$75K bond for alleged pimp

CHICAGO (STMW) -- A  Chicago man facing human trafficking charges for allegedly using violence and death threats to force women to work as prostitutes in Chicago and the suburbs was ordered held on $75,000 bond Friday.

Troy Bonaparte, 45, of the 8000 block of S. Ridgeland, was charged early Friday with involuntary servitude, trafficking in persons for forced labor or services, unlawful restraint, pandering and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

Bonaparte was ordered held on $75,000 bond in a Friday hearing and will next appear in court Sept. 9, according to a spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff's office.

According to prosecutors, Bonaparte recruited three women in different neighborhoods between May and August 2010 and put them to work as prostitutes. He allegedly took sexually provocative photos of the women and posted them in internet ads for escort services, according to a release from the state's attorney's office.

Bonaparte, who had the women call him "Magnificent," would rent motel rooms in the city and suburbs where the women would live with him, according to the release. The women would sometimes service eight to 12 customers per day, with Bonaparte keeping all the money, the release said.

The operation was uncovered earlier this week when undercover Cook County Sheriff's vice officers responded to an internet ads at a motel in Elk Grove Village, according to the sheriff's office.

The ad, posted on the "Escorts" section of Backpage.com, included solicitations such as "Sexy Crystal is here to please and pamper you," "Call me before 1 a.m. and get your discount," and "Girlfriend experience."

Officers found one of the women in the motel room, the release said. Bonaparte was arrested Tuesday with a second woman in a room across the hall. The third woman was found at a nearby motel.

Authorities claim the victims -- aged 19, 24 and 30 -- were recruited off the street, according to a release from the sheriff's office. Two women are from out of state and another is from the Chicago area. One was homeless at the time Bonaparte allegedly recruited her.

All three women are now in a safe location provided by the sheriff's Department of Women's Justice Services, the release said.

Prosecutors allege Bonaparte beat or threatened to kill the women if they tried to leave or challenged him, and  threatened to kill one woman's family when they tried to intervene. He also ordered them to perform acts or services they were uncomfortable with if clients offered more money, the release said.

One of the women worked for Bonaparte since May, while the second had worked about two weeks and the third for less than 24 hours, according to the release. Police found more than $2,700 in cash, six cameras and a laptop computer in his motel room.

Also recovered were small amounts of crack cocaine and heroin, which were locked in the motel room's safe, according to the release. Authorities allege Bonaparte threw the safe key out of the motel window when police arrived.

At the time of his arrest, Bonaparte was out on bond from a June 24 charge of soliciting a prostitute, in which he allegedly tried to recruit an undercover officer on Mannheim Road to work for him, the sheriff's office release said.

Bonaparte has been arrested 55 times before and has nine convictions, including pimping, manufacture and delivery of cocaine, and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the sheriff's office.

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