Two Charged With Sexually Exploiting Women, Promoting Prostitution in St. Charles

Two people were charged with trafficking and sexually exploiting two women and promoting prostitution, using hotels in St. Charles, Bridgeton and Springfield, MO. One of the women was 18 and the second was 19 years old.
Michael Andrapolis Johnson, 27, and Samantha Leigh Ginocchio, 20, of the 2800 block of Innsbruck in St. Louis County, each were charged Wednesday in St. Charles County Circuit Court with two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation and one count of promoting prostitution.
St. Louis County Police said Ginocchio and Johnson “recruited, enticed, transported and provided” the two women “by coercion and deception” to profit from their participation in sexual conduct prostitution from Feb. 1 through April 2.
“We’re not alleging there was any violence here, but we are alleging there were significant false inducements, threats of violence, threats of taking things away,” said St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar.
“They would do things like drive them to a location out-of-town and say, ‘Well, I had to drive you there and back, so I’m only giving you $20,’" Lohmar said.
He said both of the women were single mothers struggling to get along financially.
Lohmar said, “Unfortunately, that’s the pattern in lots of cases around the country, where they take advantage of some vulnerability. In this case, there was financial vulnerability. In other cases, it might be undocumented migrants. And what are these ladies going to do? Who are they going to complain to?”
Ginocchio and Johnson were arrested March 29 at the Red Roof Inn in St. Charles, 2010 Zumbehl Road. Police said they lured the two women with promises of money, told them they were indebted to them for costs incurred in advertising on the Internet for prostitution
Police said they provided the girls with alcohol and marijuana and gave them a portion of the fees they collected for the girls’ sexual acts.
Ginocchio and Johnson managed all prostitution activities, set up appointments, negotiated terms and received all payment, according to a St. Charles County Circuit Court document.
Lohmar acknowledged that the two young women have some responsibility in the case. But the state statute now allows prosecutors to go after those running prostitution rings, whether it’s a small- or large-scale operation.
“We’re trying to attack the hierarchy. Definitely, there are organized groups doing this, trafficking women and using deception and preying on their vulnerability,” he said.
Bail was set at $75,000 each, cash only, for Johnson and Ginocchio. Johnson is being held by the Missouri Department of Corrections. He also is on probation after pleading guilty Feb. 14 to theft, receiving stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit card.
He has 12 theft, receiving stolen property, forgery or fraudulent use of credit card convictions since 2004.
Ginocchio also was on probation for receiving stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit card charges. She was placed on probation for those charges May 17.