Hiawatha man told police he wasn’t involved with sex trafficking Dubuque teen

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Hiawatha man accused of sex trafficking a Dubuque teenager last year repeatedly told a police investigator he didn’t force the teen to have sex with men for money and didn’t take naked photos of her.

He also said he didn’t know his friend, Tana Torres, was a prostitute.

Jarod Earl Anderson, 35, during a video-recorded police interview, said he just gave Torres, 50, of Cedar Rapids, a ride to Dubuque on May 21, 2024, because she wanted to help “this girl,” who he believed was 21, but was actually 17.

Torres had said she wanted to help the young woman because she was “homeless,” Anderson said.

Anderson repeatedly denied being involved in the prostitution of Torres, who testified Monday that she worked as a prostitute for Anderson before and after the May 21 and 22, 2024, incidents involving the 17-year-old.

Cedar Rapids police Investigator Kyzer Moore, however, testified Tuesday after the video was played that Anderson’s phone showed 44 conversations with customers — on messaging apps and cellphone messages — asking to have sex in exchange for money May 22. Many of those messages were shown to the jury.

Anderson, whose trial started last week in Linn County District Court, is charged with human trafficking a minor, third-degree sexual abuse, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, pimping and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

This is the first trial in Iowa under a 2023 law that increases the penalty for human trafficking of a minor to a class A felony punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Torres also is charged with human trafficking a minor, second-degree sexual abuse, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and prostitution. Her trial is April 22. She may receive a plea agreement because she testified for the prosecution in Anderson’s trial.

Phone messages

In the 44 messages on Anderson’s cellphone, Anderson would appear to be posing as a woman and set up appointments and set prices, varying from $120 to $550, depending on the sexual act and the length of the appointment. Anderson would ask for a photo of the customer, and some were shown to the jury.

The flurry of messages came to Anderson’s phone during the time Torres and the teen had an appointment with a customer at his Cedar Rapids home, which the teen testified about last week. The teen testified Anderson forced her to have sex with men in exchange for money, which he kept, and that he had sexually abused her.

Investigator Moore said police obtained a search warrant for Anderson’s phone but didn’t have access to the phone because they didn’t have his passcode. Investigators did have access to a program which provides a data report that can bypass a passcode to provide information from the phone.

Moore, in reviewing the cell data, also said there were over 5,000 instances where Anderson used a website associated with prostitution where someone can respond to ads for sex, create a post and access a post.

Police interview

Anderson, in the recorded video with police, said he drove Torres to pick up the teen in Dubuque on May 21 and then brought them back to Cedar Rapids to the Quality Inn hotel room where Torres was staying. He said he didn’t take sexually explicit photos of the teen. Torres must have taken those while he slept in a chair and then left early to go home to his wife.

During the interview, Anderson talked disparaging about the teen, saying she was “messed up, slurring (her speech)” and “she wasn’t my concern.” Torres wanted to bring her there, not him.

When Moore told Anderson the teen said Anderson had sexually abused her and forced her to have sex for money, Anderson initially seemed calm and even laughed off the accusations, saying he was innocent. He then became visibly agitated and vehemently denied the teen’s statements.

Anderson called the teen a “dumb ass girl” and claimed she was lying. He repeatedly said he hadn’t done anything.

After the video was played, Moore testified about a recorded phone call Anderson made from jail to his wife, where he said she should have gotten rid of his phone because there was evidence on it. At that point, his wife cut him off.

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Cross-examination

During cross-examination, Moore said he couldn’t say who took the photos of the teen or who sent the messages, only that they were found on Anderson’s phone.

The prosecution rested after the video and Moore’s testimony. The defense will start its case Wednesday, and Anderson has told his lawyers he will testify. Closing arguments could begin in the afternoon.

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