CHICAGO (CBS) — A western suburban Aurora man has been charged with trafficking an 18-year-old West Virginia woman and forcing her into prostitution.
Christopher Munger, 43, is charged with one count of human trafficking, two counts of involuntary servitude and one count of promoting prostitution.
DuPage County prosecutors said Munger met an 18-year-old woman online, drove to West Virginia, where she lived in a group home, and brought her back to Aurora, where he arranged for her to meet others for paid sex acts.
The woman was reported missing when she did not return to the group home where she lived.
Prosecutors said that on Nov. 22, Aurora police officers investigating online advertisements for prostitution were led to Munger’s address. On Wednesday, undercover officers conducted a sting operation at Munger’s home, arranging to meet the woman for sex.
At the time of the appointment, an officer gave the woman $400, which she slipped under a door in the house. After a brief conversation, the undercover officer told the woman he was leaving, and as he left the room, he saw Munger pick up the money he had slipped under the door.
Munger was arrested and at his first appearance on Saturday, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to keep him in jail until trial.
“The charges against Mr. Munger are appalling,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “The alleged exploitation of this young woman, who he allegedly took from her home to a place where she knew no one and forced her to have sex for his own financial gain, should send a chill down the spine of all of us. .”
Munger is due back in court on January 6 for a hearing.
