19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO SEX CRIME RELATED CHARGES IN FARGO

October 16, 2019
Joshua Peguero
Valley News Live
  

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) A 19-year-old woman from Mahnomen, Minnesota appeared in Cass County District Court for two charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Harleigh Haugen pleaded not guilty Wednesday after she was accused of using a website to sell sexual services.

According to the Fargo Police Department, two men showed up to in an apartment building in south Fargo and once they paid to have sex with Haugen they were robbed by men hiding in a bedroom.

Further evidence showed Haugen is not only being accused of committing attempted robbery but also of getting involved in underage sex trafficking.

At one point, police said Haugen brought an underage girl into an unknown hotel for sex and the girl's mom alerted police that her daughter made a large deposit into her bank account.

A few years ago congress passed a law clamping down on websites such as craigslist where prostitution was being openly advertised. Unfortunately, that type of crime is still happening online.

“Digital…is changing almost every single day so we have to change and adapt just like everybody else does,” Jessica Schindeldecker of the Fargo Police Department said.

The Fargo Police Department has shifted departments to better tackle cyber-sex crimes by dedicating more resources.

“A lot of times what they're doing is they're seeing things that come through our tipline, our online tips, and they're see what's going on website," Schindeldecker said.

According to police, if you're the victim of such a sex crime it's important to report it and not be ashamed because of what happened.

Oftentimes, these crimes go unreported.

https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/19-year-old-pleads-not-gu-563247251.html

 

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