By By Jonathan Anker, HLNtv.com
(HLN) — An 18-year-old Minnesota cheerleader is accused of prostituting a 16-year-old teammate with a developmental delay by posting an online ad about the girl and allegedly taking her to meet potential customers, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Montia Marie Parker, a senior at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, was arrested and is facing one count each of felony sex trafficking and felony solicitation of prostitution.
HLN is not naming the 16-year-old girl in line with its policy of not identifying the alleged victims of sex crimes.
The alleged victim says Parker first messaged her on Facebook to discuss the idea in early March and asked if she “would be willing to give men oral sex for money,” according to a complaint. Parker then asked the teen to provide pictures of herself that were “not too nasty but kinda cute,” and Parker posted them to the online classifieds site Backpage.com along with her own phone number, the complaint states.
On March 5, the pair drove to an apartment just outside Minneapolis belonging to a man who had responded to the online ad. While Parker waited in the car, the 16-year-old says she performed oral sex and was paid $60 — all of which she handed over to Parker, according to the complaint.
The next day, the teen says, Parker called her school and pretended to be her mother to get her excused for the day. After Parker picked her up, they went to meet another man who paid to have sex with the 16-year-old. The alleged victim says that when she refused to go inside, Parker told her, “You’ll be fine, I didn’t drive up here for nothing, and eventually you will need to have sex.”
She did go inside but offered only to perform oral sex, which the man refused. The teens left, and Parker dropped the girl back off at school, according to court documents.
However, when the 16-year-old’s mother learned her daughter had an unexcused absence from school, she checked her cell phone and noticed a series of text messages involving prostitution. The mother called police.
The woman told investigators that her daughter “has an (Individualized Education Program) at the school and works with a social worker due to a developmental cognitive delay,” the complaint states.
The Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office could not be reached for comment. It is not clear who is representing Parker.
Parker has admitted creating the Backpage.com ad and setting up the two meetings with potential customers, according to the Minnetonka Police Department. She said she received “a lot of calls” about the ad.
Parker faces a maximum 15 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine on the sex trafficking count and a maximum 20 years and/or a $50,000 fine on the solicitation count. Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 12.
