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A California man has been indicted on charges that he kidnapped a woman at knife-point in the Salt Lake Valley and forced her to work as a prostitute in three states before she was able to escape about a month later.
The woman, referred to as Victim A in court documents, says Brandon L. Walton hit her and shocked her with a stun gun to keep her from escaping after the March kidnapping. He also allegedly forced her to get a tattoo of a Playboy bunny with the words "Pimpin' B" under it.
Walton was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on one count each of kidnapping, transportation for illegal sexual activity and sex trafficking. U.S. Magistrate Samuel Alba has ordered him detained in jail pending trial.
An FBI affidavit claims that Walton abducted Victim A on March 29 and took her to a Sandy hotel, where two women who worked for him were staying. Walton allegedly told the two to post an ad for the victim on craigslist.com and help her get ready for her "dates" with clients, according to the affidavit.
Victim A told Walton she did not want to work for him but he responded that he needed the money, the affidavit says. One of the prostitutes allegedly hid in a hotel bathroom or closet during each of her "dates" and immediately gave the payment to Walton.
After a few days, Walton took Victim A to California and sexually assaulted her on the trip there, the affidavit says. It says Walton forced the woman to work as a prostitute in Carmarillo, where she made several thousand dollars and got the tattoo.
Walton took Victim A to see his house in Northern California and introduced her to his mother and sister as his "new girl," the affidavit says. He and Victim A returned about 10 days later to the Sandy hotel, where the two prostitutes had stayed while they were gone.
Victim A says Walton used a stun gun on her when she failed to follow his rules and he and the two prostitutes also hit her to keep her from getting away.
The affidavit says one of the prostitutes was arrested April 15 in a sting operation conducted by Sandy police. Walton posted bail for her and the group drove to New Mexico.
While Victim A was being forced to prostitute herself in Santa Fe, Walton flew back to California to serve a jail term at the Sonoma County Adult Detention facility, the affidavit says. Victim A says she tried to escape but was threatened with a stun gun by one of the prostitutes.
The group then traveled to Albuquerque, where they picked up a woman who wanted to work with them so she could leave the city. They returned at the end of April to Utah, where Victim A was able to escape from a Murray hotel by telling the newcomer she had to pay the room bill, the affidavit says.