Linn jury convicts Hiawatha man in trafficking of 17-year-old

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Hiawatha man, who sexually abused and forced a Dubuque teen to have sex with other men in exchange for money, was convicted Thursday, following about six days of testimony during his trial in Linn County District Court.

A jury deliberated about 90 minutes before finding Jarod Earl Anderson, 35, guilty on four charges, including human trafficking of a minor, a 2023 law that increased the penalty upon conviction to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The jury also found Anderson guilty of third-degree sexual abuse, pimping and two charges of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The trial started last Tuesday in Linn County District Court.

Anderson showed no emotion when the verdict was read by 6th Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill. The jurors were individually polled on each charge and confirmed their unanimous verdicts.

Anderson will remain in jail pending sentencing April 1.

This was the first case charged in Linn County and the first to go to trial in Iowa under the new human trafficking of a minor law.

In a statement, the Linn County Attorney’s Office thanked the jurors “for their time, attention, and service. Their guilty verdict reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed and ensures that justice has been served for the victim in this case.”

The office also thanked the sex abuse survivor “who showed incredible strength in coming forward, as well as the law enforcement officers, victim advocates, and the Attorney General’s Office who worked diligently to bring this case to trial.”

Teen’s testimony

The Dubuque teen, who was 17 at the time of the incidents on May 21 and 22, 2024, testified last week she was sexually abused by Anderson after he gave her alcohol and psilocybin mushrooms and held her in a hotel room to have sex with “multiple, different men” in exchange for money.

In her testimony last Thursday, the Dubuque woman, now 18, didn’t recall many details of the first night of her ordeal except that “bad things” happened, including being “raped” twice by Anderson.

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

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

The girl said 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 there was a warrant for her arrest.

When “Banks” arrived to pick her up, Anderson was driving the car and was introduced to her as “Ty.” His passenger. Tana Torres, was introduced as 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 Quality Inn hotel in Cedar Rapids, she said.

The teen recalled Anderson taking photos of her naked at the hotel on his cellphone. Torres did not take any pictures, she said.

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 the charge against him was dismissed in October, according to court records.

The teen said she didn’t know Brown or any of the men and was never paid. Torres collected the money — $550 — and gave it to Anderson.

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 also was worried about her outstanding warrant if she contacted police.

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

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 facility. He came to pick her up after she’d left the Quality Inn and gone to the nearby Hampton Inn. Surveillance video corroborated her account.

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She said she felt safe with Simmons.

Simmons testified the teen was crying, visibly shaken, with bruising on her neck, when they met in the lobby.

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

Police testified Anderson’s DNA was found in teen’s underwear and also DNA from an unknown male.

Torres testimony

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Torres, who testified Monday, corroborated some of the 17-year-old’s testimony but recalled some portions differently, while admitting she had been intoxicated with liquor and drugs during the May incidents.

Torres, 50, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with human trafficking a minor, second-degree sexual abuse, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and prostitution.

During her testimony, Torres said she would receive a plea agreement if she testified truthfully about the events involving the teen. She will plead to conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and three counts of prostitution and be sentenced to up to eight years in prison.

Torres testified Anderson told her he could “get a lot of money” for the teen and planned to force her into having sex for money.

Anderson talked to the teen about taking the explicit photos but didn’t initially mention her performing sexual acts for money.

Torres said Anderson posted the explicit photos online, offering the teen for sex in exchange for money. The teen didn’t fully understand what Anderson wanted her to do and wouldn’t undress when the first customer arrived, she said.

Torres, who admitted to being an alcoholic and to abusing drugs, said when she met Anderson in March in Quincy, Ill., she had “gone past rock bottom” and agreed to be an “escort” but was never paid in money. He paid for her apartment and would provide her with alcohol and drugs.

Anderson testifies

Anderson took the stand in his own defense Wednesday and denied sex trafficking minor and denied Torres working for him as a prostitute.

During Anderson’s testimony, he recalled vivid details of what was said, clothing the teen and Torres wore, and what Torres purchased during stops a various convenience stores.

But he said he didn’t know how numerous sexually explicit videos, photos and conversations with customers for prostitution got on his phone, except to blame Torres, who used his phone because hers was broken.

He also said numerous people used that phone, but the phone was found on him when he was arrested.

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