Midwest
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.
SUSPECTED PROSTITUTION RING MOVES INTO CA NEIGHBORHOOD OUTSIDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL: ‘PIMP IS BLOCKING MY DRIVEWAY’
“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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CLEVELAND, Ohio — OHSAA girls basketball scores from Saturday in Ohio, as provided by The Associated Press.
Akr. Coventry 67, Streetsboro 22
Akr. Ellet 43, Can. South 34
Akr. Hoban 72, Gates Mills Gilmour 36
Apple Creek Waynedale 43, Ashland 42
Arcadia 54, Dola Hardin Northern 47
Ashtabula Edgewood 45, Geneva 40
Attica Seneca E. 43, Sycamore Mohawk 27
Aurora 63, Medina Highland 57
Avon 54, Amherst Steele 33
Avon Lake 73, N. Ridgeville 43
Bedford, Mich. 47, Tol. Rogers 33
Bellbrook 59, Monroe 26
Beloit W. Branch 54, Minerva 8
Berlin Center Western Reserve 70, Girard 53
Berlin Hiland 59, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley 17
Botkins 47, Elida 40
Bowerston Conotton Valley 42, Rittman 32
Bowling Green Christian Academy 33, Put-in-Bay 11
Carey 52, Bucyrus 14
Casstown Miami E. 63, Day. Northridge 41
Castalia Margaretta 57, Port Clinton 21
Centerburg 54, Danville 37
Chardon 48, Eastlake North 38
Chesapeake 56, Greenup Co., Ky. 18
Chesterland W. Geauga 40, Gates Mills Hawken 28
Cin. McNicholas 56, Cin. Anderson 44
Cin. Oak Hills 44, Liberty Twp. Lakota E. 40
Cin. Princeton 65, Hamilton 22
Cin. Summit 63, St Bernard-Elmwood Place 13
Cin. Sycamore 74, Middletown 11
Cols. Linden-McKinley 42, Day. Dunbar 24
Columbia Station Columbia 47, Wellington 20
Coshocton 51, Bridgeport 36
Creston Norwayne 42, New London 31
Crooksville 50, Byesville Meadowbrook 35
Cuyahoga Falls 49, Barberton 8
Cuyahoga Falls CVCA 43, Cle. Hts. Beaumont 34
Dalton 62, Dover 39
Dawson-Bryant 51, S. Webster 49
Day. Oakwood 61, Eaton 22
Day. Stivers 56, Cin. Taft 34
Delta 55, Bloomdale Elmwood 39
E. Can. 43, Hartville Lake Center Christian 42
E. Palestine 37, Campbell Memorial 24
Edon 46, Defiance Tinora 43
Elyria Open Door 52, Tol. Waite 24
Fairview 70, Beachwood 34
Findlay Liberty-Benton 43, Kalida 30
Galloway Westland 35, Day. Belmont 30
Garfield Hts. Trinity 59, Independence 19
Garrettsville Garfield 38, Middlefield Cardinal 35
Genoa Christian 44, Liberty Christian Academy 17
Gibsonburg 62, Sandusky St. Mary 19
Gorham Fayette 41, Antwerp 30
Hamilton Ross 43, Trenton Edgewood 38
Hillsboro 46, Washington C.H. Miami Trace 45
Huber Hts. Wayne 72, Clayton Northmont 22
Hudson 78, Solon 59
Jefferson Area 46, Ashtabula Lakeside 10
Kansas Lakota 51, New Riegel 29
Kent Roosevelt 46, Richfield Revere 44
Kenton 82, Lima Perry 14
Kettering Alter 49, Day. Carroll 42
Kingsway Christian 32, Senedot Stripes 18
Kingsway Christian 60, Coshocton Christian 23
Kirtland 52, Wickliffe 17
LaGrange Keystone 72, Sullivan Black River 15
Lakewood 51, Bay (OH) 40
Legacy Christian 56, Cedarville 49
Lima Shawnee 60, Lima Cent. Cath. 25
Lockland 53, Cin. Shroder 49
London 67, Plain City Jonathan Alder 12
London Madison-Plains 51, Milford Center Fairbanks 30
Loudonville 48, Cardington-Lincoln 36
Lucasville Valley 50, South Point 16
Macedonia Nordonia 47, Brecksville-Broadview Hts. 45
Madison 70, Conneaut 41
Mansfield Madison 39, Millersburg W. Holmes 33
Maria Stein Marion Local 44, Anna 20
Marion Harding High School 53, Caledonia River Valley 32
Martins Ferry 77, Weir, W.Va. 19
Mason 54, Cin. Colerain 32
Massillon Jackson 50, Can. McKinley 44
Massillon Perry 48, N. Can. Hoover 42
Mayfield 64, Willoughby S. 51
McConnelsville Morgan 46, New Concord John Glenn 22
Mentor 69, Brunswick 41
Miller City 56, Arlington 22
Milton-Union 61, Sidney Lehman 20
N. Robinson Col. Crawford 57, Bucyrus Wynford 33
New Paris National Trail 52, Hamilton New Miami 19
New Philadelphia 52, Linsly, W.Va. 34
Newcomerstown 51, Malvern 34
Newton Local 54, Franklin Middletown Christian 42
Norton 68, Ravenna 19
Ohio Deaf 48, Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Va. 19
Old Fort 43, Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 30
Ontario 65, Galion 43
Orange 31, Painesville Harvey 27
Ottawa-Glandorf 71, Ft. Loramie 45
Oxford Talawanda 52, Franklin 32
Painesville Riverside 42, Chagrin Falls Kenston 41
Pandora-Gilboa 51, Ft. Jennings 27
Parma Hts. Holy Name 52, Chardon NDCL 49
Parma Padua 49, Elyria Cath. 32
Pataskala Licking Hts. 40, Pataskala Watkins Memorial 28
Paulding 64, Bluffton 42
Philo 56, Warsaw River View 24
Piqua 51, Xenia 18
Powell Olentangy Liberty 37, Cols. Bishop Watterson 28
Proctorville Fairland 50, Cabell Midland, W.Va. 26
Proctorville Fairland 82, Vincent Warren 39
Rocky River 65, Parma Normandy 51
Rootstown 40, Mantua Crestwood 21
STVM 59, Youngs. Ursuline 33
Salem 47, Alliance 18
Shadyside 47, New Matamoras Frontier 42
Shaker Hts. Laurel 60, Doylestown Chippewa 39
Sheffield Brookside 47, Lorain Clearview 28
Shelby 65, Sparta Highland 40
St. Henry (OH) 49, Spencerville 31
Steubenville Cath. Cent. 68, Zanesville Rosecrans 32
Strongsville 67, Shaker Hts. 39
Sunbury Big Walnut 59, Lewis Center Olentangy 56
Sylvania Southview 46, Lima 44
Tallmadge 38, Copley 34
Thornville Sheridan 33, Dresden Tri-Valley 30
Tipp City Bethel 62, DeGraff Riverside 31
Tipp City Tippecanoe 62, Greenville 31
Tol. Christian 66, W. Unity Hilltop 40
Twinsburg 55, Stow-Munroe Falls 23
Uhrichsville Claymont 51, Sugarcreek Garaway 40
