As shown in a wide-ranging indictment on view below, Cardenas also faces charges of trafficking in adults and children, since one of the two women he's said to have forced into sex-for-pay was underage.
The grand jury indictment of Dallas Cardenas and Ryan Jenkins, 23, who's accused of conspiracy in the case of the adult victim, as well as possession of Ecstasy, tells the tale.
The documents supports assorted counts using evidence gathered between May 18 and June 4 in the case of an eighteen-year-old woman, and between May 1 and May 22 in regard to a seventeen-year old. During those time frames, Cardenas allegedly forced the women in question to pose for randy photos that were then placed on Craigslist along with what's described as a "sexually suggestive advertisement." They were coerced into charging $150 per half hour, or $175 per hour, for "out-calls" to hotels in Lakewood and/or Denver, the indictment maintains. Another reported location for these trysts: Cardenas's apartment.
Cardenas is said to have kept most of the money the women made for their acts of prostitution.
Read the entire indictment below. Then page down to see a press release synopsizing the charges, courtesy of the attorney general's office -- and also check out a larger photo of Cardenas.
Attorney General announces indictment against Denver men involved in domestic sex traffickingDENVER -- Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that his office has secured an indictment for Dallas Colby Cardenas (DOB: 9/3/1991) and Ryan Keith Jenkins (DOB: 1/25/1987) on suspicion that they engaged in human trafficking during May 2010 and June 2010.
According to the indictment, Cardenas trafficked an 18-year-old female and a 17-year-old female and forced both to participate in prostitution in the Denver and Lakewood areas. Cardenas forced each victim to pose for photos used in Craigslist ads and coerced the two victims to have sex with individuals who responded to the advertisements.
Jenkins, according to the indictment, is suspected of conspiracy to pimp the 18-year-old victim. Jenkins also is suspected of possessing of Ecstasy, a Schedule I controlled substance. Investigators discovered the drug during a search of Jenkins' Denver apartment.
The Office of the Attorney General obtained the indictment with the assistance of the Denver Police Department, the Lakewood Police Department and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General will present its case against the defendants in Jefferson County District Court.
The case will be prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Janet Drake, a member of the Colorado Human Trafficking Task Force.
More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Nadine Montoya sentenced to life in prison plus extra 32 years for Burger King hit-and-run."
