Six accused in Coralville prostitution sting plead guilty

CORALVILLE - Of 16 people charged with prostitution after a month-long investigation that culminated in an elaborate sting in Coralville in April, six recently pleaded guilty.

Randy Cooper, 45, of Cedar Rapids, pleaded guilty to a charge of prostitution on July 20; Lance P. Forbes, 42, of Iowa City, William Heitz, 51, of Walford, and James Jackson, 58, of Oxford, pleaded guilty on July 24; and Moises Garay, 25, of Cedar Rapids, pleaded guilty Friday.

All of the men were given one-year deferred sentences, meaning they'll be on probation for a year and have their records cleared if they don't commit another violation during that time. They also all must complete 50 hours of community service.

The men were nabbed in a large sting in Coralville that involved more than 20 local and federal agencies and resulted in 17 arrests (one was for a probation violation, not prostitution).

One woman, Melody McCullom, 21, of Waterloo, was charged with felony pimping, pandering involving a minor, human trafficking, obstruction and prostitution after she admitted to operating an online business that nets thousands of dollars each week and using her 16-year-old sister in that business, according to criminal complaints.

McCullom pleaded guilty on July 13, and she's scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

The maximum possible penalty for the charges, when combined, totals more than 25 years in prison. It's unclear what sort of plea agreement might have been worked out.

Among the other people arrested in connection with the April sting, two are set for trial on Aug. 14, four are scheduled for trial on Aug. 21, two are set to go to trial Aug. 27 and one has not yet entered a plea. Mercedes Love-Anderson, 22, of Milwaukee, has had the charges against her dropped.