Dubuque teen recounts ordeal of being forced into having sex with men

CEDAR RAPIDS — When she was 17, a Dubuque woman was sexually abused by a Hiawatha man who gave her alcohol and psilocybin mushrooms and held her in a hotel room to have sex with “multiple, different men” in exchange for money, she testified Thursday.

The case against Jarod Anderson, 35, which got underway this week in Cedar Rapids, is the first in Iowa under a 2023 law that increases the penalties for human trafficking of a minor to a Class A felony — punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In her testimony Thursday, the Dubuque woman, now 18, didn’t recall many details of the first night of her ordeal — May 21, 2024 — except that bad things happened, including being “raped” twice by Anderson, who the teen said forced himself on her.

She said the sexual acts happened at a Quality Inn in Cedar Rapids, and she also described being taken to a man’s house where she was forced to have sex with him for money paid to Anderson.

Anderson is charged with human trafficking of a minor, third-degree sexual abuse, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, pimping and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The human trafficking charge of a minor against Anderson and Tana Torres, 50, of Cedar Rapids, who is also charged, are the first cases under House File 630 in Linn County, and Anderson is the first to face trial on that charge in the state. Jury selection started Tuesday, and Thursday was the first day of testimony in Linn County District Court.

The teen, who spoke in a low and quiet voice, became upset at different times during testimony and at one point, she said she felt sick to her stomach and a brief recess was called.

The 18-year-old testified she became involved with Anderson, who was posing as “Myriah Banks” in a Facebook conversation with her. In the conversation, Anderson offered the teen a ride in exchange for the teen posing naked, she testified.

She had been at a friend’s house in Dubuque and they were drinking alcohol and taking Xanax. She admitted to making poor decisions but wanted to get out of Dubuque because she had a warrant out for her arrest.

When Banks arrived to pick her up, Anderson, introduced to her as “Ty,” was driving the car and his passenger was Tana Torres, who she believed to be Banks, she said. Anderson gave her a bag with tequila and the mushrooms. She drank the alcohol but didn’t take the mushrooms until they got to the hotel, she said.

The teen recalled Anderson taking photos of her naked at the hotel on his cellphone, but Torres didn’t.

Anderson then sexually abused her while Torres was present. The teen said after the photos, she had planned to see a friend in Cedar Rapids. But instead, “he sold me to multiple, different men.”

During the episode, Anderson also drove her to a house, owned by AJ “Jerry” Brown, who forced her to perform sexual acts and then paid Anderson through a phone app. Brown was charged with prostitution in the investigation, but he died and his charge was dismissed in October, according to court records.

Photos of Brown and his house were identified by the 18-year-old. She took a photo of Brown and one photo inside his house because of what happened to her that day, she testified.

The teen said she didn’t know Brown or any of the men, and was never paid herself. Torres collected the money and give it to Anderson, she said.

During these incidents, the teen had her phone and tried to contact her sisters and others for help. But she never called the police because she was “scared.” Anderson told her “bad things would happen” if she did, she said. She was also worried about her outstanding warrant if she contacted police.

Sometime on May 22, 2024, she got out of the hotel room while Anderson was out but Torres and two men were there. She said Anderson left the room when men arrived to have sex with her.

The teen or her mother called Jesse Simmons, a former youth service worker with Four Oaks, who knew the teen from her time at the juvenile service facility. He came to get her after her mother found out her daughter was at the hotel. The teen left the Quality Inn and went to a nearby Hampton Inn and waited for Simmons to rescue her. Surveillance video corroborated her account.

She said she felt safe with Simmons.

During a cross examination, the teen became upset because Bryan Tingle, Anderson’s attorney, repeatedly asked her what time certain things happened. She kept saying she couldn’t remember the times.

The teen said she never was able to leave the hotel room alone. Tingle asked her if Anderson took her to get her nails done, and she said yes. He told her that he wanted that, the teen said.

Simmons, now a behavioral health intervention specialist at Tanager Place in Cedar Rapids, testified about picking up the teen after she and her mother called him to help. He and his friend, Xezna Beard, picked up the teen at the Hampton Inn.

Simmons said the teen was crying, visibly shaken and had bruising on her neck when they arrived in the lobby. They took her outside and a woman, later identified as Torres, told him the teen’s belongings were on the side of the hotel. He also saw a man, later identified as Anderson, when they walked over to get her bags.

When the teen saw Anderson, she became more “scared and shaken” than when they first saw her, Simmons testified. The teen was upset and tried to run away from Simmons and Beard at first, but eventually calmed down. Simmons then called the teen’s mother and the police.

Beard, in her testimony, also said the teen was “scared and high.”

Beard said she knew Anderson as Jojo and met him online a week or so before. She didn’t know Torres. Anderson asked Beard to work for him as a prostitute but she refused. He also offered her a job to work as a “topless maid,” which she also declined.

Text messages between Beard and Anderson, after the teen was taken to a hospital, showed Beard questioning Anderson why he had sexually abused and exploited a 17-year-old, but Anderson denied having sex with the girl and “pimping” her. He said he and Torres were trying to help her out and gave her a ride to Cedar Rapids.

A sexual assault nurse examiner at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital also testified about collecting a sexual assault kit on the teen.

The trial is expected to continue into next week.

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