Online sex ads allegedly used to lure robbery victims

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City on Tuesday charged three people with robbing multiple victims who responded to sex ads placed online.

Kenneth W. Sexson, 32; Nicole Lenore Covey, 33; and Sage E. Harrison, 34, were charged in U.S. District Court with committing at least seven armed robberies.

According to court documents, ads showing Covey’s photograph were placed on Craigslist, Backpage and Skout.

When men responded to the ads, they were robbed at gunpoint, according to the charges.

The robberies occurred at apartments or hotel rooms in various locations in the Kansas City area.

While the charges stem from robberies that occurred in October 2015, Covey later gave a statement to investigators in which she said she had committed such robberies since 2013, court documents allege.

According to the documents, Covey described placing the ads stating that she was willing to meet men who wanted to pay for sex or dates. She would communicate with them by phone, text or email and would usually rent hotel rooms to stage the robberies. Typically, after answering the door, she would go into the bathroom while the co-defendants robbed the victims.

She allegedly told investigators that she participated in one or two robberies a week over a period of several months.

Prosecutors said Sexson and Covey made their initial court appearances Tuesday. Harrison remained at large.

Sexson and Covey were arrested June 7 after being chased by Independence police. The chase started after someone reported shots being fired at them.

The chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph and ended in Leavenworth County after officers used tire deflation devices to disable the vehicle.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Online sex ads allegedly used to lure robbery victims."