California Attorney General Kamala Harris says two sisters are in custody for allegedly operating a sex trafficking ring in San Francisco.
Harris says 37-year-old Qiao "Judy'" He and her 36-year-old sister Gaineng He were arrested Monday and each charged with felony pimping and pandering. Their arrests followed a five-month investigation by local, state and federal authorities.
The women are accused of running four brothels in San Francisco's Richmond District. Investigators allege the sisters told undercover agents that "new girls" were brought in every Sunday and that customers paid as much as $200 to have sex with young women.
“The victims in these brothels were treated as commodities in an insidious human marketplace,” Attorney General Harris said in a statement.
The sisters are being held at the San Francisco Jail on $25,000 bail apiece. Harris says they also are being investigated for possible tax fraud and conspiracy violations.
