SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 23, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake County man has been booked into jail on suspicion of five felonies after a woman alleged he coerced her into prostitution.
John Steven Lake, 59, is charged with:
- Aggravated exploitation of prostitution, a second-degree felony
- Pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony
- Three counts of exploiting prostitution, a third-degree felony
The female alleged victim told police in June that a year earlier, she was addicted to heroin, and wanted money for her drug habit. She she met Lake, who appeared to trying to help her out when he encouraged her to offer body massages to clients through a website. Lake even posted an ad there for her, the woman said.
The woman told officers, “that at that point in her life she was so humiliated and so defeated that she gave in and agreed to begin engaging in commercial sex,” says a probable cause statement filed by the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
“(She) recalled that Lake would encourage her to ‘make money, make money’ and he would assist in finding customers. (She) explained that when she talked about leaving or refusing to work for him, Lake threatened to reveal to (her) family what she was doing, i.e., engaging in commercial sex.”
The woman told investigators that the “body massages” took place in hotel rooms booked in her name or Lake’s, and actually consisted of a full sex act, including intercourse. Afterward, Lake would say the woman “owed him.”
“(She) said that she would provide Lake with $400 to $500 per week. At times, (she) would refuse to perform ‘full service’ — sexual intercourse — and she explained that Lake would become angry and talk about how the client would not come back when she refused ‘full service.'”
The woman stated that Lake began supplying her with prescription drugs in exchange for money or sexual favors. In addition, the woman said that Lake invited her to Wendover on two occasions for what she believed would be recreational trips.
Once there, Lake encouraged her to prostitute herself, and she said she did not want to. On the second trip, the woman said Lake became angry and she felt intimidated.
After eating dinner with people she met at the casino, the woman said she headed back to her room, “but later awoke, badly beaten, at the bottom of a stairwell. Police were called and emergency responders…. Ultimately, (the victim) was life-flighted to the University of Utah Hospital,” the probable cause statement says.
Officers searched the victim’s cell phone and found numerous texts they believed confirmed that Lake and the woman were involved in a prostitution operation.
Lake was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday, and is being held on $200,000 bail.
