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.
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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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Midwest
Trump turns up the heat on red-state Republicans blocking new congressional maps
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President Donald Trump and allied groups are turning up the heat on Indiana Republican state senators who are resisting the president’s push for the red state to pass congressional redistricting.
The Indiana Senate reconvened on Monday, three days after the state House approved a new map championed by Trump that would create two more right-leaning congressional districts in the solidly red Midwestern state, where the GOP currently controls seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. House seats.
The action in Indiana comes after the Supreme Court last week cleared the way for GOP-dominated Texas to use its newly redrawn map, which creates five more right-leaning House seats.
And it marks the latest front in Trump’s aggressive national campaign to reshape congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms, when Republicans will likely face traditional political headwinds as they defend their razor-thin House majority.
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The GOP-controlled Indiana House, meeting in the Statehouse — seen in a file photo from 2017 — on Friday passed along party lines a congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
While the super majority in the Indiana House passed redistricting 57-41, with a dozen GOP lawmakers voting against the measure, the stakes are much higher this week, as the Republican-dominated state Senate, which has resisted Trump’s efforts to draw new congressional maps, meets to vote later in the week on the redistricting bill passed by the state House.
Indiana Senate Republican leader Rodric Bray has repeatedly said there wasn’t enough support in the chamber to move forward with redistricting. The state Senate split 19-19 last month in a proxy vote.
RED STATE MOVES FORWARD ON TRUMP CHAMPIONED CONGRESSIONAL MAPS
“A RINO State Senator, Rodric Bray, who doesn’t care about keeping the Majority in the House in D.C., is the primary problem. Soon, he will have a Primary Problem, as will any other politician who supports him in this stupidity,” Trump warned in a recent social media post.
Bray, in announcing that the state Senate would reconvene to take action on redistricting, said “the issue of redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps mid-cycle has received a lot of attention and is causing strife here in our state.”
A final vote by the state Senate is likely on Thursday.
President Donald Trump, seen pointing at the White House on Oct. 10, 2025, is targeting Indiana Republican lawmakers who are not supportive of his congressional redistricting push. (Kent Nishimura/Reuters)
Trump has been twisting elbows in his attempt to make Indiana the latest Republican-controlled state to change their congressional maps. The president has called state lawmakers and Vice President JD Vance visited the state twice earlier this autumn to discuss redistricting.
Trump this weekend took to social media twice to keep up the pressure.
TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
“Why would a REAL Republican vote against this when the Dems have been doing it for years??? If they stupidly say no, vote them out of office — They are not worthy — And I will be there to help! Thank you Indiana!” he warned.
And in a separate post, Trump highlighted nine state Senate Republicans who have yet to announce their position on the new map, saying they “need encouragement to make the right decision.” The president added, “The Indiana Senate must now pass this Map, AS IS, and get it to Governor Mike Braun’s desk, ASAP, to deliver a gigantic Victory for Republicans in the “Hoosier State,” and across the Country.”
Trump has also taken some jabs at Braun, arguing that the governor “perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes.”
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While Trump recently called Braun “a good man,” he has warned he “must produce on this, or he will be the only Governor, Republican or Democrat, who didn’t.”
But Braun, pointing to the president, has touted that he is “committed to standing with him on the critical issue of passing fair maps in Indiana to ensure the MAGA agenda is successful in Congress.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, seen speaking during a press conference on Oct. 30, 2025, supports President Donald Trump’s push for congressional redistricting. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Trump-aligned conservative outside political group the Club for Growth Action and other groups have dished out big bucks to run ads in Indiana supporting redistricting, and along with Turning Point Action, will target Republican state lawmakers opposed to the new map.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh sent out a “FINAL WARNING” to Bray, warning that “failure to get this done means you and any other opposition will be defeated and removed from office in your next election.”
And Turning Point Action on Friday held a rally at the state Capitol, where Braun spoke, to put pressure on Indiana Senate Republicans to support redistricting.
“This is a super high priority, and we’re going to be working with the local, grassroots to make sure their voices heard, and their priorities are not steamrolled by an out-of-touch elected class,” Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet told Fox News Digital.
The push by the president in Indiana is part of a broad effort by Trump’s political team and the GOP to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority ahead of the midterms, when the party in power traditionally loses seats.
TRUMP-BACKED NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE MAP APPROVED BY LAWMAKERS AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO PICK UP SEAT
“We must keep the Majority at all costs,” the president wrote recently.
Trump, by championing rare but not unheard of mid-decade redistricting, is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. State lawmakers in GOP-dominated Florida this week took the first steps towards passing a redistricting measure, and right-leaning Kansas is also mulling redrawing its map.
