WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal grand jury has indicted three people on charges of running a sex trafficking scheme at nine Asian massage parlors in Wichita.
A six-count indictment returned Wednesday charges owner Gary H. Kidgell, 44, of Waltham, Mass.; Yan Zhang, 49, of Wichita; and employee Xiuqing Tian, 42, of Framingham, Mass., with a conspiracy lasting from 2009 to 2011. They had initially been charged last week in a criminal complaint.
The indictment alleges they recruited women and coerced them into prostitution.
A judge ordered Thursday that Kidgell and Zhang be held until trial, ruling both were flight risks and a danger to the community. It was unclear whether Tian had been arrested.
Lawyers for two defendants did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. The other had no listed attorney.
