Feds: Naperville, Schaumburg motels used in sex trafficking

Motels in Naperville, Schaumburg and other suburbs were used by two aspiring rappers accused of forcing females into prostitution, according to federal authorities.

Charles Fears, 22, of Chicago, and 30-year-old Samuel Nichols each were charged with one count of engaging in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, according to an announcement from the U.S. attorney's office Friday. Nichols is a former Chicago resident whose current hometown was not immediately available.

Nichols and Fears recruited women and girls to engage in the commercial sex business, according to a criminal complaint against the men. Federal prosecutors said Nichols and Fears posted advertisements on Backpage.com that featured images of the women and girls wearing lingerie and posing in sexual positions.

Authorities said Fears was seized Friday morning. He's scheduled for a detention hearing Friday, Jan. 22, in federal court in Chicago before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim.

Nichols was arrested in Tennessee and is expected to be sent to Chicago, officials said.

Fears and Nichols, members of a Chicago-area rap group, are accused in the federal complaint of providing the women and girls cellphones and directing them to answer calls and schedule meetings with Backpage.com customers. The meetings occurred in motels in suburbs including Schaumburg, Naperville, Downers Grove, Lansing, Harvey, Alsip and Joliet, authorities said in Friday's announcement.

Although the girls and women received money for sex acts, federal prosecutors said, they gave the proceeds to Nichols and Fears.

Nichols and Fears possessed firearms and were known to hit, slap and choke the women and girls who worked for them, the federal criminal complaint states. Nichols is accused of beating one victim so badly that she was hospitalized.

Authorities said the rappers supplied the women and girls with alcohol and drugs to help them in performing the sex acts.

If convicted, Fears and Nichols face a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison with the possibility of life behind bars.

Carol Stream police, in coordination with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force, and the FBI were listed in Friday's announcement about the arrests. It was not immediately known what role Carol Stream police had in the investigation.

Authorities said Nichols and Fears are part of Hit Squad, which should not be confused with a 1990s hip-hop collective of the same name on the East Coast.