WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The owner of Asian massage parlors in Wichita has asked a federal judge to release him from prison while awaiting trial on charges of recruiting women and coercing them into prostitution.
A magistrate judge earlier this month ordered the continued detention of Gary H. Kidgell, 44, of Waltham, Mass., ruling he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren scheduled a hearing Wednesday in Wichita to review that order.
A six-count indictment charges Kidgell; Yan Zhang, 49, of Wichita; and 42-year-old employee Xiuqing Tian, of Framingham, Mass., with taking part in a conspiracy from 2009 to 2011.
Court documents accuse them of sharing resources to operate nine massage parlors in Wichita.
