Three Charged with Human Trafficking in Howard County

Howard County Police charged three men with human trafficking for taking two women against their will and forcing them to commit sex acts in different states.

One woman, a 24-year-old, ran to a fire station in Sykesville to escape a man she called her "pimp" whom she told police had held her for two years, forcing her into prostitution.

The woman showed up to the fire station on Oct. 3 with injuries to her hands and face, but didn't require medical attention, police said. The man, Craig Okeido Anderson, 32, of no fixed address, was later arrested after the woman provided police with a detailed description of his vehicle. 

Inside Okeido's vehicle, police found an assault rifle and loaded magazine inside the trunk's liner.

The woman said Okeido took her to various states and required her to perform sex acts, after which he would take the money, according to police. She reported to police he assaulted her regularly and that he posted ads for other women on Backpage.com, a prostitution website, to solicit customers.

Police charged Okeido with human trafficking, prostitution and assault. He is being held at the Howard County Detention Center on $75,000 bond.

Police: Rhode Island Couple Kidnap 24-year-old

A day later, on Oct. 4, police said they arrested two Rhode Island men whom they believe kidnapped and forced a 24-year-old Rhode Island woman into prostitution.

The woman called police from an Elkridge gas station and told them she had been kidnapped three days before in Rhode Island. Police said a couple befriended her in Providence, RI, and asked her to help them sell items. She agreed, but instead they took her to Connecticut, took photos of her and posted them in ads on Backpage.com, according to police.

The couple, later identified by police as Gary Eugene Maddox, 29, of Providence, and Amina R. Philip, 27, of Providence, forced the kidnapped woman to have sex with men, then turn the money over to them, police said.

Officers located a black Mercedes with Rhode Island tags, described by the woman, in Elkridge, and made a traffic stop during which they arrested Maddox and Philip.

Both were charged with human trafficking and prostitution offenses. Maddox was charged with kidnapping as well. They are currently being held at the Howard County Dentention Center on $750,000 bond for Philip and $1 million for Maddox.