Upper Sandusky 28, New Washington Buckeye Cent. 23
Urbana 69, New Carlisle Tecumseh 25
Vermilion 50, Milan Edison 45
Versailles 55, Jackson Center 16
W. Jefferson 45, Spring. Cath. Cent. 26
Wadsworth 45, N. Royalton 33
Warren Howland 56, Cortland Lakeview 50
Waverly 57, Gallipolis Gallia 51
Waynesville 50, Brookville 30
Westerville N. 51, Columbus South 40
Westlake 63, N. Olmsted 34
Westtown, Pa. 85, Western Reserve Academy 44
Worthington Kilbourne 58, Thomas Worthington 31
Zanesville W. Muskingum 61, Zanesville Maysville 28
Zoarville Tuscarawas Valley 53, W. Lafayette Ridgewood 20
Iowa basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) welcomes in No. 16 Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a top-25 conference tilt.
The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are looking to get the taste of a frustrating road loss at Minnesota out of their mouths. Iowa trailed by as many as 14, but rallied back to take the lead in the game’s final two minutes. The Golden Gophers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and then watched as a series of potential game-tying Iowa threes wouldn’t drop in a final, frantic sequence from Williams Arena.
Illinois enters winners of four straight and six of their past seven. The Illini rolled past Rutgers on Thursday, 81-55.
Watch Iowa vs. Illinois
Iowa owns a 57-24 all-time record against Illinois in Iowa City, though the Illini have owned the series of late. Illinois has won four straight over Iowa and nine of the past 10. That stretch of success from the Illini comes on the heels of a five-game Iowa win streak in the series from 2018-20.
As tipoff approaches, here’s how and when Hawkeye fans can watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois:
How to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
TV: Fox
Tipoff Time: 11 a.m.
Iowa battles Illinois on Fox in its “Gold Out” game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) will be joined by Steve Smith (color).
How to stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
Hawkeye fans can stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois with Fubo, which offers a free trial to first-time subscribers.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
Michigan State narrowly escaped with a home win against the now 8–7 Northwestern Wildcats. The Spartans struggled mightily in the first half, entering the break down seven points after scoring just 28 points. Michigan State committed eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and went 6-of-11 from the free-throw line.
After a sluggish start, the Spartans regrouped and took control in the second half. Michigan State shot 14-of-27 from the field after halftime, playing with better pace and ball movement.
Jeremy Fears, who picked up two early fouls and began the game 0-of-4 from the field, responded with a strong second half. He finished the game shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Overall, Michigan State was far more composed in the second half against the Wildcats. However, with a matchup against Indiana looming, the Spartans will not be able to afford another slow start like the one they experienced against Northwestern.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana has undergone a similar offseason transformation to another Big Ten opponent Michigan State has already faced: the Iowa Hawkeyes. After parting ways with head coach Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers hired former West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries began his head coaching career at Drake, where he posted an impressive 150–55 record. Over his final four seasons with the Bulldogs, he led the program to 108 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
DeVries also went 79–33 in Missouri Valley Conference play, captured three MVC titles, and guided Drake to six of the program’s 11 20-win seasons before leaving for West Virginia.
In his lone season with the Mountaineers, DeVries engineered a significant turnaround, improving West Virginia from a 10-win team to a 19-win team.
Now at Indiana, DeVries has continued that trend of rapid improvement. In Mike Woodson’s final season, the Hoosiers finished 19–13 and missed the NCAA Tournament. This season, Indiana has already reached 12 wins and appears firmly back in the postseason conversation.
The Hoosiers are led by senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, a transfer from Sam Houston. Wilkerson is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from three-point range.
Indiana has been strong on both ends of the floor. According to KenPom, the Hoosiers rank 30th nationally in offensive efficiency and 28th in defensive efficiency.
As Michigan State prepares to face Indiana, the Spartans will need to clean up their first-half execution to keep pace with one of the Big Ten’s more balanced teams. Indiana’s efficiency on both ends of the court, combined with DeVries’ proven ability to elevate programs quickly, makes this a difficult matchup. For Michigan State, a complete 40-minute performance will be essential if it hopes to build momentum in conference play.
Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts on Cam Ward when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Don’t forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.
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