Charges: Man forced 2 women into prostitution, beat victim at Bloomington hotel when she wanted out
Darnell Stennis (Hennepin County Jail / Supplied)
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Federal authorities have filed charges against a man in Minnesota as part of a disturbing case in which police say he forced two women to work as prostitutes, took their earnings, and threatened or beat them when they would not comply.
According to investigators, Darnell Stennis was arrested in March of 2019 after officers responded to the La Quinta Inn on West American Boulevard in Bloomington for the report of a fight.
At the hotel, police encountered Stennis in the elevator lobby on the 17th floor as they responded to the call. Speaking with police, Stennis admitted there had been verbal arguments but nothing physical.
Police also spoke with one woman who was in the room. She also denied there was any physical fighting. However, inside the room, police found the room had damage and luggage and other items had been thrown around. They also learned another woman who had been staying in the room had left.
Later, as police continued to investigate, the other woman returned to the room. Speaking with officers, she said Stennis, who she had been dating since January 2019, had attacked her after she told him she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute for him.
The victim said Stennis became enraged and shoved her against the bathroom wall before grabbing her throat and choking her. She said Stennis then bashed her head against the towel rack and pushed her onto a toilet seat causing the seat to break.
The victim said at that point she was able to get away and ran to the front desk for help.
Speaking with both women, officers say they learned Stennis had recruited both of them to work as prostitutes in the weeks leading up to the arrest.
One victim said Stennis would get angry and sometimes physical when they did not do what he said or did not earn him enough money. The victim said she traveled with Stennis from St. Louis, Missouri to St. Paul to meet the second woman.
The victim said the trio also went to North Dakota, where Stennis made them post ads, see johns, and collected the money afterward. At one point, one of the victims reported seeing 25 clients, earning $2,000 but having Stennis take it from her.
After business dried up in North Dakota, the victims said Stennis had them return to Bloomington where Stennis was taken into custody.
Even while in jail, prosecutors say Stennis continued to call one of the victims, instructing her to keep working as a prostitute and making him money, while asking her to talk to the other victim about dropping the charges.
Stennis now faces three federal counts including sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion and transporting individuals to engage in prostitution.
Stennis also faces other charges in Bloomington related to the assault in the hotel room. According to a Cleveland.com report, Stennis was also arrested a month before the Bloomington hotel incident, accused of similar crimes. According to that report, Stennis took the woman throughout Ohio and nearby areas forcing her to work for him.
Disturbingly, the woman reportedly sent her mother a plea for help while out with Stennis. Police said, when using Stennis' phone to post an advertisement online, she texted her mother a message that read: "MAMA THIS IS ME I’M TRYNA GET A WAY BUT THIS MAN WON’T LET ME OUT OF HIS SIGHT WE FINALLY GOING TO PEORIA I HOPE TODAY BUT. PLEASE DONT CALL OR TEXT THIS PHONE. PLEASE DONT I DONT HAVE A PHONE ANYMORE I WILL CONTACT U AS SOON AS I CAN PLEASE DONT CALL OR TEXT THIS PHONE."