2 women rescued from Tennessee sex trafficking ring

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NASHVILLE - Two young women claim they were held against their will for days, victims of sex trafficking, at a motel on the outskirts of downtown Nashville.

Prontiss Houseworth, 18, of Conyers, Georgia, is charged with trafficking for sexual servitude and promoting prostitution.

On Friday, August 26, Nashville Metro Vice officers answered an ad on backpage.com.

"I asked her 'how much are the girls, how much it would be,'" an officer. "And they agreed to perform sex on me for $180 plus a $20 tip."

It wasn't long before undercover agents descended upon the Nashville motel at the address in the ad. There were four young women inside the motel room, but only two are considered victims.

UPDATE: Jan 24, 2012
Woman indicted in Nashville on sex trafficking, kidnapping charges arrested in Alabama:

Ashley Harry, a 24-year-old woman once suspected to be a victim in a sex trafficking case, was later arrested in connection with the crime in Birmingham, Ala. She was transported to a Davidson County jail yesterday.

Prontiss Houseworth, 18, was arrested in August 2011 after allegedly forcing four women to travel with him to Nashville from Atlanta to engage in prostitution. He was arrested during a Metro Nashville Police Department sting aimed at advertisements on Backpage.com.

At the time, MNPD stated in a press release that all four women were suspected victims, but the Davidson County grand jury indicted Houseworth and Harry on two charges of sex trafficking and three charges of aggravated kidnapping in November 2011.

According to MNPD spokesman Don Aaron, Harry originally portrayed herself as a victim when detectives in the initial investigation interviewed her. But a follow-up investigation found that she was an alleged co-conspirator.

Prontiss and Harry are awaiting trial on the grand jury charges.

Additional information: Both the male trafficker and female recruiter pled guilty and face jail time. Hearing is set for Aug. 30, 2012.

UPDATE: Sept 30, 2012

Both Houseworth, the trafficker, and Harry, the female recruiter, will remain in jail, where they've been the past year, until December 1, 2012. Then both will be released on supervised Sex Offender probation (Houseworth for 12 years, Harry for 6.) Both may not use computers, visit hotels/motels or have any contact with each other or their victims. They each must perform 20 hours a month of community service and must have full time employment. They'll wear GPS trackers, pay fines and be listed on the Sex Offender registry. The court will check their status every six months.