Iowa man accused of trafficking his girlfriend

An Urbandale man who allegedly arranged for his girlfriend to have sex with other men for money is facing charges.

According to court documents, 22-year-old Jacob Michael Kerr rented a West Des Moines hotel room for about a month. Police believe Kerr arranged and vetted clients to come to the hotel for sex. Kerr allegedly took a portion of the earnings.

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“Through the course of the investigation, the investigative team does believe she was coerced into performing these prostitution acts,” Sgt. Jason Heintz with the West Des Moines police said.

West Des Moines police told KCCI that the investigation started after a tip from a hotel employee.

“Something is off. It may be finding certain indicators that they have been trained on, where a victim may be somewhat despondent. They may be denied basic food, critical care. They may be controlled by a certain person. And these tips are what lead us to these investigations,” Heintz said.

Investigators say Kerr and his girlfriend have been in a relationship for about four years and currently live together.

Kerr is charged with pimping, a class D felony; human trafficking – solicitation, a class C felony; and pandering for prostitution, a class D felony.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 17.

KCCI spoke to Kellie Markey, who founded Dorothy's House eight years ago. Dorothy's House is a safe space for survivors of human trafficking, exploitation and prostitution.

Markey can't speak specifically to this case, but she says, in general, a situation such as this usually starts one way for the woman being sex trafficked.

“It's very common in our community for a trafficking situation to start as a relationship. Whether that's a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, it's a parent/child relationship, an older sibling, an uncle or just a friend,” Markey said.

Markey says there is help out there for women who find themselves in a situation where they are being trafficked.

“It's a process of re-learning their sense of self-worth and value in the community in which they will eventually thrive. It doesn't happen overnight,” Markey said.

Hotel employees are required to complete human trafficking training in Iowa.

They are taught how to recognize potential human traffickers, as well as potential victims.

They are also taught how to respond to those situations and how to report them to police.

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