was also used as a “prostitution house” in 2016, according to court documents.
The couple is facing federal charges including sex trafficking by fraud and coercion, which could send them to prison for life.
Both Li and Miao are scheduled to appear separately in court Tuesday for bail hearings.
A U.S. District Court judge will rule on conditions for any potential bond.
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