Undercover officer makes 'full-service' appointment after passing verification by a screening site.
The girls were advertised on backpage.com as Thai escorts who wanted to "fulfill their Asian fantasy" at the cost of $250 per hour.
On April 19, a Tempe police officer working undercover responded to the "Thai escort" online advertisement. He had to undergo a background check by a third-party site, as escort services will attempt to weed out the possibility of a police officer being able to secure services.
The officer passed the test and later received a text asking if he would like an appointment. He was offered a nude, sensual massage to be performed by one of the four available women. It was described as a "full-service" appointment, implying sexual intercourse.
The following day, authorities attempted to conduct a sting at one of the apartments, where an officer was greeted by a woman who was wearing sheer lingerie and explained they would have sexual intercourse and oral sex. The officer backed out, paying her $100 for "wasting her time," records state.
Erik and Patcharin have been booked into 4th Avenue Jail in connection with a prostitution operation tied to human smuggling of girls from Thailand.
The two co-managers face multipal felonies with bond of $25,000 and $20,000. (This seems a direct complaint and more charges will probably follow from a formal indictment based on evidence found at the raid - multiple money laundering, criminal enterprise, trafficking etc.)
A search warrant executed by Tempe police at Erik's rental properties netted more than $20,000 in cash and police found four Thai women. One was injured while attempting to flee; the other three were questioned by police and admitted to being prostitutes for Erik and Patcharin. Patcharin possessed a "large amount of cash" on her person at the time.
According to court paperwork, the case dates back as far as a March 2013 sting operation.
It evolved into an investigation into women "being smuggled out of Thailand and brought into the United States," paying off their debts by performing sex acts for money.
The girls were reportedly promised that they would eventually be granted freedom once they covered the cost of their transfer to the U.S.
The investigation started back in 2013 when Patcharin was arrested for prostitution and admitted to Homeland Security that she was involved in a prostitution ring but refused to give details.
At one apartment in the area of Baseline Road and Hardy Drive, investigators observed two men arrive at the apartment at different times and saw them leave about an hour later. One man was seen counting money in his hand while entering the apartment.
"This activity is consistent with a prostitution operation," the court document said.
Both men were identified with call logs from the advertisement's phone number.
In early February, Tempe police followed Eric, who was returning from Sky Harbor International Airport with a woman to one of the rented apartments where Patcharin lived. An advertisement for a new escort appeared soon after.
"During a post-Miranda interview, Erik admitted to co-managing a prostitution operation with Patcharin," detectives wrote in court documents. "He stated he has a 50/50 split of the money with Patcharin. He told detectives Patcharin has the ties to Thailand and helps supply the girls and he 'maintains' them by paying their bills, getting them food, etc. Erik stated he deposits the money into one of five bank accounts he has. He told detectives he has four girls working for him and has approximately 15 over the last year and a half."