Two accused of human trafficking to go to trial in November

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Two people accused of human trafficking of a teenager from Dubuque pleaded not guilty to charges, and are heading to trial.

Jarod Anderson and Tana Torres both entered those pleas last week in court. Torres faces charges including human trafficking, sexual abuse, and prostitution. Anderson faces charges including human trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, pimping, and prostitution.

Torres waived her right to a speedy trial and has a trial set for November 12th. Anderson is demanding a speedy trial with his currently set for the same day.

The arrests happened in July, after police said it was part of an ongoing investigation involving a juvenile girl who was reported missing out of Dubuque, but was found in Cedar Rapids.

The Quality Inn Hotel on the Northeast side of Cedar Rapids was where a Dubuque teen said she was taken back in May by a man and a woman. She said she was given drugs, including meth, and sold for sex.

Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said this marks the first Human Trafficking charge involving a minor in Linn County under Iowa’s new law passed in July 2023 that made the crime a class A felony. A class A felony in Iowa, if found guilty, is punishable by a sentence of life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

The mother of the victim spoke to TV9 about the situation. Dubuque Police also shed light on the case as well. Police and the victim’s mother dispute the timeline of how quickly the girl was found.