Details of escort service raid released

[MC]

During a three-hour police search of a Cicero home Tuesday, the phone rang about 10 times. Some of the men asking for dates hung up abruptly when police answered, police said Wednesday.

 

Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter, sheriff's department Capt. Kevin Jowitt and Cicero Police Chief Garry Cook answered questions about a raid that occurred Tuesday in which police arrested Chad D. McClellan, 35, of 6 Bayview Drive in Cicero.

 

“We're investigating the possibility that this is a rather large-scale prostitution operation,” Jowitt said.

 

McClellan is out of jail on $5,000 bond. He said his escort business is legitimate and he contracts with women to be adult entertainers. He added he intends to continue running Hoosier Hotties.

Some of McClellan's clients had other ideas. When informed during the raid that they were talking to law enforcement officials, many quickly hung up. Others did not believe they were talking to police officers.

 

“I would suspect people are keeping a pretty low profile today,” Carter told news reporters Wednesday afternoon.

 

He explained why police charged McClellan with theft, tax evasion and failure to remit sales tax.

 

“As with the case with Al Capone, sometimes the best way to get at something isn't the most obvious way,” Jowitt said. He said McClellan had not worked another job for years.

 

Cicero police began working on the investigation into McClellan's activities in August 2003 when local citizens began complaining about the operation.

 

“We got online to watch this,” Cook said. “It was the main headquarters but they didn't meet there. (McClellan) would talk to these girls from the telephone … the headquarters was there, the brains were there, but the girls were calling from mainly the Indianapolis area.”

 

Subsequently, local, state and federal authorities became involved and a variety of police techniques were employed during the investigation as departments worked together.

 

In the raid of McClellan's current home as well as a former residence, police found more than 1,700 transactions of “dates” set up by an Internet-based service called Hoosier Hotties. Police also seized computers, credit card readers with stored data, vehicles, watercraft and other assets from the waterfront home on Morse Lake.

 

“Total financial amount is over $440,000 just in that time period, about a 14-month time period,” Jowitt said, adding that number was conservative.

 

“This is going to give us an entire batch of records to start this process all over again and identify persons that were involved who were both escorts and clients and consider criminal charges for all the parties.”

 

Jowitt said police identified many of the clients already, including professional people and others from all walks of life.

 

“We don't know at this point how broad that main database is,” added Carter. “That will be part of the dissection of data that was taken (Tuesday).”

 

The business advertised in area entertainment newspapers as well as what Jowitt described as a “sophisticated Web site.”

 

Hoosier Hotties' Web site shows pictures of women in various stages of undress, including full nudity.

 

Prices for services are advertised at $275 per hour and “VIP” members could get a 30-minute “session” for $200. Overnight rates are listed.

 

Jowitt said at one time Hoosier Hotties employed as many as 40 people.

 

Three children under the age of 18 were in the house at the time of the raid. They are now staying with relatives, Carter said.

 

“It's deplorable and it's despicable behavior on behalf of an adult that's going to put a child in that environment,” he said. “That's one of the things I struggled with more than anything.”

 

The officers said there will be more investigation.

 

“We collected hundreds of items from this residence,” Jowitt said.

 

Quelle

 

Hoosier Hotties