Baltimore woman faces 100 charges linked to MD sex trafficking ring

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore woman has been indicted on 135 counts related to a sex trafficking ring that authorities said she ran that trapped drug users into sex work. Kenika Danielle Leach, 33, of Baltimore, was indicted by a Washington County grand jury.

Authorities said at least 11 women from Hagerstown were trafficked by Leach and his organization to Maryland hotels and motels to engage in commercial sex acts. Charges in the indictment include operating a criminal organization and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, threat, coercion or fraud.

“Sex trafficking is a horrific crime that often preys on people suffering from drug addiction, exploiting their addiction to coerce and control them,” Attorney General Brown said in a press release. “The lasting harm caused to survivors is profound: it is physically and psychologically traumatic and shatters their sense of security and self-esteem. »

In December 2021, the Baltimore Police Department was notified by local hospital staff that a female patient had told them that Leach had taken her from Hagerstown to the Baltimore area to perform commercial sex acts. Leach received money for the victim's sex work and “compensated” the victim by giving her drugs, the attorney general's office said.

Detectives contacted the organized crime unit of the attorney general's office, which launched what became a two-year investigation into Leach and her criminal organization, which sometimes billed itself as the “Pussy Kat Klub.”

Working with Homeland Security Investigations and Maryland State Police, and reviewing cellphones, social media and financial records, investigators identified 10 additional sex workers who had been victims of sex trafficking by Leach from Hagerstown to hotels in the Baltimore and Anne Arundel County areas for sexual purposes. work.

The indictment states that each of the women was actively suffering from drug addiction, which Leach exploited by supplying them with drugs, then controlling and restricting their access to drugs, in order to coerce them into engaging in commercial sex acts . The money victims earned from sex acts was often paid directly to Leach through the “Cash App” phone application.

Authorities said Leach used physical violence to coerce and control the women.

Leach's next appearance is scheduled for June 24 in Washington County Circuit Court.

“In this case…we were able to arrest a criminal who was preying on vulnerable populations. I hope this indictment brings some peace to everyone affected by Kenika Leach's unlawful actions,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley.