Midwest

Woman 'lured' by man's romance and gifts forced into disturbing prostitution hustle: prosecutors

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Woman 'lured' by man's romance and gifts forced into disturbing prostitution hustle: prosecutors

An Ohio man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for coercing a homeless woman into prostitution “countless times,” including across state lines, after sparking a romantic relationship with the woman, prosecutors say.

“He exploited (the woman) when she was vulnerable and lured her in with romance and gifts, hallmarks of a genuine relationship,” prosecutors said of 41-year-old Leon Sims, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. “He then sold (her) for money countless times over a period of months, keeping the earnings for himself.”

Sims was sentenced to 37 months in prison last week for the engagement of interstate prostitution, a violation of the Mann Act, the Department of Justice said in a press release Tuesday.

Police first encountered Sims in December 2020, when the Boone County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky responded to an online advertisement for prostitution. An undercover deputy arranged to meet up with a woman through the advertisement at a local Holiday Inn, where the woman ultimately informed law enforcement she was driven to the lodging facility by Sims, according to prosecutors.

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Leon Sims, 41, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for violating the Mann Act. (Boone County Sheriffs Office )

Deputies found Sims sitting in a car outside the hotel, and the woman told police that Sims had for months been arranging meet-ups for the woman to engage in prostitution.

Sims was romantically involved with the woman starting in early 2020, according to prosecutors, and gave the woman presents as she struggled with homelessness. He later allegedly demanded she repay him for the gifts, and ordered she pull in $1,000 a day or face punishment.

“Specifically, (Sims) threatened to prevent her from sleeping or eating if she did not comply,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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Prosecutors said that from October 2020 to January 2021, Sims arranged to send the woman across Ohio, Kentucky – and even to California – to meet up with johns for sex. Sims reportedly brandished a gun at the woman when she pushed back against traveling to California for prostitution. Sims was also accused of repeatedly pressuring the woman into having sex with him and using physical force against her.

Authorities in Las Vegas in January 2022 discovered Sims had an active warrant in Kentucky and took him into custody. (Getty Images)

“Subsequent investigation revealed that, from at least October 2020 through January 2021, Sims arranged prostitution activities for the victim using online advertisements, managed those activities, communicated with prostitution customers and kept the profits from the prostitution appointments. During the course of managing the victim’s prostitution activities, Sims transported the victim from Kentucky to both Ohio and California for the purpose of prostitution,” the DOJ said in its press release last week.

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“At sentencing, it was determined that Sims used fraud or coercion to get the victim to participate in prostitution including verbal threats, withholding basic necessities, and false promises.”

Sims’ attorney had argued that Sims did drive the woman across state lines to engage in prostitution but denied his client ever forced her into having sex for money. The lawyer added that the woman bailed Sims out of jail when he was first arrested in December 2020.

The woman told police that Sims had for months been arranging meetups for her to engage in prostitution. (iStock)

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“However, despite knowing Mr. Sims only a few months, she did not take the opportunity to inform law enforcement of any dangerous or unwanted situation she had found herself in, nor did she take advantage of an opportunity to ‘escape’ Mr. Sims while he was arrested and incarcerated and she was not,” the attorney wrote, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The attorney added that the woman spoke to authorities regarding Sims to receive favorable treatment.

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Sims moved to California following his 2020 arrest, before moving to Las Vegas in 2022. Meanwhile, new charges such as human trafficking were filed in Boone County, Kentucky, in February 2021. Authorities in Las Vegas in January 2022 discovered Sims had an active warrant in Kentucky and took him into custody.

He has been in custody since January 2022. The Boone County charges were dropped this year after Sims was federally indicted, the Cincinatti Enquirer reported.

Sims must fulfill 85% of his sentence under federal law and will be monitored by authorities for three years following his prison release.

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Illinois

2 men shot, 1 fatally, outside bar in Morris, police say

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

2 men shot, 1 fatally, outside bar in Morris, police say

MORRIS, Ill. (WLS) — A man was killed and another was injured in a shooting outside of a bar in Grundy County.

The shooting happened early Saturday outside of Clayton’s Tap in the 100 block of West Washington Street in Morris, Illinois, officials said.

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The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, where they found two men with gunshot wounds. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The victim who died was identified by the Grundy County Coroner’s Office as 35-year-old Julian Rosario of Channahon.

A suspect in the shooting, 22-year-old Marshall Szpara of Seneca, was arrested and “initially charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, pending further review from the Grundy County States Attorney’s office,” Morris police said.

No further information was available.

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Indiana

What Tom Izzo said after Michigan State’s win over Indiana

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

What Tom Izzo said after Michigan State’s win over Indiana

Michigan State basketball went into Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon and controlled the Hoosiers from start to finish, earning a 77-64 victory. The win goes a long way in almost virtually confirming that the Spartans will have a triple-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, while also bolstering the Spartans case to get a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For the second straight outing in the state of Indiana, MSU head coach Tom Izzo came away pleased with his group, and expressed that to the media:

“Well, to be honest with you, for once, we got off to a good start. We haven’t been doing that. We decided to try to go inside, Kohler (had) been struggling, we thought we’d try to get him going. We get that 10-point lead and it kind of stayed that way.
“We did not do a great job of building on it, it’s because they’re a good team. Everybody asks me, ‘Are they good enough to be in the tournament?’ Read my lips: hell yes. It’s just that somebody’s got to lose some of these games. The league is so good.”
“I’m proud of my guys, because coming back from that Thursday-Sunday deal, both on the road, I thought they showed a lot of character. I’m proud of my staff, those preps are not easy at this time of year. Kur came off the bench and really sparked us after making more than a few mistakes.”
“What I appreciated about the game is I thought Jeremy took over. Everything we asked him to run early, to go into Jaxon, he did a great job of. I thought Kur, who’s a sophomore now, took a big step forward after not playing very well the 5 minutes he was in there early and falling down and giving up 3s, and then he bounced back. That’s kind of what you’ve gotta do.”
“We did it a little different way. We said this will be kind of like the NCAA Tournament where you’ve got a one- or two-day prep, one-day prep, so I think it was good for us. I’m really proud of them, but I don’t want to be proud of them until I’m done playing.”
“All in all, guys, we’re in spring break, which means you can practice like 100 times, and nobody arrests you or anything. But our guys deserve some time off and we’ll get some things done tomorrow. “

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Rex_Linzy

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Iowa

Iowa Lottery Pick 3 Midday, Pick 3 Evening results for March 1, 2026

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The Iowa Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big with rewards ranging from $1,000 to millions. The most an Iowan has ever won from playing the lottery was $343 million in 2018 off the Powerball.

Don’t miss out on the winnings. Here’s a look at Sunday, March 1, 2026, winning numbers for each game:

Winning Pick-3 numbers from March 1 drawing

Midday: 6-9-4

Evening: 4-2-5

Check Pick-3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick-4 numbers from March 1 drawing

Midday: 1-7-4-8

Evening: 7-6-9-1

Check Pick-4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Iowa Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 12:20 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 12:20 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Iowa editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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