Two federal judges in Texas last month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state couldn’t use the newly drawn map in next year’s elections. But the Supreme Court on Thursday gave a big thumbs up to the Lone Star State’s new congressional map.
Democrats are fighting back.
California voters a month ago overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature.
That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, steered his state’s push for redistricting.
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Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.
And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge last month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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Detroit, MI
Detroit family’s home damaged, Christmas gifts lost after fire spreads from vacant house
DETROIT – Detroit fire officials are investigating multiple house fires that broke out Tuesday morning, including a blaze that destroyed two vacant homes and damaged one family’s home on Dwyer Street.
The fire started around 1 a.m. in a vacant house, leveling it before spreading to a neighboring vacant property and then damaging the home of Joel Whitner and his family.
Whitner described how his family woke up to the sound of neighbors pounding on their door.
“When we walked out the door, the wind gusts and the fire just kind of like blew us back,” Whitner said, describing the intensity of the blaze.
The family’s home has significant damage, including water damage throughout the interior and damage to the roof.
The family lost Christmas gifts, furniture, and clothing in the fire.
A GoFundMe has been started to help support the family.
In a separate incident around 3 a.m., firefighters responded to another residential fire on Ashland Street, where a family of 15 evacuated safely after a space heater caught fire in an upstairs bedroom and spread to the attic.
“I grabbed my fire extinguisher, and I started spraying it right there, and that made it go up more, so I ran to the attic and started spraying in the attic,” said Jerome Hill. “Keep a fire extinguisher by your bed because if I didn’t have that by my bed, there’s no telling what would’ve happened.”
It comes after a house fire that killed a 6-year-old girl on Sunday (Dec. 14) and another fire that killed three on Monday.
Fire officials say space heaters are responsible for four out of five home heating-related fire deaths.
The Detroit Fire Department is reminding families of home heating safety tips.
Captain Edward Davis emphasized the importance of having a safety plan in place in case of an emergency.
“You want to create a fire safety plan for your home in the event of an emergency,” Davis said. “What are two ways to get out of the room, out of the home – where are our families meeting up? How do we alert other members in the home?”
The department’s safety guidelines for space heaters include:
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Place heaters on flat, stable surfaces
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Keep heaters at least three feet away from combustible items
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Plug heaters directly into wall outlets
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Turn off heaters when leaving rooms or going to sleep
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Keep heaters clear of walkways and exits
The department is also reminding families of important carbon monoxide safety tips:
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Install carbon monoxide alarms low to the ground, near gas furnaces, dryers, or heaters.
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Test CO detectors monthly and replace them every five to seven years.
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Avoid using a stove, oven, or grill as a heat source.
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Keep gas and charcoal grills outdoors only—never in garages or enclosed spaces.
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Hire only qualified professionals to inspect or repair heating systems, fireplaces, and chimneys.
Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees after apartment complex confusion
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman says she has been without her car for almost a week after what she claims was an unfair towing incident from an apartment complex, leaving her with a $400 bill.
“It’s been pretty terrible,” Pappalardo said.
Brendyn Jones/TMJ4
Ashley Pappalardo’s car was towed from the Parkview Apartment lot near Silver Spring and Highway 100 on Thursday morning. Her sister was driving the vehicle at the time and says there was confusion about where to park due to different property ownership.
According to Department of Revenue records, the building had just been sold to new ownership that same day. A sign posted near the entrance warns that non-residents will be towed.
Watch: Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees
Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees after apartment complex confusion
Pappalardo said that during conversations with the new management, they told her the towing shouldn’t have happened.
“She says we called and put any operations from them on hold until we can review a contract,” Pappalardo said. “I asked, ‘So they didn’t have any right to be on the property?’ She said no.”
Pappalardo says Brew City Towing and Recovery, which towed the vehicle, also confirmed to her that operations had been put on hold.
TMJ4 reporter Brendyn Jones attempted to speak to the property manager to clear up the confusion, but received no answer.
A sign indicated the office was closed because of new ownership. When Jones called the posted number and spoke with an Appleton Rental Homes representative, she declined to answer whether there was an active contract with Brew City and denied an interview request, saying Pappalardo should pay the fine.
At Brew City Towing, a worker instructed TMJ4 to call the office, but the voicemail box was full. Jones reached out to Brew City over the phone and by text, but received no answer from the people who have the car.
Pappalardo went to the police, who she said told her a small claims report might be her next step.
“Anyone who’s been in that civil lawsuit process understands it’s an incredibly long and grueling process for very little outcome,” Pappalardo said.
For now, she’s out of luck, hoping Brew City compromises.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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