WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge in Wichita has scheduled an October trial for three people charged in a sex trafficking scheme linked to Asian massage parlors.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Wednesday issued an order scheduling an Oct. 15 trial for Gary H. Kidgell; his wife, Yan Zhang; and employee Xiuqing Tian. They are accused of conspiring to recruit women from around the country to come to Wichita to work at massage parlors, then coercing them into prostitution.
Investigators who raided the parlors reported found ads in a Chinese-language newspaper in New York, Chicago and San Francisco offering “massage parlor hiring” in Kansas.
The government alleges Kidwell and two co-defendants worked together and shared resources to operate nine Asian massage parlors in Wichita.
