KC area police investigate sex trafficking after man tells them he paid $10K for woman
A recent report of a suspicious person in a Blue Springs hotel lobby prompted police to open an investigation of human trafficking when a man claimed he was trying to “take possession of” a sex worker there, according to court records.
Gary A. Vickery, 48, was arrested earlier this month at the Marriott Hotel in Blue Springs after speaking with an officer about another person at the hotel who was supposed to sell a 26-year-old sex worker’s contract off.
Vickery was held for 24 hours and later released with a citation for patronizing prostitution, a municipal offense, according to documents filed in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Police were called to the hotel around 4:15 p.m on July 2 to investigate the suspicious person report. An officer met the subject of that call in the lobby, a man who said he “was there to take possession” of a woman “that he had purchased from a third party” through AdultFriendFinders.com.
The man told the officer he had been speaking with the woman’s “handler” since late June and had made multiple payments totaling $10,000 to that person because he wanted to “set her free.” He said some of the money was exchanged in Filipino currency.
He also showed the officer text messages exchanged which purportedly showed arrangements to purchase the woman’s contract. That encounter led to his arrest.
A Blue Springs police detective interviewed the man the following day. He allegedly told the detective the person he made the arrangements for was for a white woman with black hair, named Meg or Megg and about 26 years of age. He said he was told by Megg that she needed money to pay off debts and leave sex work behind.
The detective noted that the man had displayed some concern during the interview of making incriminating statements to police, but the affidavit says he was advised of his Miranda Rights and agreed to speak outside the presence of a lawyer.
In response to a question about how much the man paid through the arrangement, he allegedly said: “Hypothetically if I paid anything I would say around $10,000.”
The messages through AdultFriendFinder.com, described as a sexual encounter website, allegedly started after the man visited the site in search of friends while he was having marital problems, court documents say. He also told the detective he borrowed some money from other people to gather the $10,000
The man was also advised detectives were seeking a warrant for his cellphone. He allegedly replied: “I might sound like a John in the messages.”
Information about the investigation was filed last week through statements of probable cause in Jackson County Circuit Court. Police sought permission to search the man’s cellphone and vehicle as part of their investigation, a request granted by a Jackson County judge.
It was not clear from court records what the status of the police investigation was as of Monday, or if the person the man said he was trying to “purchase” was in fact real.
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 8:31 AM.
