Tana Torres and Jarod Anderson both face human trafficking charges for taking a teenager from Dubuque, bringing her to a Cedar Rapids hotel to have sex with men and giving her drugs and alcohol. Torres took the stand Monday as part of a plea deal she is working on with Linn County prosecutors. She told the court Anderson also forced her to have sex with men.
Torres explained she had a good life in Kansas City before her mental health deteriorated. She told the court that was where she was introduced to Anderson. Originally, she said she helped Anderson sell phones in Chicago to make some money. She said Anderson then asked if she had an interest in being an escort.
Torres said she declined the opportunity but agreed to sell photos. She said Anderson took the pictures, some were partially nude and posted them on a website that is used to solicit sex. She said Anderson gave her a hotel room, drugs and alcohol, and that she was almost always under the influence. I went to Des Moines once with his family. She said he would target woman who were at a low point in their life. She said each person also had their own alias. Torres said all of the interactions with men happened the same way; Anderson would contact her with a price, what they wanted, and sometimes a picture of the person.
She said it was the same situation as a teenager from Dubuque. She testified she was sitting as a passenger in the car from Cedar Rapids to Dubuque when they picked up the minor in the middle of a Dubuque neighborhood.
She described the teenager as under the influence when they arrived. She said they gave the teenager alcohol and drugs to use on the car ride to the Quality Inn Hotel on the Northeast side of Cedar Rapids. Torres said the teenager passed out when they arrived at the hotel and woke up after an hour. She said Anderson and the teenager also engaged in oral sex before he left early in the morning. She testified that the next day four men solicited sex from the teenager. The first person Torres said was that the teenager refused and went to the hotel bathroom with her phone.
